Matt Hancock asks UK regulator to approve Pfizer Covid vaccine so jabs can be rolled out ‘next month’
HEALTH secretary Matt Hancock has asked the UK regulator to approve the new Pfizer Covid vaccine.
It comes hours after the pharmaceutical giant revealed it had applied to the US regulator to push through its coronavirus vaccine for approval.
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If the vaccine is approved in the US, it could be ready by mid-December offering hope Brits could get getting the jab in just a matter of weeks.
Pfizer and BioNTech is seeking emergency approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference this evening Mr Hancock that the department had asked the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve the new vaccine.
He said: "I can confirm that the government has formally asked the MHRA to assess the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for its suitability.
"If a vaccine is approved, it will of course be available across the UK, from our NHS, free at the point of delivery according to need not ability to pay."
'Speed of science'
Pfizer is also seeking approval in Australia, Canada and Japan.
The UK has 20 million of the vaccines on order but it has not yet been approved by the MHRA.
Mr Hancock said full data would be submitted in the next few days.
"This is another important step forward in tackling this pandemic," he said.
Professor Jonathan Van Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, who was also at the conference said the vaccine needs to be "accessible to all communities."
Prof Van Tam appeared at the conference via video link as he said that he was self-isolating due to a household contact.
He claimed that the MHRA would work "at the speed of science" to assess to Pfizer vaccine.
Vaccine roll-out
He said the speed of the roll-out of a vaccine would depend on the speed it could be manufactured.
"We are heading in the right direction but there is still a long way to go", he added.
The vaccine was proven to be 95 per cent effective in stage 3 trials.
The announcement from Pfizer has been expected after its CEO said they had a "complete picture" of the virus.
Just yesterday Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla said: "Filing in the US represents a critical milestone in our journey to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine to the world and we now have a more complete picture of both the efficacy and safety profile of our vaccine, giving us confidence in its potential.
"The companies will be ready to distribute the vaccine candidate within hours after authorisation".
European regulators are also expected to move quickly on the vaccine and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said this could be as early as the second half of December.
Earlier today Mr Hancock revealed that the UK is "weeks away" from a vaccine programme.
It will start with NHS staff, the vulnerable and the elderly, and make its way down through the age groups after that.
And it could mean people could get the flu jab and the coronavirus vaccine at the same time in the near future, he said.
He said the likely biggest rollout would take place in the New Year, but added: "We still hold out the hope we might get some going in December this year."
This afternoon it was revealed that the NHS is set to roll out its coronavirus vaccine programme for the under-50s as early as January.
Documents seen by the publication are dated November 13 and were shared amongst regional NHS leaders yesterday.
The documents set out which groups of people will get the jab first.
The pencilled-in dates would rely on seven million jabs being available by next month.
There has been some anti-vax sentiment in the UK and the current NHS plan relies on there being a 75 per cent take up on vaccine programmes.
Firefighters will join a specially trained army of 40,000 extra workers recruited to roll out Pfizer jabs at record speed — with up to one million a day forecast.
NHS bosses will target retired doctors and nurses to help, as well as other workers with first-aid skills, such as firefighters, PCSOs and members of the Armed Forces.
Trainee medics and nurses, as well as other frontline health workers, will also be called upon under the radical new drive to beat the virus.
All will receive specialist training before delivering the Pfizer vaccine to Brits — supported by an additional 30,000-strong army of St John Ambulance volunteers.
Every major city will get a dedicated mass vaccination centre, with 50 initially planned in Nightingale hospitals, sports arenas and town halls.
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A further 1,000 smaller Covid immunisation sites will be dotted across England.
NHS bosses want every GP practice to be able to deliver the coronavirus vaccine to patients in the long-term, according to details leaked to the Health Service Journal.