How the front pages reacted to UK getting a COVID vaccine approved

The front pages of Thursday’s newspapers were all about news that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine had been approved for use in the UK and will begin rolling out from next week.

The approval of the jab – which the government has secured 40 million doses of – by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) paved the way for mass vaccinations across the country, giving people hope that restrictions will gradually be able to be lifted.

It was welcomed by key figures including Boris Johnson and health secretary Matt Hancock, who said vaccinations will start with the most elderly, people in care homes and their carers, before coming down the age range, with NHS staff and the clinically extremely vulnerable also high on the priority list.

Read more: 'Great day for humanity': How front pages reacted to news of COVID vaccine

The Daily Mail carried the headline ‘What a shot in the arm for Britain!’, alongside a picture of a father and daughter hugging at a care home for the first time since February.

The Metro called it ‘V-Day!’, describing how the roll-out of the vaccine is due to start next week.

The Times focused on which groups would be first to receive the vaccine, with the headline: ‘First vaccine jabs for NHS staff and elderly patients’, while the Mirror showed a picture of a lorry leaving for the UK with the first vaccines with the headline: ‘On its way’.

The i said vaccines would start to be administered in the UK on Tuesday while the Daily Star featured an image of Boris Johnson as Fred Flintstone, with the headline ‘Jabba Dabba Doo’.