UK approves first COVID-19 vaccine rollout

The UK on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve the COVID-19 vaccine developed by U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC that the vaccine will be rolled out from early next week, shortly after it was confirmed that the jab had been approved by the UK medicines regulator.

"We'll start with those who are most vulnerable to coronavirus... And then once we've started to protect the most vulnerable, it will help us all get back to normal and back to all the things that we love," he said.

The UK expects to have millions of doses of the Pfizer vaccine available by the end of the year.