UK first country to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for emergency use

 

• Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NASDAQ:BNTX) have won permission for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in Britain, with two doses three weeks apart required for protection. First in line are frontline health care workers and nursing home residents, followed by older adults.
• Calling the U.K. decision "a historic moment," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said, "we are focusing on moving with the same level of urgency to safely supply a high-quality vaccine around the world."
• Other countries aren't far behind: The U.S. and the EU also are vetting the Pfizer shot along with a similar vaccine made by competitor Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA), and a similar nod by the FDA is expected as early as next week.
• While the U.K. has ordered enough Pfizer vaccine for 20M people, it's unclear how many will arrive by year's end and adding to the distribution challenges is that it must be stored at ultra-cold temperatures.
• British regulators also are considering another shot made by AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and Oxford University.
• The shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech have been tested in tens of thousands of people and early results suggest the vaccine is 95% effective at preventing COVID-19. The vaccine has also been tested in only a small number of children, none younger than 12, but there's no information on its effects in pregnant women.
• https://seekingalpha.com/news/3640670-u-k-becomes-first-country-to-authorize-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-for-emergency-use