This is an historic moment. The beginning of the end of the pandemic. And it starts here in the UK, the first country to licence a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pfizer/BioNTech jab was shown in clinical trials to prevent 95% of COVID cases. And it works just as well in the elderly, who are most at risk of serious illness from the virus.
With at least 59,000 deaths in the UK, 1.5 million worldwide, never has a vaccine been in greater need.
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The UK medical regulator has been reviewing data on safety and effectiveness as it came in from clinical trials in recent weeks, so it was able to give it the green light just a week after the companies formally applied for emergency use authorisation.
The first of 40 million doses – enough for 20 million people – will be shipped in the next few days from the company’s manufacturing plant in Belgium, with the first people receiving the vaccine early next week.
Government vaccination advisers are finalising the order of priority for protection.
Draft recommendations over the summer put care home residents and staff top of the list, because of their vulnerability.
But the vaccine needs to be stored at -70 degrees, so it is possible that they will put health workers first, with immunisation hubs being formed in hospitals around the country.
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NHS ‘stands ready’ for COVID vaccine rollout
Much has been made of the ultra-cold temperature needed for the vaccine. That’s because it contains a fragment of fragile RNA, the genetic material from the coronavirus.
Pfizer will pack vials in dry ice in special containers able to maintain the required temperature for up to 30 days. The vaccine can then be thawed and stored in a fridge for 5 days.
So it is possible that it will also be sent from hospitals out to GP-run vaccination centres, where older, but still active, people will be asked to come for their jab.
There should be enough for five million people in the country by the end of the year according to the UK Vaccine Taskforce, with the rest of the doses arriving in early 2021.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is also reviewing the data on another vaccine made by Moderna, with approval likely within days. The UK has pre-ordered enough of that jab for 3.5 million people.
And not far behind is the Oxford vaccine, though approval may be delayed while AstraZeneca gathers more evidence on the tweaked dose used in clinical trials.
It is extraordinary that the world has a vaccine just 11 months after the World Health Organisation warned of a new viral threat emerging from China.
The challenge now is getting it into the arms of those who need it most.