UK Approved COVID-19 Vaccines and U.S. Not Yet
UK Approved COVID-19 Vaccines and U.S. Not Yet
UK Approved COVID-19 vaccines and U.S. not yet. According to Global Times Special Correspondent in the UK, British government announced on Wednesday that it has approved the use of the new coronavirus vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and BioNTech in the country, becoming the world’s first approval Country with COVID-19 vaccine have paved the way for mass vaccination of the vaccine.
UK has purchased 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines
According to the Financial Times, the effective rate of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is as high as 95%. The British Medicines and Health Products Administration believes that the vaccine can be safely promoted. The BBC stated that the UK has ordered 40 million doses of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech, which can meet the vaccination needs of 20 million people. British Health Secretary Hancock said that the first batch of 800,000 doses of vaccine will be released in the UK next week. The vaccine supply in December will reach millions of doses, and a larger scale of vaccination will be possible next year.
British people can be vaccinated in hospitals, vaccination centers, community clinics and pharmacies. There are currently about 50 hospitals in the UK on standby, and vaccination centers are under construction. Elderly people and staff in nursing homes, people over 80, and other medical workers are most likely to be vaccinated first. The vaccine requires two injections, 21 days apart, and the second dose is a booster. Medical experts say that most of the side effects caused by the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are very mild and usually last for about a day.
“2020 is too bad, 2021 will be better… From spring, from Easter, everything will be fine”. Hancock said. According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 pneumonia in the United Kingdom exceeds 1.67 million. “The Guardian” said on the 1st that the total number of deaths in the UK exceeded 75,000. The United Kingdom is one of the countries with the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 per capita in the world, after Italy, Spain, Peru and Belgium. According to the National Broadcasting Corporation, British Prime Minister Johnson stated that the vaccine will return people to normal life and allow the economy to develop again. However, the biggest obstacle to mass vaccination of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is transportation and supply issues.
Because it must be stored in an environment of -70°C, the vaccine needs to be packed in a special box and equipped with dry ice during transportation. In addition, the vaccine is produced in Belgium. According to Agence France-Presse, if the United Kingdom and the European Union cannot reach a “Brexit” trade agreement before the end of this year, cross-strait trade will be severely disrupted and may affect the supply of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines. But Hancock said that the UK is ready to use airplanes instead of ships to transport vaccines, so it can solve the problem of vaccine transportation. The “Voice of Germany” emphasized that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can protect vaccinators from symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia, but to what extent it can protect vaccinators from infection and transmission of the new coronavirus is still unclear. Medical experts said that although the UK has approved the use of vaccines, it is still important to maintain social distancing and wear masks.
Many countries accelerate the pace of vaccination
As of the early morning of the 3rd Pacific Time, more than 64 million people worldwide have been infected with the COVID-19 virus, and more than 1.48 million people have died of COVID-19 pneumonia. After the UK announced the approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday, many countries have accelerated their vaccination pace. According to the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 2nd, Russian President Putin asked Deputy Prime Minister Golikova to start mass vaccination next week. In an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Wednesday, South Korean health officials said that Pfizer has not yet submitted an application for vaccine use in South Korea, but if submitted, it will be designated as a subject for rapid approval. The results are expected to be released within one to one and a half months. According to CNN Philippines, the Philippine vaccine commissioner Garvez said that the country may receive the Russian COVID-19 vaccine “Satellite-V” and the vaccine developed by China Kexing Biotechnology in the first quarter of 2021.
Agence France-Presse and other media reported on the 2nd that the European Medicines Agency said it will decide whether to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine urgently before December 29, and whether to approve the vaccine developed by Moderna in the United States before January 12 next year. . France plans to give priority to vaccination for the most vulnerable and most exposed groups in early 2021. Germany has stated that it hopes to start the immunization program in the first quarter of 2021 and is building vaccination centers across the country. Spain announced on the 1st that it will purchase more than 50 million additional doses of vaccine from three companies. As a result, Spain has purchased 105 million doses of vaccines. Italian Health Minister Speranza said on the 2nd that once the government approves vaccination, the country will start free vaccination activities next spring.
Why did Europe beat U.S. on COVID-19 vaccines?
Although the UK’s approval of COVID-19 vaccine has given some people a “light at the end of the tunnel,” it may annoy the US government. “Why did Europe beat us in vaccines?” The U.S. “Politics” News Network said on the 1st that President Trump asked to know why the United States might rank third or even lower in the global vaccine competition.
Although the UK had not yet approved the vaccine at the time, according to a report by the “Politics” news network, the UK originally planned to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine before December 7, while the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could only approve it on December 10. The vaccine was approved afterwards. US Secretary of Health Azar and White House Chief of Staff Meadows questioned FDA Commissioner Hahn on this. White House officials believe that giving the United States the first approved vaccine in the Western world is a key part of Trump’s political legacy. However, in the face of White House pressure, Hahn told state governors on the 1st that the FDA needs to ensure that the vaccine meets US standards for safety and effectiveness.
(source:internet)
