UK unveils new measures to support mass rollout of safe COVID-19 vaccines

A raft of measures to allow the safe future mass rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine have been outlined by the government, the British Department of Health and Social Care announced Friday, reported Xinhua.

According to the announcement, the measures include reinforced safeguards to support the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to grant temporary authorization for the use of a new COVID-19 vaccine, provided it meets the highest safety and quality standards.

The measures also include expanding the trained workforce who can administer COVID-19 and flu vaccines, as well as clarifying the scope of the protection from civil liability for the additional workforce that could be allowed to administer vaccinations.

"We are making progress in developing COVID-19 vaccines which we hope will be important in saving lives, protecting healthcare workers and returning to normal in future," said Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England.

He also emphasized it's important to make the vaccines available to patients as quickly as possible but only once strict safety standards have been met.

The measures could come into force by October, ahead of the winter season, the announcement said.

To protect people from the infectious coronavirus, countries like China, Britain and the United States are racing against time to develop effective vaccines.