US on verge of approving Pfizer vaccine for emergency use

The Pfizer vaccine may receive emergency-use authorisation, US regulators said on Tuesday as Britain became the first country to administer doses, kicking off the western world’s Covid immunisation campaign.

A report by the US Food and Drug Administration said the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE was highly effective in preventing Covid-19 and raised no safety concerns over its use.

The regulatory body may clear the vaccine for distribution after a public meeting on Thursday, allowing as many as 6.4 million initial doses to be rolled out as part of a vast immunisation effort designed to end a pandemic that has killed more than 283,000 Americans.

The findings, posted on the agency’s website Tuesday, echoed previously disclosed data from the companies that showed the vaccine was 95 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19, adding that two months of trial data revealed no significant safety issues.

In their report, FDA staff wrote that analyses “showed similar efficacy point estimates across age groups, genders, racial and ethnic groups, and participants with medical comorbidities associated with high risk of severe Covid-19.” Common side effects included injection-site reactions, fatigue and headache.

In the Middle East, Jordan has announced initial agreements with three pharmaceutical multi-nationals to buy coronavirus vaccines as the country grapples with a spike in infections and economic problems worsened by the pandemic.

Health Minister Nizar Obeidat told reporters on Monday that the government will buy the vaccines made by American companies Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, as well as Britain’s AstraZeneca once they become available. But vaccination against the coronavirus will not be mandatory in the country of ten million people, he said.

In the UAE, residents have been warned of the dangerous implications of underestimating Covid-19 safety measures and told to remain committed to the country's fight against the virus.

Dr Omar Al Hammadi, an official government spokesman, issued the rallying call after revealing the country's coronavirus death rate had fallen to 0.3 per cent in the past week, the lowest in the world.

Despite the encouraging statistics, he reiterated that the public cannot afford to let down their guard and must continue to act responsibly.

"Underestimating preventive measures and being lenient is extremely dangerous, so let us support the efforts of our country with our awareness and commitment to preventive measures to curb this epidemic," said Dr Al Hammadi during a regular media briefing.

The UAE on Tuesday reported 1,260 new cases of Covid-19 raising the number of infections to 178,837.

Another two people died, increasing the fatality rate to 596. The figure comes after a huge 146,020 daily tests were carried out.

Authorities said 584 have recovered from the virus, taking the number of recoveries to 160,295. Active cases stand at 17,946.