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Coronavirus pandemic
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EU approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

  • The European Medicines Agency said the step paves the way for vaccinations to start across the European Union within days
  • The drug regulator had been under pressure from EU governments to authorise the vaccine, as Covid-19 cases surge

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The headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Amsterdam. The body has approved the conditional use of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine. Photo: EPA-EFE
Agence France-Presse
The EU’s drug regulator authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on Monday, saying there was no evidence it would not work against a new strain found mainly in Britain.
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The European Medicines Agency said the “historic” step paved the way for vaccinations to finally start within days across the 27-nation European Union, where cases of the disease are surging.

The Amsterdam-based regulator moved the decision forward from December 29 under pressure from EU governments, after Britain and the United States gave the green light weeks earlier.

“It is a significant step forward in the fight against this pandemic that is causing suffering and hardship,” EMA chief Emer Cooke told an online press conference as she announced the decision.

Nurse May Parsons administers the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine to Margaret Keenan, 90, at University Hospital in Coventry, England, on December 9, making Keenan the first person to receive the vaccine. Photo: AFP
Nurse May Parsons administers the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine to Margaret Keenan, 90, at University Hospital in Coventry, England, on December 9, making Keenan the first person to receive the vaccine. Photo: AFP
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“This is really a historic scientific achievement. Within less than a year a vaccine will have been developed and authorised against this disease.”

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