The EU's medical regulator has authorized the use of the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. If the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, greenlights the drug, inoculations can start across Europe.
It’s a decisive moment in our efforts to deliver safe & effective vaccines to Europeans!
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) December 21, 2020
The @EMA_News just issued a positive scientific opinion on the #BioNTech / @pfizer vaccine.
Now we will act fast. I expect a @EU_Commission decision by this evening.
"Now we will act fast. I expect a @EU_Commission decision by this evening," Ursula von der Leyen, the commission's president, said in a tweet on Monday.
"Our thorough evaluation means that we can confidently assure EU citizens of the safety and efficacy of this vaccine and that it meets necessary quality standards," Emer Cooke, the executive director of the European Medicines Agency, said in a statement.
The European regulator authorized the use of the vaccine in people 16 or older, as U.S. federal officials did earlier this month. The U.K., no longer a member of the EU, is also already carrying out inoculations with the Pfizer vaccine.
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