Described today as the "most promising" vaccine so far, the world is now eagerly awaiting further news about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine candidate.
The European Commission today announced plans to buy 300 million doses of the vaccine for EU member states, in the week the manufacturer released promising results from its phase 3 trial.
It's one of four deals made by the Commission that could benefit Ireland. The Department of Health says that Ireland will be allocated 1.1% of the European portfolio of vaccines.
On this basis, Ireland could receive 3.3 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. That would be enough to vaccinate up to 1.6 million people, as this particular vaccine requires two doses.