Vaccine tracker: When will other coronavirus vaccines be approved in the UK?

Speaking on December 2, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said the approval followed “strict standards” set by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

They said: “The Government has today accepted the recommendation from the Independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for use.

“This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

“The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week.”