U.K. approves Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for emergency use

Hospitals in England will start vaccinating medical workers as early as next week. Wednesday's authorization makes Britain the first country to approve the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine for widespread use. Early study results report the vaccine is 95 percent effective at preventing mild to severe coronavirus infections.

How will the rollout work? The United Kingdom said it would start giving shots to frontline health workers and nursing home residents, followed by older adults. The government has ordered vaccines for up to 20 million people, but not all the shots would be available immediately. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will debate data on Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines later this month.

Dig deeper: Read Katie Gaultney’s report on the volunteers who stepped up to help with vaccine development.