NADHIM ZAHAWI
Minister for Covid vaccine deployment
OUR brilliant scientists have done it again. The authorisation of the Oxford University/ AstraZeneca vaccine is the best news we could have hoped for as we head into 2021.
The UK was the first in the world to approve the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine and we are again leading the world with confirmation that the latest vaccine has been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ( MHRA). This is a game changer.
Our wonderful NHS is working tirelessly to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of people with the Pfizer/ BioNTech vaccine, despite the significant logistical hurdles.
The Oxford University/ AstraZeneca vaccine will allow us to vaccinate more people more quickly because it can be transported far more easily.
And it is highly effective in preventing the disease, including in the elderly.
This is a UK success story to be proud of. In 2016, the UK Vaccine Network provided funding to support Oxford University to develop a vaccine for MERS. The technology was then rapidly repurposed to develop a Covid- 19 vaccine using funding from the National Institute for Health Research and UK Research and Innovation fund.
In April the Government released £ 20million so that Oxford clinical trials could commence immediately. Our scientists worked at remarkable speed and we salute them, and all the volunteers, who signed up.
Following the trials, the MHRA concluded that the vaccine met the strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
The UK government has now made every effort to increase the manufacturing capability to ensure the vaccine is widely available. It is being made in Oxfordshire and Staffordshire and filled into vials in North Wales.
And thanks to the UK’s significant investment in COVAX, the World Health Organisation scheme, the vaccine will also be made available to low- income countries.
But widespread vaccination will take time, and so I implore everyone to play their part in helping our NHS and care workers by following the rules. Remember the importance of hands, face, space.