The AstraZeneca and Oxford University vaccine could be given regulatory approval by the by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency next week as Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirms that the researchers have sent in their final set of data.
Professor Sir John Bell, Oxford University’s Regius professor of medicine, has also confirmed that the dats has been sent and said that that he expects the Oxford vaccine to get MHRA approval “pretty shortly.”
Speaking to the Radio 4 Today programme he said ““I would expect some news pretty shortly, I doubt we will make Christmas now but just after Christmas I would expect.
“And I have no concerns whatsoever, the data looks better than ever.”
Approval of the Oxford vaccine would be a major boost to vaccination efforts as it is easier to distribute than the Pfizer/BioNTech currently being used in the UK.
The Government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine which has already started to be manufactured, with around 40 million doses available by the end of March.
