Britain was one of many countries that, like the United States, barred gay and bisexual men from donating blood in what campaigners brand a discriminatory hangover from the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis.
Domestic animals, such as cats and rabbits, are known to catch the virus and mink, the bedrock of the fur industry, have been culled in their millions due to widespread outbreaks.
President Donald Trump announced late on Sunday evening that White House staffers would receive the vaccine “somewhat later in the program” following reports that they would be among the first to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
Many officials worried about how fast Russia developed and approved the vaccine, launching it without completing the large-scale clinical trials needed to prove safety and efficacy.