(CNN) The European Union has authorized the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, with the first phase of the bloc's mass vaccination program to begin later this week. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, called it "an important chapter" in the EU's fight against Covid-19. "The European Medicines Agency (EMA) assessed this vaccine thoroughly, and it concluded that it is safe and effective against Covid-19," she said. "As we have promised, this vaccine will be available for all EU countries, at the same time, on the same conditions." She said the first batches of the vaccine would be shipped from Pfizer's manufacturing site in Belgium in the next few days, with vaccinations starting on December 27.

Source: CNN December 21, 2020 14:18 UTC