Covid-19 vaccine for general use, while Japan and Italy pledged free inoculations for all even as the global death toll rose towards 1.5 million.Just 12 months after the pandemic broke out in China, the UK's independent medicines regulator gave a green light to the BioNTech-Pfizer drug in double-quick time but insisted safety had come first."Everybody can be confident that no corners whatsoever have been cut," said Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) chief executive June Raine. "The public deserve nothing less."Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the move heralded a vaccination programme "that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again".His government said some 800,000 doses would be.