Pfizer and its partner BioNTech confirmed they will apply for emergency use authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine, becoming the first to do so in the US or Europe as the pandemic rages around the world.
The vaccine has been developed with breathtaking speed - just 10 months after the genetic code of the novel coronavirus was first sequenced.
The announcement had been expected for several days, after the companies said that a completed study of trials of the product showed it was 95% effective in protecting people from infection.
The announcement also confirms what BioNTech's CEO told AFP yesterday. "Filing in the US represents a critical milestone in our journey to deliver a Covid-19 vaccine to the world and we now have a more