The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are thought to have arrived in the UK, shortly after the regulator said it could be rolled out.
The first jabs will be administered by the NHS on Tuesday, according to Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers.
Of the 40 million shots of the Pfizer vaccine ordered by the British government, 800,000 are expected to reach the UK by next week.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) defended the speed of its approval decision, saying it had “rigorously assessed the data in the shortest time possible, without compromising the thoroughness of our review”.
It comes as infection rates dropped across all regions of England except in the North East, according to new data.
You can follow how Friday’s coronavirus news developed by browsing the blog below, which is now finished.
