The European Union has agreed to buy up to 300 million doses of the BioNTech-Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, after it showed strong results in trials, writes BBC.

Deliveries are expected to start by the end of this year, the companies said.

But the EU refused to provide details on how the vaccine would be rolled out, insisting that “a number of steps” needed to be followed beforehand.

Early data suggests the vaccine protects more than 90% of people from developing COVID-19 symptoms.

On Monday, its developers, Pfizer and BioNTech, said it had been tested on 43,500 people with no safety concerns raised.

The companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use it by the end of November - and a limited number of people may get the vaccine this year.