Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a virtual press conference inside 10 Downing Street in central London on December 2, 2020. - Britain on Wednesday became the first western country to approve a Covid-19 vaccine for general use, while Italy and Japan promised free inoculations for all even as the global death toll ticked towards 1.5 million. A mere 12 months after the pandemic began in China, the UK's independent medicines regulator gave its green light to the BioNTech-Pfizer drug in double-quick time but insisted safety had come first. (Photo by JOHN SIBLEY / POOL / AFP)