The coronavirus pandemic has made the whole year seem glum, as the numbers climb more and more every day. However, the Pfizer vaccine could be the light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. 

The Pfizer vaccine, which underwent all required trials this summer, has been approved by the United Kingdom because of the 95% effectiveness rate in its Phase 3 trial. According to CNN, the United Kingdom has ordered 40 million doses of this vaccine, two shots per person, and will start to distribute the vaccine to the most vulnerable: the elderly. Residents in care homes and their caregivers will be the first to receive the vaccine. Afterward, UK citizens that are 80 years old or older, the frontline healthcare workers and social care workers are next. 

The approval of this vaccine is from months of clinical trials and analyzing data. The UK department of Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) concluded that this vaccine has met the effectiveness requirements and all safety and quality standards. Ugur Sahin, the CEO of BioNTech, called the approval process, “a historic moment in the fight against Covid-19.”

Citizens of the U.K. who have already received the vaccine, like Margaret Keenan, are happy to receive the shot. Keenan, who is 91 years old, explains how the shot was “wonderful” because it will help bring her family back together and is a step in the right direction for humanity. The Pfizer vaccine has been approved in the United States and is now in the process of vaccinating our healthcare workers.