"biontech"

The Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is already approved for use in adults and adolescents aged 16 years and above.

Hong Kong is still grappling with coronavirus outbreaks and stringent social distancing measures that are especially hard on bars, restaurants and the tourism industry.

BioNTech and Fosun Pharma have not found any reason to believe the product is unsafe, according to a statement by the Hong Kong government.

According to CNN, blood serum samples from people who had received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine "efficiently" neutralised a version of the virus.

The US and German companies said in a statement that the doses come on top of the 300 million initially ordered.

The research, published in the journal Nature Medicine, noted that the vaccine is effective against coronavirus variants carrying the N501Y and E484K mutations.

"In order to respond to an increased global demand, we plan to manufacture two billion doses of our Covid-19 vaccine in 2021 by expanding the previously expected output of 1.3 billion doses by more than 50 per cent," BioNTech said in a statement

In a yet-to-be peer reviewed research, scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch, tested the ability of blood serum from 20 individuals immunised with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to neutralise coronavirus engineered to carry the new mutations

In a virtual press conference this week, Sahin spoke about the potential virus deadline when asked when life could return to normal.

We're grateful for all the scientists, researchers, manufacturing workers, and service members, who have worked tirelessly to make this breakthrough possible. It is truly a Christmas miracle, said the US president

A person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the deal is under discussion but has not been finalised.

The variant, detected mainly in London and the southeast of England in recent weeks, has sparked concern worldwide because of signs that it may spread more easily.

All citizens over 80 years of age as well as residents and staff of nursing homes would be among the first to get vaccinated, Xinhua news agency quoted Spahn as saying at a press conference on Friday.

The European Union is under massive pressure to approve potential vaccines after Britain and the United States began rolling out a drug produced by Pfizer and BioNtech.

In the past week, the US, the worst-hit nation, has reported an average of more than 215,000 new infections a day.

Bahrain plans to inoculate everyone 18 years and older in the kingdom at 27 different medical facilities, hoping to be able to vaccinate 10,000 people a day.

The UK will be the first country in the world to start using the Pfizer vaccine after regulators approved its use last week.

Priority groups will include care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

The move comes a day after rival Moderna said it was asking US and European regulators to allow emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine.

The scientific head of the US operation to develop a vaccine, Moncef Slaoui said Monday that the green light would probably come in December.