Covid-19 vaccine: Is Pfizer approval hasty? Can Indians get vaccinated in UK? All you need to know

Britain on Wednesday raced past the United States and Europe as its regulator cleared Pfizer vaccine candidate for emergency use. The vaccine will be rolled out from early next week in Britain. The approval in a record time has led to some suspicion as well as curiosities.

Here is all you need to know:

1. The vaccine is about 95 per cent effective at preventing Covid-19.

2. From January onwards, some 60 million to 70 million doses of the vaccine could be available per month.

3. The World Health Organization is reviewing the vaccine for possible listing for emergency use.

4. The European Union criticised Britain’s rapid approval of Pfizer. Pfizer is a US company and BioNTech is a German company. Neither the US nor Germany has yet approved the vaccine.

5. The vaccine makers, however, have assured that no corners have been cut and the vaccine shot has not been developed in a short span of time. It is the cumulative results since SARS and MERS outbreaks.

6. The vaccine, as it was claimed, needs a temperature of minus 70 degrees Celcius for long-time storage.

7. However, it can be stored in normal refrigeration for a shorter period of time.

8. India didn’t conduct any trial of Pfizer vaccine. Talking about the vaccine, top officials earlier said that India may not need to procure Pfizer. Even if it does, it would not happen immediately.

9. A report said Indian travel agents are receiving enquiries for UK trip as several Indians want to get the benefit of the mass vaccination drive.

10. It might not be that easy for tourists from India to get the vaccine shot. Boris Johnson, who might take the vaccine shot on television to show it is safe, has warned people of the UK that there are several logistical challenges. He has urged UK people to not be carried away with over-optimism.