'The best news EVER!': Kevin Pietersen makes demand as UK clears Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine

After drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech said on Wednesday that they've won permission for emergency use of their COVID-19 vaccine in the UK, former England cricket team captain Kevin Pietersen has called it "the best news ever." Soon after the news regarding the vaccine was out, Pietersen took to Twitter and wrote, "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM  The best news EVER! 40M doses of the vaccine available in the next couple weeks in the UK."

'World's first authorization of COVID-19 vaccine'

The move allows Britain to become one of the first countries to begin vaccinating its population as it tries to curb Europe’s deadliest outbreak. "The vaccine will be made available across the U.K. from next week,'' the Department of Health and Social Care said in a statement. The National Health Service "has decades of experience in delivering large scale vaccination programs and will begin putting their extensive preparations into action to provide care and support to all those eligible for vaccination.''

'A historic moment'

According to the Associated Press, British media have reported that hospitals in England have been told to get ready to start doing vaccinations for medical workers as early as next week. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called the U.K. decision “a historic moment.” "We are focusing on moving with the same level of urgency to safely supply a high-quality vaccine around the world,” Bourla said in a statement.

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While the U.K. has ordered enough Pfizer vaccine for 20 million people, it’s not clear how many will arrive by year’s end. Adding to the distribution challenges, the Pfizer vaccine must be stored at ultra-cold temperatures. Two doses three weeks apart are required for protection. The U.K. government has said that frontline health care workers and nursing home residents will be first in line to get vaccinated, followed by older adults.

The shots made by U.S.-based Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech were tested in tens of thousands of people. And while that study isn’t complete, early results suggest the vaccine is 95% effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease. The companies told regulators that of the first 170 infections detected in study volunteers, only eight were among people who’d received the actual vaccine and the rest had gotten a dummy shot.

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