The U.K. just became the first country to inoculate people with a coronavirus treatment that went through full testing.
What We Know:
- The first coronavirus vaccines were released to U.K. citizens on Tuesday by the National Health Service. They began inoculating people over 80 who are either hospitalized or have outpatient appointments scheduled. The vaccine was approved just last week by the U.K. drug regulation department.
- Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week, made history by being the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine outside of trial conditions.“I feel so privileged,” she said. “It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”
- Now, the vaccine will be available to front-line health workers, nursing home workers, and seniors over the age of 80 before it is given to the broader U.K. population. The vaccines are being administered in fifty hospitals that will act as the primary places where the injections are administered. Looking ahead, the vaccine will be rolled out to community health centers, such as surgical centers, in order to develop a more general program that performs vaccinations depending on age and clinical need.
- The U.K. government pre-ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, which showed to be 95% effective at preventing Covid infections in late-stage clinical trials. The delivery of the vaccines is expected to be unsteady, with the total amount anticipated to be delivered by the end of 2021.
- One night before the vaccine was rolled out, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson deemed it as a “huge step forward” in the fight against the virus. It will be the country’s biggest vaccination drive to date.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.K. has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases in Europe, only third to France and Italy, with over 1.7 million confirmed infections and more than 61,000 deaths.
