The European Commission gave approval on Monday for the use of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by U.S. company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, the final step to allowing Europe to fully start vaccination within a week.
European Union countries including Germany, 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 the roll-out began earlier this month.
The newly Vaccine coming from Moderna Inc got approved on Friday night in the United States, distribution began on Sunday. While the two other vaccines from Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca are awaiting government approval.