The United Kingdom on Wednesday reached a significant milestone, becoming the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Britain’s medicines regulator, says the vaccine, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe to be rolled out.

The first doses are already on their way to the UK, with 800,000 due in the coming days.

The UK has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – enough to vaccinate 20 million people.

“It’s fantastic,” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again.”

A further 648 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test were recorded in the UK on Wednesday, with another 16,170 cases reported.