AstraZeneca and Oxford Covid vaccine approved for UK rollout

UK regulatory health officials have approved the vaccine made by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for rollout to begin supplementing the ongoing inoculation scheme in place since early last month.

This places the UK at the forefront of immunisation in the west as the new jab marks the second vaccine approved for use in the UK as the nation braces to permanently deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

The AstraZeneca vaccine had previously shown promising results in clinical trials - particularly for the over-70s - which makes it ideal given the current priorities for vaccination in the elderly, vulnerable and frontline workers.

Read more: AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine trial shows promising results in over-70s

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was rolled out in the UK at the beginning of December and marked the beginning of the UK's scheme to immunise the public against Covid-19.

The same vaccine also became the first Western Covid vaccine to be used in China as the government ordered 100 milliom doses to help immunise its massive population.

The Chinese government has already been using domestically-sourced vaccines for months - a policy which has drawn widespread criticism from medical professionals due to a lack of transparency over its efficacy rates. 

530,000 doses of the new vaccine are ready for use at six clinics across Britain.

Dialysis patient Brian Pinker from Oxford was the first person in the country to receive the AstraZeneca jab.

The 82-year-old said he was "really proud" the vaccine was developed in his hometown.

Mr Pinker added: "The nurses, doctors and staff today have all been brilliant and I can now really look forward to celebrating my 48th wedding anniversary with my wife Shirley later this year."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast the Oxford vaccine rollout was a "pivotal moment" in the fight against coronavirus.

Hancock said he plans to "reduce bureaucracy" regarding volunteers signing up for the various NHS inoculation centres to help administer the new vaccines in an efficient and timely manner.

Read more: NHS to prepare dozens of vaccination centres for mass inoculation

He revealed the UK has already put out more than one million vaccines - more than the rest of Europe put together.

Hancock said: “[It's] a triumph of British science that we’ve managed to get where we are. Right at the start, we saw that the vaccine was the only way out long term.”

The government have reportedly secured 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The jab is far easier to store than its Pfizer counterpart owing to the higher temperatures it can be placed in without spoiling.

Hundreds more sites across the UK will begin to see rollout of the vaccine in the coming days with the hope that tens of millions of jabs will be administered within a few months.

This brings the UK well in line in their original goals for mass immunisation as the government attempts to get the economy back up and running again.

Initial vaccine hope has not dissuaded industry sectors - such as aerospace, in a scheme lead by British Airways - from introducing measures to prevent further lockdown restrictions in order to get their businesses up and running again.

Read more: Vaccine hope has not dissuaded aviation sector from mandatory testing

As 2020 drew to a close, more traditional sectors, such as oil, saw decreases owing to a year-long slump in demand.

Vaccine news has lead industry analysts to predict that these sectors will return to a degree of normality in 2021, but there are concerns demand may take years to get back to pre-pandemic levels as members of the public will be wary of the virus for years to come.

Fourth-quarter economic slumps were predicted for countries such as Germany, which relies heavily on industry, but the true effects of Christmas lockdowns have yet to be revealed.

Many countries have taken the pandemic as an excuse to bring in shifts towards greener energy in their coronavirus recovery plans.

Germany has extended its stimulus package on the sale of electric vehicles until 2025 as the entire bloc attempts to meet the criteria laid out in the European Green Deal, and the UK has vowed that all homes will be powered by offshore wind energy by 2030.

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