Britain’s health regulator has approved a second coronavirus vaccine in what is likely to be a gamechanger in the fight against the pandemic.
The UK government announced on Wednesday that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca has been approved for use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It will roll out from January 4.
Britain has ordered 100M doses of the jab, which will be enough to vaccinate 50M of the country’s population of 67M. A big advantage of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca is that it can be stored in the fridge, unlike the first vaccine approved — the Pfizer/BioNTech jab — which has to be stored at -70C.
The approval comes as the UK recorded 53,000 new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the biggest ever daily case count, as a brutal second wave continues to sweep the nation. Hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of patients amid reports of people being treated in ambulances.
It is truly fantastic news – and a triumph for British science – that the @UniofOxford /@AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use.
We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible. pic.twitter.com/cR4pRdZJlT
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 30, 2020
