The British government is preparing to invoke emergency powers to allow the use of a coronavirus vaccine for the public, even if it has not met EU licensing requirements, the i newspaper reported.
The UK would use its own emergency regulations to bypass EU law and roll out a vaccine for use if one became available before the end of the Brexit transition agreement on December 31.
A public consultation on the plans was due to close on Friday, and the government sought to calm fears that it would rush through an unsafe treatment.
It said the emergency authorisation of an unlicensed vaccine would only be given after regulators were convinced of its safety and effectiveness.
“A Covid-19 vaccine would only be authorised in this way if the UK’s licensing authority was satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate the safety, quality and efficacy of the vaccine,” the consultation document read.
“This temporary authorisation process exists to address the possibility that, in certain situations of public health need, the licensing authority may consider that the balance of risk and benefit to patients justifies the temporary supply of the relevant vaccine pending the issue of a product licence.”
Britain has suffered one of the world’s most severe outbreaks of the virus.
Almost 385,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported since the pandemic took hold, and the country has registered more than 40,000 deaths from Covid-19.
After battling back a first wave of infections in the spring, cases are mounting again.
The government on Thursday announced strict new lockdown measures for parts of the country’s north-east in an effort to stave off rising infections.
Some two million people are affected by new the orders restricting social gatherings, including home visits.
The government is facing renewed criticism over its handling of the outbreak, with severe testing shortages in England drawing ire as infections climb.
The country reported a further 3,395 cases on Thursday. It was the sixth time in the past week that more than 3,000 cases had been reported.
_______________
-
Workers move beds as they demolish installations at Wuhan's first makeshift hospital built to treat patients infected by Covid-19 in China's central Hubei province. AFP -
Workers demolish installations at Wuhan's first makeshift hospital built to treat patients infected by Covid-19 in China's central Hubei province. AFP -
Residents of the rural community of Yura, close to the city of Arequipa in southern Peru, participate in the burial of their mayor Angel Benavente, who died after contracting Covid-19, with an outdoor mass and an animated funeral possession. AFP -
People stroll down Bordeaux's main shopping street Sainte-Catherine, where wearing a mask is compulsory to prevent the spread of Covid-19. The fine for non-compliance with wearing a mask is 135 euros. AFP -
Tourists enjoy a visit to the Christ The Redeemer statue, at the Corcovado Hill, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the reopening day of touristic attractions in the city amid the pandemic. AFP -
Frontline workers hold Indian national flags as part of the Independence Day celebrations in Kolkata. AFP -
Aymara indigenous people attend a rally demanding Bolivia's President Jeanine Anez's resignation, amid the coronavirus pandemic, in El Alto, on the outskirts of La Paz. Reuters -
A man wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walks back home from work in Germiston, near Johannesburg, South Africa. AP Photo -
LAB24 team members conduct Covid-19 tests at the Mexican Consulate's parking lot in Miami, Florida, USA. EPA -
A traveler reacts next to a TUI travel company stand at Palma de Mallorca's Airport in Palma, Balearic Islands, Spain. TUI canceled all its flights to Spain, including Balearic Islands and excepting Canary Islands, after a recommendation from the German government. EPA -
People watch a drive-in music concert amid the coronavirus pandemic in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. Bali has reopened to domestic tourists and the government has hinted at the possibility of opening to international travelers in September. EPA -
A man checks his smartphone while sitting inside a shopping mall in Hanoi. AFP
