EXPLAINER: Why is the EU taking so long to OK vaccine? by The Associated Press Last Updated Dec 15, 2020 at 7:12 am EDT FILE - In this Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020 file photo, a nurse holds a phial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Guy's Hospital in London. As Canadians, Britons and Americans begin getting immunized with a German-developed vaccine against the coronavirus, pressure is building on the European Medicines Agency to approve the shot made by Pfizer Inc. and German company BioNTech. Those countries all approved the COVID-19 vaccine under emergency use rules, meaning it is an unlicensed product. But the EMA approval process for coronavirus vaccines is largely similar to the standard licensing procedure that would be granted to any new vaccine, only on an accelerated schedule. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool, File)