West Cornwall MP Derek Thomas has welcomed the world-first roll-out of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as a “massive boost” and hopes it marks the beginning of a brighter 2021 for the UK.
A 90-year-old woman has become the first person to be given a Covid jab as part of the mass vaccination programme after regulators approved its use last week.
The jab was the first of 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that will be given in the coming weeks. Up to four million more are expected by the end of the month.
Hubs in the UK will vaccinate over-80s and some health and care staff in the programme which aims to protect the most vulnerable and return life to normal.
“Coronavirus has meant that 2020 has been a very difficult year,” he said. “Thousands of people have died from this awful virus, many more have struggled with their health and wellbeing or economically and we have all had to suffer severe restrictions on what we can do but at last it looks like better times lie ahead.
“It has been a fantastic achievement by everyone involved in getting a safe and effective Covid vaccine from concept to approval in under a year – something which many people believed was impossible.
“The roll-out of the vaccine, which has been tested in many thousands of people in clinical trials before the independent regulator, the MHRA, gave it the green light, is a massive boost for the country.
“By spring the vast majority of those on the priority list will have been immunised with two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine - or the Oxford jab if regulators soon approve that for use – and hopefully we can all look forward to a brighter 2021.”
