Now for the rocket boosters

摘要

THIS YEAR more than 600,000 Britons received an early Christmas present: a Pfizer covid-19 vaccine. The early start of the roll-out-enabled by the speedy work of the country's regulator, the mhra-puts Britain near the front of the global pack. Only Bahrain and Israel have delivered more doses per person (see chart). The government had hoped things would be faster still, only for delays at Pfizer to put a spanner in the works. January will be a different story. The firm's factories are now up to speed. And on December 30th, the MHRA gave emergency authorisation to another vaccine, from As-traZeneca and Oxford University. This one is cheaper, easier to distribute and more plentiful. The plan is for mass vaccination centres to dish out hundreds of thousands of doses a day, quickly reducing the number of deaths. Distribution will begin on January 4th.