UK grants Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine protection from legal action

World

Published: 2020-12-04 11:25

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 00:26


UK grants Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine protection from legal action
UK grants Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine protection from legal action

Thursday, the British government decided to grant Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine a legal indemnity protecting it from being sued. The United Kingdom became first country to approve Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use, and it will be ready to start vaccinating early next week.

According to the British newspaper "The Independent" Pfizer’s UK managing director, refused to explain why the company needed an indemnity, saying that “We're not actually disclosing any of the details around any of the aspects of that agreement and specifically around the liability clauses."

The British Department of Health and Social Care confirmed the company has been given an indemnity protecting it from legal action as a result of any problems with the vaccine, which means patients cannot sue the company in the event of any complications.

The vaccine will be available to anyone over the age of 16, however, it will not be available to pregnant women. On Nov.9, Pfizer and Biontech announced that the vaccine against COVID-19 they are developing is "90 percent effective."

UK is considered to be one of the most affected countries by the coronavrius crisis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, UK recorded more than 1.6 million COVID-19 cases and 60,113 deaths.