Britain gets ready for rollout of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine this week

[webfact]

Britain gets ready for rollout of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine this week

By Estelle Shirbon and Alistair Smout

 

Specialist freezers await distribution of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines to the NHS from a secure location in Britain this undated handout obtained December 5, 2020. Public Health England/Handout via REUTERS

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is preparing to become the first country to roll out the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week, initially making the shot available at hospitals before distributing stocks to doctors' clinics, the government said on Sunday.

 

Footage posted by the National Health Service (NHS) showed boxes containing doses of the vaccine being delivered to Croydon University Hospital in south London and being stored in a special, securely locked fridge.

 

"This is just so exciting. It's a momentous occasion," said Louise Coghlan, joint chief pharmacist at the Croydon health service. "To know that they are here and we are much the first in the country to actually receive the vaccine, and therefore the first in the world, is just amazing. I'm so proud."

 

The first doses are set to be administered on Tuesday, with the NHS giving top priority to vaccinating the over-80s, frontline healthcare workers and care home staff and residents.

 

Britain gave emergency use approval for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech last week - jumping ahead in the global race to begin the most crucial mass inoculation programme in history.

 

In total, Britain has ordered 40 million doses. As each person requires two doses, that is enough to vaccinate 20 million people in the country of 67 million.

 

About 800,000 doses are expected to be available within the first week.

 

Initial doses that have arrived from Belgium are being stored in secure locations across the country, where they will be quality checked, the health ministry said.

 

The rollout coincides with a crucial and perilous moment in negotiations between Britain and the European Union on a post-Brexit trade agreement.

 

A status quo transition period will end on Dec. 31 and a no-deal scenario would lead to major disruptions in the movement of goods between Britain and EU countries such as Belgium.

 

The Observer newspaper reported on Sunday that, under UK government contingency plans, tens of millions of vaccine doses could be flown to Britain by military aircraft to avoid delays at ports caused by Brexit.

 

The government declined to comment on the Observer report. Farming and environment minister George Eustice, asked on Sky News about concerns of Brexit-related disruption and whether the Observer report was true, said there would be no disruption.

 

"A huge amount of work has gone on to maintain the flow of goods at the border in the event of there being a no-deal Brexit and we've also got contingency plans in place, including a government-procured ferry that's on standby and of course the option, should it be needed, to use air freight too," he said.

 

Britain is preparing to become the first country to roll out the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week, initially making the shot available at hospitals before distributing stocks to doctors' clinics, the government said on Sunday.

 

QUEEN TO BE INOCULATED

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine needs to be kept at -70C (-94F) and only lasts five days in a regular fridge. For that reason, it will first be administered in 50 hospitals.

 

NHS England has written to community doctors, telling them to get ready to start giving vaccinations from Dec. 14. Groups of local doctors will operate more than 1,000 vaccination centres across the country, the government said.

 

Boxes of the vaccine contain five packs of 975 doses, but special regulatory approval is needed to split them up. A senior medical official has said that while he was hopeful it would be possible to split the packs and deliver straight to care homes, it was not guaranteed.

 

With high levels of vaccine scepticism worrying public health experts, the Times and Mail on Sunday newspapers reported that Queen Elizabeth, 94, and her husband Prince Philip, 99, would "let it be known" when they had received the shot.

 

The queen is highly admired in British society, and her public backing for the vaccine would be a powerful message to counter anti-vaccination misinformation circulating online.

 

(Reporting by Alistair Smout and Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Helen Popper and Elaine Hardcastle)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-07

 

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[teacherclaire]

Will it be to 90 % effective? Or is it affecting the infected? 

 

  "To know that they are here and we are much the first in the country to actually receive the vaccine, and therefore the first in the world, is just amazing. I'm so proud."

 

Just wait and see what happens. 

Edited December 6, 2020 by teacherclaire

[bkk6060]

48 minutes ago, teacherclaire said:

I'm so proud."

Yes.

You should be proud of the US, Belgium and Germany for developing a proper reliable vaccine that you bought that will save the lives of many people in your country.

Hopefully at some point, the UK can do the same.

[canuckamuck]

A famous man once said, "Father forgive them, for the know not what they do."

[kingdong]

24 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Yes.

You should be proud of the US, Belgium and Germany for developing a proper reliable vaccine that you bought that will save the lives of many people in your country.

Hopefully at some point, the UK can do the same.

Perhaps the above mentioned countries lacked faith,boris put money where his mouth is,ordered a load of vaccine,now uks going to be first to get it,fill your boots boris.

Edited December 7, 2020 by kingdong

[realfunster]

As expected, the anti-vax extremists make a quick appearance....

 

You are free to do as you see fit. Personally, I will be getting my jabs at the first available opportunity.

My likelihood of dying from COVID is pretty remote, my likelihood of health issues with the vaccine significantly less so.

A minuscule risk worth taking for the protection & freedom I will obtain by being inoculated.

Not to mention that my opportunities for carrying and spreading this virus to others in my community will be eliminated.

 

But of course, you must do as you see fit based on the available weight of reasonable evidence.

 

You should remain vigilant however, as "the Elites" will soon have 5G coming to get you ????

 

[sungod]

1 hour ago, bkk6060 said:

Hopefully at some point, the UK can do the same.

Think we already have ?

[Kadilo]

57 minutes ago, sungod said:

Think we already have ?

He is still playing catch up on old news thinking the AZ vaccine is not as good. 

Edited December 7, 2020 by Kadilo

[sungod]

2 hours ago, Kadilo said:

He is still playing catch up on old news thinking the AZ vaccine is not as good. 

Its going to make a larger impact on the rest of the world that's for sure.

[herwin1234]

7 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

Yes.

You should be proud of the US, Belgium and Germany for developing a proper reliable vaccine that you bought that will save the lives of many people in your country.

Hopefully at some point, the UK can do the same.

proud of the us. lol. WHAT A JOKE! 

[Scott]

A post containing false or misleading information and links to unapproved sources has been removed along with replies.