UK first in the world to approve use of Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

In what is a global record from development to approval, Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in the United Kingdom.

The vaccine, which was shown to be 95 per cent effective in late-stage trials, could start being rolled out to people in the UK within a matter of days.

The process of creating a new vaccine can take up to a decade, and the speed at which pharmaceutical companies have developed this vaccine is unprecedented.

Several other companies are also in the race to get their vaccine out to the public.

Moderna recently applied for authorisation of its vaccine in the United States and in Singapore.

Their vaccine has been shown to be 94.1 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19, and the company is currently in talks with the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in Singapore.

Earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said that Singapore is pursuing the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines with “a number of pharmaceutical companies”.

Authorities are also supporting local efforts to develop a vaccine and build up vaccine manufacturing capabilities.