Commons Sense

It is hard to imagine any better news than we got this week. The UK has become the first country in the world to approve a viable coronavirus vaccine.

The Pfizer / Biontech vaccine is the first in a long line of vaccines on the pathway from development to safe deployment from universities and private companies across the globe.

So we must take our hats off to our Government for having had the foresight to support and secure a diverse portfolio of vaccines with a variety of attributes, benefits, and technologies. For example, the Pfizer vaccine utilises a form of nanotechnology to mimic coronavirus, whereas the Oxford vaccine, of which the UK has secured 100 million doses, acts in a more traditional way by introducing antibodies to the body.

The beauty of this vaccine is that it has gone through all of the usual rigorous safety and efficacy processes and checks to win approval by the world-leading MHRA, the UK’s independent regulator for vaccines and medicines.

I must admit that along with many of my colleagues, I was hopeful but doubtful that we would see a viable vaccine deployed this quickly, let alone three!

This is game changer. We now have a clear path out of this crisis which will see life return to normality in the not-too-distant future.

It will take several months for a sufficient proportion of the population to have been vaccinated for all restrictions to be lifted. Until then we must maintain our discipline to save as many lives and livelihoods as possible.