Dec 21, 2020 12:34 PM EDT
AMSTERDAM (AP) — The European Union drug regulator recommended the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine for use Monday, raising hopes that the 27 nations in the bloc can begin administering the first shots to their citizens shortly after Christmas.
The move by the European Medicines Agency comes weeks after the same vaccine was authorized in Britain and the United States, prompting pressure from EU governments for the agency to speed up its process as virus cases surged again across the continent.
Adding to an already grisly toll were concerns over a newly identified strain that appears to spread more easily. But experts expressed confidence that the new vaccine would still be effective against it.