The race to start vaccine programme won by UK

The announcement that the UK vaccines regulatory body has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for use in Great Britain starting next week is amazing news. But how come the UK has got in first when the same vaccine is available in the US, in Europe and the whole world? It's the same vaccine so why not the same-day regulatory approval? Is it because the UK has rushed the approval to make sure it has enough on the stocks or is the regulatory body just better and more efficient and has worked longer hours? I notice the New York Times is questioning why the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine isn't now available in the US. There doesn't seem to be an answer. But the UK government has made much of the fact that the vaccine will now start to roll out next week, initially for care homes, the most vulnerable and NHS frontline staff. A good political boost for the Boris Johnson government which has been under attack from all sides because of the Covid-19 lockdown and tier system for keeping the virus at bay, as well as for the long drawn-out last-chance negotiations over a Brexit trade deal with the EU before the Boris-imposed deadline of December 31. The arrival of the approved vaccine will take peoples' minds off the looming disaster of a no-trade-deal deal. Running any sort of business that requires lorries to cross the Channel into France must be a nightmare. The government is advertising like mad telling businesses to be prepared but judging by the myriad of comments from small business owners, they don't seem to have clue what they are supposed to be preparing for. There will be a deal. There has to be a deal. But it won't satisfy everyone. In fact it will probably satisfy no one. There's a huge rumpus over fishing rights, with the UK wanting full territorial control without having French and Spanish fishing vessels grabbing everything but I can't believe there isn't a compromise that would meet most of the problems. Perhaps the French and Spanish could only be allowed to fish in our waters on, say, Tuesdays and Thursdays. How about that? Has anyone suggested that? Will I get the Nobel prize for fisheries? Meanwhile the vaccine will be available next week but no other country has made similar announcements. Perhaps they are all waiting to see how the UK programme goes before stepping into the same water. And I'm not talking sea/fishing water.