From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
UK launches COVID vaccine drive, kicking off global immunization push
LONDON — A 90-year-old retired British shop clerk has received the first shot in the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program, signaling the start of a global immunization effort intended to offer a route out of a pandemic that has killed 1.5 million.
The UK is the first Western country to start a mass vaccination program after regulators authorized the use of the shot developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech. United States and European Union authorities may approve the vaccine in the coming days.
Britain’s program is likely to provide lessons for other countries as they prepare for the unprecedented task of vaccinating billions of people. Britain has received 800,000 doses of the vaccine. The first shots will go to people over 80 and nursing home staff.
— AP
The Times of Israel Community.