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Generally approval of this is fast-tracked everywhere, but the UK being first is a political marketing stunt in my opinion. The UK government is in dire need t

Generally approval of this is fast-tracked everywhere, but the UK being first is a political marketing stunt in my opinion. The UK government is in dire need to demonstrate positive aspects of leaving the EU, and being able to independently greenlight this vaccine first is one particularly well suited for PR. The Brits love their NHS system and healthcare in general, so hitting it home on that turf resonates with them. Ceasing this opportunity is especially important because all the other aspects of Brexit are just about to hurt the Brits big time next year, with the EU transitional period running out at the end of this year, with effectively no trade deal whatsoever in place to replace it, and Trump having been thrown out of office and most of the British prime ministers' hopes for an advantageous and quick trade deal with the US being dumped together with him.

Mauricebranagh 6y ago
Well there's a lot of pressure on the government Boris Johnson is facing a lot of pressure from his MP's in particular the red wall (former labour held constituencies in then north)
Slartie 6y ago
To all the downvoters: they even openly kind-of-admit it, I've now got proof from the mouth of Matt Hancock, UK health secretary: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/hancock-brexit-helped-uk-to-speedy-approval-of-covid-vaccine https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/hancock-brexit... Money Quote: "...because of Brexit we’ve been able to make a decision to do this based on the UK regulator, a world-class regulator, and not go at the pace of the Europeans, who are moving a little bit more slowly."
- _fizz_buzz_ 6y ago
  The EU already clarified that each member state is free to grant emergency approvals. So the UK could have done what they did while inside the EU.
- akadruid1 6y ago
  The BBC's fact check column noticed that too and confirmed there was no truth to it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55163730 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55163730
  - Slartie 6y ago
    Interesting. However, this does not undermine my original claim - actually I think it even increases its viability. The undisputable fact that several UK officials specifically praise Brexit as the enabler for this quick approval process, even though it actually was not necessary at all (which they possibly even knew in the first place), increases the likelihood that there was at least some political motivation behind the quick approval move. Whether the statements of the politicians are true or not does not matter with regard to the PR value of them; the only thing that matters is what the general public knows, and not knowing that the UK could have made a national approval even if still part of the EU is probably widespread.

Mauricebranagh 6y ago

Well there's a lot of pressure on the government Boris Johnson is facing a lot of pressure from his MP's in particular the red wall (former labour held constituencies in then north)

Slartie 6y ago

To all the downvoters: they even openly kind-of-admit it, I've now got proof from the mouth of Matt Hancock, UK health secretary: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/hancock-brexit-helped-uk-to-speedy-approval-of-covid-vaccine https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/hancock-brexit... Money Quote: "...because of Brexit we’ve been able to make a decision to do this based on the UK regulator, a world-class regulator, and not go at the pace of the Europeans, who are moving a little bit more slowly."

_fizz_buzz_ 6y ago
The EU already clarified that each member state is free to grant emergency approvals. So the UK could have done what they did while inside the EU.
akadruid1 6y ago
The BBC's fact check column noticed that too and confirmed there was no truth to it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55163730 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/55163730
- Slartie 6y ago
  Interesting. However, this does not undermine my original claim - actually I think it even increases its viability. The undisputable fact that several UK officials specifically praise Brexit as the enabler for this quick approval process, even though it actually was not necessary at all (which they possibly even knew in the first place), increases the likelihood that there was at least some political motivation behind the quick approval move. Whether the statements of the politicians are true or not does not matter with regard to the PR value of them; the only thing that matters is what the general public knows, and not knowing that the UK could have made a national approval even if still part of the EU is probably widespread.