UK approves first COVID-19 Vaccine, Planning Immediate Rollout

The UK has been the first amongst many Western nations to approve a

coronavirus vaccine, planning immediate rollout in less than a week. The first citizens

that will be receiving the vaccines will be healthcare workers, staff, and seniors in

nursing homes, and people that are more vulnerable to the virus.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, which will vaccinate 20 million

people, as it requires two amounts. These doses must be taken a month apart and are said

to be 95% effective. The first 800,000 doses are said to be arriving in a government

distribution center by this weekend, according to Pfizer. The vaccines will ship in secure

boxes filled with dry ice to maintain the temperatures needed to store the vaccine.

Many Americans may be wondering how the UK managed to approve this vaccine

before the US. The US and the UK have different processes of determining the

effectiveness of the vaccine. While the UK (and most of Europe) study the drug maker’s

reports provided by the companies looking for anomalies, the US is one of the few

agencies that review the raw data to come to their conclusions. That being said, the US is

said to be days away from approving a vaccine.