The letter asks MHRA to assess the vaccine for authorisation under Regulation 174 of the Human Medicines Regulations, which enables the temporary supply of medicines to be authorised in response to a public health need.
The MHRA has alre
ady started a rolling review to determine whether the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine meets its strict standards of safety, efficacy and quality. Once the MHRA receives the full data from the company, its team of scientists and clinicians will progress its assessment.
The UK government has already formally asked the MHRA to assess the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for its suitability for authorisation under Regulation 174.
The UK has so far secured early access to 355mn doses of seven of the most promising vaccine candidates, including: Pfizer/BioNTech (for 40mn doses), Oxford/AstraZeneca (100mn), Moderna (5mn), GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur (60mn), Novavax (60mn), Janssen (30mn) and Valneva (60mn).
Johnson on Thursday evening sounded a note of caution on relaxations announced for Christmas, asking Britons to follow guidelines strictly to prevent another spike in new cases and potentially another lockdown in early 2021. The current lockdown in England is to end on December 2, with the country moving to the earlier 3-tier alert system.