COVID-19 Vaccine Update: EU Advances Date to Review Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine to December 21
The European Union's Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday moved up the date of the meeting to review the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to December 21 from 23. According to reports, the decision was taken under pressure from Germany.
Berlin, December 15: The European Union's Medicines Agency (EMA) on Tuesday moved up the date of the meeting to review the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine to December 21 from 23. According to reports, the decision was taken under pressure from Germany as the country wanted the EU's approval of BioNTech/Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine before Christmas. UK: 2 Workers Show Allergic Reactions After Receiving Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine, MHRA Issues Warning.
"It will be the first regular approval of a COVID-19 vaccine in the world," reported Reuters quoting German Health Minister Jens Spahn as saying. Earlier this month, the EMA had said that it would review the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine by December 29 and Moderna's vaccine on January 12. On December 1, Pfizer and BioNTech submitted the formal application regarding the clearance of the vaccine. COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Pfizer And BioNTech Seek EU Approval for Coronavirus Vaccine.
The United Kingdom was the first country to give emergency approval to Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine against the deadly virus. However, after two people vaccinated against coronavirus with Pfizer's BNT162b2 developed allergic reactions, UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has warned people who have a history of "significant" allergic reactions not to take the vaccine.
Pfizer and another US company, Moderna, have broken all vaccine development speed records in their race for a cure over the last nine months. Pfizer and BioNTech expect to produce a total of 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2020 09:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).