The United Kingdom on Wednesday approved the Oxford University-AstraZenecas Covid-19 vaccine for use after authorisation by the country's medicines regulator. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
The UK has already vaccinated 800,000 people with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and its rollout will continue.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses scheduled to be available by the end of March.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK will begin putting their extensive preparations into action to roll out the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, the government said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Britain will become the first country to roll out the dose on January 4.
"Brilliant to end 2020 with such a moment of hope," tweeted Hancock.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised the priority should be to give as many people in at-risk groups their first dose, rather than providing the required two doses in as short a time as possible.
"Everyone will still receive their second dose and this will be within 12 weeks of their first. The second dose completes the course and is important for long term protection," the government said.
"From today the NHS across the UK will prioritise giving the first dose of the vaccine to those in the most high-risk groups. With two vaccines now approved, we will be able to vaccinate a greater number of people who are at highest risk, protecting them from the disease and reducing mortality and hospitalisation."
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Britain is struggling with another covid-19 wave caused because of a new covid strain. On Tuesday the nation recorded 53,135 cases.
More than 71,000 people who tested positive for the infection have died so far.