The Government has formally asked its medical regulator, the MHRA, to assess the vaccine being produced by Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech, health minister Matt Hancock has announced.
“Here in the UK, the first step for authorising a vaccine is for the government formally to ask the independent regulator…, the MHRA, to assess its suitability,” Hancock told reporters, adding “I can confirm that the government has formally asked the MHRA to assess the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine for its suitability for authorisation.”
Every adult who wants a coronavirus vaccine can get one by Easter, the NHS believes. The health service aims to start vaccinating over-80s and its own staff within a month, with all older people offered the jab in early January, according to leaked documents.
Britain recorded a further 511 deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test on Friday.There were 22,287 people who tested positive for COVID-19 in the latest daily figures, down from 22,915 cases recorded on Thursday.
Sage scientists said they believe the coronavirus epidemic in the North West of England is now shrinking, with R estimated to be between 0.8 and 1 in that region.
However, they cautioned Covid-19 incidence and prevalence remain high in the region, with associated levels of healthcare demand and mortality.
Across the rest of the country the number between 1.0 and 1.1is down slightly from last week’s estimate, which was between 1.0 and 1.2.
The number of COVID-19 infections in England appears to have levelled off in recent weeks, Britain’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) have said .
The ONS said daily COVID infections in England rose by an estimated 38,900 in the most recent week, to November 14, down from around 50,000 the week before.“The incidence rate appears to have levelled off in recent weeks,” it said in a statement.
Overall prevalence of COVID-19 infections however rose to 1 in 80 people from 1 in 85 the previous week.
