Australia will receive real-time information on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine given emergency approval in the UK, says TGA chief Adjunct Professor John Skerritt.

The UK has given the go-ahead for emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccine and will start vaccinating people at high risk, including front-line doctors, next week.

Professor Skerritt quickly doused any hope that Wednesday’s announcement meant Australia could start vaccinations earlier than the planned date of March 2021.

He said there was not enough data for any country to give full marketing approval to the vaccine but the UK had given emergency approval because of its “desperate situation” and the US was considering something similar.