A healthcare worker injecting a patient in Turkey in October as part of the late-stage trial of Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine. Dogukan Keskinkilic/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The UK on Wednesday approved the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, making it the first Western country to authorize a coronavirus shot. About 800,000 doses will arrive in the country within a week, meaning 400,000 people could be vaccinated in the first wave, UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC.