that is a matter for the mhra and i will not speculate on that.t has to happen in their own time and when they are ready and we have to leave them and trust them to get on with it. we do not know numbers of vaccines. that is always in the hands of the manufacturers about what they can produce, and it is in the hands of the manufacturers and the hands of the manufacturers and the regulatory agencies around how quickly batches can be released for use if they are authorised. it is pointless are speculating on that at this point in time. but do i believe that we are now on the glide path to landing this plane? yes, i think i do. do i accept that sometimes when you are on the glide path you can have a side wind and the landing is not totally straightforward, totally textbook? of course. and this is the real science world that we live in, but, yes, ithink real science world that we live in, but, yes, i think we are on the glide path. over. the next question is from chris smith at the time. glide path. over. the next question is from chris smith at the t

hope it could be given emergency authorisation by early december, but the medicines regulator, the mhrawill be cut. although we have adapted our processes to undertake our rigorous review of effectiveness and safety in a rolling way, there is absolutely no chance that we will compromise on standards of safety or effectiveness. creating a completely new vaccine usually takes at least ten years from design and development and animal studies to clinical trials, regulatory review and production. this has been compressed tojust ten months. the clinical trial phases have been done in parallel and manufacturers have already begun large—scale production even before they know it works, so that a covid vaccine will be available as soon as regulators give the green light. the pfizer vaccine requires two doses three weeks apart. no major adverse events have been reported from the trials, involving more than 40,000 volunteers, but detailed safety and effectiveness data hasn't been published yet. the government's health advisers know public support for the vaccine will be vital. do you think it might

not regulator, the mhra, and on quantities, i am...e and they are certainly not publicising to us the different contracts they might have with other governments. i can say that we have an agreement for a0 million doses in total, which will cover two doses per person for 20 million citizens and that we are working with that company to understand what the volumes of delivery over time will look like. pfizer have said that they expect to be able to make a total of 50 million doses this year, and obviously, a lot more in 2021. june, would you like to comment on the data? i can confirm that we have started our rolling review on quality data, but we have not had yet the full clinical trial data that you are talking about and clearly, we a re that you are talking about and clearly, we are in a state of readiness to start our rigorous reviews of safety and effectiveness the minute it reaches us. thank you, tom. sarah bosley of the guardian. thank you for taking my question. the pfizer biontech vaccine that everyone has got very excited about i

rightly and morally be at the front of the queue, then i would do so, because i absolutely trust the mhran safety and efficacy. getting students home for christmas — plans for a covid testing programme before they leave their universities. 26—year—old khairi saadallah pleads guilty to the murder of three men who were stabbed to death in a park in reading. music: the last post remembering the fallen — armistice day, a century after the burial of the unknown warrior. the uk has become the first country in europe to pass 50,000 deaths from coronavirus, according to the latest government figures. in the latest 24—hour period, another 595 deaths were reported — those are people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. it means on average in the past week, 375 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 50,365. a little earlier today, the prime minister, borisjohnson, gave his reaction to the news. —— to what he described as a grim milestone. every death is a tragedy and we mourn everybody who's gone. and our feelings are with their f

this must be stressed, no vaccine has yet got an mhra approval, but we're obviously hoping that boths. before christmas, you hope? that's the hope. you know, we can't overdo it, we can't let our optimism run away with us. but we have every reason now to be very hopeful that these vaccines really will turn the tide in the struggle against the disease and unlock notjust this country, but unlock the whole of the world and give people finally a sense of relief and salvation after a year in which humanity has basically been unable to move forward. some wider questions on behalf of some reliable sources, on the tier system, why can't you convince everybody this the right way forward, including your own mps? well, as we come out of the present autumn restrictions, the lockdown, into the tiers on wednesday, first thing on wednesday morning, we've got to remember that we've achieved a huge amount. so if you look at where we were on november the 5th going into lockdown, the disease was climbing really pretty steeply. there's no question that the collective action of this country arrested that

vaccine safety procedures have been through, that we make sure that has all been done correctly, the mhra testing, seen as a means of exiting tier three, is being extended to redcar and cleveland, and teesside. if all this doesn't keep the rebellion down on tuesday, the government might need labour votes, but these will come at a price. there is no extra support for businesses in tier three and the hospitality industry has been hard hit at christmas. so we've got real concerns there. but also, we want to know how different parts of the country can come out of their tiers. borisjohnson says he wants to squeeze the disease, but first he'll have to squeeze the rebellion in his own ranks. iain watson, bbc news, westminster. voters in switzerland will decide later on whether or not to make businesses financially and legally liable for human rights violations or environmental damage. if the swiss vote in favour in the referendum, the country could impose some of the world's strictest corporate responsibility rules. recent polls indicate that a slim majority supports the initiative to amend the

it is the job of the regulator, the mhra, to look at the safety, effectiveness and quality of the vaccinesn supplying rolling trial data. that could help speed up the process. so a decision could happen within the next fortnight. the government has said that if one is approved, it would be in a position to start roll—out before christmas. it has bought 40 million doses of the pfizer vaccine, 100 million of the oxford one, both given as two doses, but it is thought the bulk of vaccination would start in the first part of next year, with the hope that most over 50s would be vaccinated by spring. vaccines are seen as the exit strategy, so we are moving closer, but we've still got to get through the difficult winter months ahead. catherine the are there. some sport coming up in a moment, but ijust wa nt to coming up in a moment, but ijust want to bring you some pictures of something we mentioned in the headlines. a miraculous survival, really, of the formula 1 driver, romain grosjean. this crash happened in bahrain. he was on the opening lap of the bahrain grand prix and his car hit the wall a

of these, the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has now been sent to the regulators, the mhra, for approvalugh the data right now, now but the biontech—pfizer vaccine was the first to start that process and it's possible we will get an answer on that soon. i understand there has been quite an interactive process with the regulators whilst these trials have been going on. i wouldn't be too surprised if an announcement is made in the next two weeks, possibly as early as next week. so what are the regulators are looking for? well, three things. safety, quality and effectiveness, and of these three the regulators keep emphasising the safety of the public must come first so they are working fast but carefully because the worst thing would be for doubts to start creeping in about these new vaccines. now, doses are already being manufactured in the hope that approval is given so everything hinges on that coming through, so when might we start to see the benefits? if approval is given next month, it's possible that the first doses could be administered ahead of christmas although people will need t

of these, the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has now been sent to the regulators, the mhra, for approval,ng through the data right now. but the biontech pfizer vaccine was the first to start that process, and it's possible we will get an answer on that very soon. my understanding is that there's been quite an interactive process with the regulators, whilst these trials have been going on, so they have actually had sight of a lot of the information ahead of time. i wouldn't be too surprised if an announcement would be made within the next two weeks, possibly even as early as next week, but we'll have to wait and see. you know, it must be rushed, it has to be safe. so what are the regulators looking for? well, three things — safety, quality and effectiveness, and of these three, the regulators keep emphasising the safety of the public must always come first. so they're working fast but carefully, because the worst thing would be for doubts to start creeping in about these new vaccines. now, doses are already being manufactured in the hope that approval is given, so everything hinges on that

of these, the oxford astrazeneca vaccine has now been sent to the regulators, the mhra, for approval,cine was the first to start that process, and it's possible we will get an answer on that very soon. my understanding is that there's been quite an interactive process with the regulators, whilst these trials have been going on, so they have actually had sight of a lot of the information ahead of time. i wouldn't be too surprised if an announcement would be made within the next two weeks, possibly even as early as next week, but we'll have to wait and see. you know, it must be rushed, it has to be safe. so what are the regulators looking for? well, three things — safety, quality and effectiveness, and of these three, the regulators keep emphasising the safety of the public must always come first. so they're working fast but carefully, because the worst thing would be for doubts to start creeping in about these new vaccines. now, doses are already being manufactured in the hope that approval is given, so everything hinges on that coming through. so, when might we start to see the benefi

and our strong and independent regulator, the m hr 80, and our strong and independent regulator, the mhraolled out, we will not know how long the effect lasts for or its impact, notjust on keeping people safe, but also on reducing transmission. as deputy chief medical officer, jonathan van—tam, said yesterday, it is like the first goal scored in a penalty shoot out. you haven't won the cup yet, but it tells you that the goalkeeper can be beaten. the health secretary there. a good analogy. talking about being one step closer toa talking about being one step closer to a new coronavirus vaccine. in politics, timing is everything. news that pfizer's coronavirus vaccine — which is still under development — is shaping up to be 90% effective, came too late for voters in the us election. something which hasn't escaped the notice of donald trump, if you look at his twitter feed. cases of coronavirus have been surging across the us 100,000 new diagnoses are being made every day, bringing the total to well over ten million. 59,000 people are now in hospital — that's the highest ever figure in the us

when they finally finish as phase three trial and it is one of the crucial details, the regulator mhraaired byjonathan van tam, the deputy chief medical officer. i think he anticipated these sorts of questions, which is why the mhra regulator were sitting there well. the bottom line is, ithink, people are going to be concerned about that. we anticipate people will be concerned about it, but no medicine pitches at the shelves or the chemist shop, a doctor's surgery or goes into a hospital unless we can be as absolution as we can that it is safe. and that is whyjonathan van tam said if i could be at the front of the queue for that vaccine, i would be. and your thoughts on that? i think it is important. vaccination is for us to give us else's, but also to give others say. asa else's, but also to give others say. as a jonathan van tam said, he had already talked to his mum and told her, if she was offered it to take the vaccine. once it was available, once the safety checks had been done because it will help to protect all of us, particularly those who are older and those who are vulnerabl

the mhra in the uk have said that they will take only may weak or two to go through the data because0 million, enough to immunise 20 million people. that makes me hopeful that some people will start to get immunised before christmas. it is only going to be a tiny proportion of the numbers needed. because we have had this really good data from pfizer on how well it protects the elderly, that will confirm that those doses will go first to elderly people who are in care homes and care home staff who have been so vulnerable throughout this pandemic. and then the over eightiesand then we should have front—line health and care workers who are very susceptible to being infected because they come across the virus all the time and then we will go down the ages in bands of five years, 75, 65... people under 50 might have to wait until next summer before having a vaccine. i don't know what evidence you can draw upon in terms of mass vaccinations across all ages, when you say the under 50 plume may be waiting until next summer, i brought it up with a doctor earlier about the cost of the vaccine,

that we do not yet have the data on the vaccines that will be available to us and authorised by the mhragroups. i am hoping so suitable for all groups. i am hoping so but that is a decision that has to be made in the future. it is very clear that the clinically extremely vulnerable are on the jcvi priority list and many of them will already be subsumed within the priority order on the provisional list by virtue of age or by virtue of having chronic underlying conditions, right down to the age of 18, so, from that perspective, i do expect there to be cove rage of perspective, i do expect there to be coverage of the clinically extremely vulnerable. thank you. the next question is from leicester. diviya asks... thank you, another excellent and important question. the answer is that it important question. the answer is thatitis important question. the answer is that it is too early for us to know what the number of cases will be as we come to the end of the current lockdown. i might ask susan to add a few more details, but what i would say is that, at the moment, most of the tests that we ar

news on that, three potential back since hopefully to be rolled out shortly once they have passed the mhraresponsible manner. the numbers end up speaking for themselves and making compliant behaviour, which seems to have a dramatic effect. it will do half of thejob on its own. i'm concerned about the whole of kent, the permanent scarring on our economy, very concerned about what is happening around coastal towns, south thanet, my constituency, in particular. you are due to vote on the government's plans for england in the commons next tuesday. what are you minded to do?” in the commons next tuesday. what are you minded to do? i am minded to vote against, because there are still too many rough edges. is this actually the formula that works? is the cure looking worse than the disease? so yes, i am the cure looking worse than the disease? so yes, iam minded the cure looking worse than the disease? so yes, i am minded to vote against at the moment, but myself and many other colleagues have been asking for a long time, show us the data. why is it that the hospitality sector, which seems to be g

then we have another one saying jonathan van tam yesterday stated that the mhra the regulatory authoritywill take time. so why does matt hancock think it will be available in a few weeks? think it will be available in a few wee ks ? lots think it will be available in a few weeks? lots of questions from you, good to hear some of those and your thought on that. keep sending them in orany of thought on that. keep sending them in or any of the other stories and use the hashtag bbc your questions. let's bring you more on our breaking news this hour, that the chief palestinian negotiator saeb erekat has died at the age of 65. he had suffered serious health problems for several years before contracting coronavirus last month. he was being treated in hospital in jerusalem. yolande knell looks back on his life. you might not have known his name, but you will have seen his face. for three decades, whenever palestinian and israeli leaders met, saeb erekat took a prominent place. the president urged... fluent in english, he studied in the us and the uk, before becoming a key figure in the secular fa

the first is the regulatory approval, so in the uk that would be provided by the mhra, the independentf those regulators needs to approve the use of the vaccine in the local population. and so what that involves is submitting a big data package with all the safety, everything we have done for this trial, the manufacturing, to the regulators who then review that data and then will approve it for use in the wider population. that's the first step. and so that's what we are working with astrazeneca to do just now, to submit the regulatory package. that's happening right now. i don't know how long the regulators will take but obviously this is a high priority for them to look at. the next step is the manufacturing. this is not something i can speak to in any great detail. this is really a question for astrazeneca. but this depends on how quickly they are able to manufacture the doses that are needed by different countries. and then the third thing really is the distribution. because with any vaccine, the key to any good vaccine, the key to any good vaccine, is for it to have enough impact

then it goes to the mhra, the uk vaccine regulator, for safety approval. they have thousands of people on this trial and of them, 131 went on to develop covid. that's how they've come up with the number. it's important that we put these numbers in some kind of context. when all this started, we would have been delighted to get a vaccine with an efficacy of about 50%. flu jabs have about 40 to 60%, so when we are hearing here that the dose is somewhere, the efficacy of somewhere between 70% and 90%, this really is brilliant news. and just to be clear, that means that it works in that percentage of people, so there will be some people that it won't work for. yes, but this is also interim data and as the trials go on and on, these numbers will get crunched further and further. and andrew, on that point, the news that its 70% effective overall, but they discovered that, depending on the dose, it could be up to 90%, it then just begs the question, that sound quite simplejust just begs the question, that sound quite simple just to tweak it then and get that 90%.

we work, we have our own, the uk has always had the mhra, who work with the ema, the european regulatorhe us fda, a lot of letters there, but they're all regulators looking at the same data and sharing the experience. but we could have one giving approval before the other and we can't know which jab will be first. i suppose the hint is the pfizer first. we don't know who will be the first to receive it? no. that is a political decision is it? it is, but they're advised by medical experts. the hope would be that the jabs work really well in the people who need them the most. we know who needs them the most, elderly people, people with health condition and health care workers. now, what we need to know from the day that, we have only seen preliminary data, but the regulators will see all of is, is how well the vaccine works in those groups. do we know if we have a choicef vaccine works in those groups. do we know if we have a choice f there are three for more vaccines available, can we go to our gp and say i want that one? it is brilliant news we could have three or more coming on online.