Europe's medicines regulator on Monday approved the use of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by U.S. company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech , putting Europe on course to start inoculations within a week.
European Union countries including Germany, France, Austria and Italy have said they plan to start vaccinations from Dec. 27 as Europe tries to catch up with the United States and Britain, where inoculations began earlier this month.
Having gained the green light from the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the final step is approval by the European Commission, which is expected in the coming days. The Commission typically follows the EMA's advice.