Britain is set to be the first nation to use the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week, making the shot available at hospitals and then distributing stocks to doctors’ clinics.
According to British authorities, the first doses are set to be administered on Tuesday, with the National Health Service (NHS) giving top priority to vaccinating the over-80s, frontline healthcare workers and care home staff and residents.
Around 40 million doses – enough to vaccinate 20 million people in the country of 67 million, was purchased by the British government.
About 800,000 doses are expected to be available within the first week.
Britain is among the first nations to roll out vaccinations outside the context of a clinic trial, while Russia began distributing its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine through 70 clinics in Moscow on Saturday, although the shot has not finished its final trials.
