Britain has become the first country in the world to authorize a rigorously tested COVID-19 vaccine and could be dispensing shots within days.
It's a historic step toward eventually ending the scourge that has killed more than 1.4 million people around the globe.
The go-ahead for the vaccine developed by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech comes as the virus surges again in the United States and Europe, putting pressure on hospitals and morgues in some places and forcing new rounds of restrictions that have devastated economies.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency recommended the vaccine could be used after it reviewed the results of clinical trials that showed the vaccine was 95% effective overall - and that it also offered significant protection for older people.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is not scheduled to consider the vaccine until Dec. 10.
Related: CDC Votes 13-1: First COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Will Be Health Care Workers
Related: Moderna to Ask Regulators to OK Virus Vaccine
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