With news that the Pfizer/BioNTech Coronavirus vaccine has been deemed safe for use, the UK will be the first country in the world to start a programme of mass vaccination against Covid-19.
This morning, a spokesperson from Department of Health and Social Care,
“The government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer/BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for use. This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
“The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week. The NHS has decades of experience in delivering large-scale vaccination programmes and will begin putting their extensive preparations into action to provide care and support to all those eligible for vaccination.
“To aid the success of the vaccination programme it is vital everyone continues to play their part and abide by the necessary restrictions in their area so we can further suppress the virus and allow the NHS to do its work without being overwhelmed.”
Seely: A good Christmas present for the Island
Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, said,
“The clearance of this first vaccine for use in the UK is very important news. It is a good Christmas present for the Island and the country.
“For the Island, I understand the training in vaccination procedure and handling of the vaccine can now begin.
“This vaccine is more difficult to store and transport than the other vaccines, so that is an important stage in the roll-out. I understand that the IW is a priority location for receiving the vaccine. I hope that the first vaccination on the Island will take place prior to Christmas.
“The country’s vaccine task force has done an impressive job on making sure we have early access to several of the leading vaccines and I want to thank it for its work.”
Who’ll get the vaccine
The vaccine will be made available from next week and once agreed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) priority of vaccinations is likely to be:
- older adults’ resident in a care home and care home workers
- all those 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers
- all those 75 years of age and over
- all those 70 years of age and over
- all those 65 years of age and over
- high-risk adults under 65 years of age
- moderate-risk adults under 65 years of age
- all those 60 years of age and over
- all those 55 years of age and over
- all those 50 years of age and over
- rest of the population (priority to be determined)
More information is likely to surface at next week’s Local Outbreak Engagement Board meeting. We’ll update readers after that meeting.
Image: danielpaquet under CC BY 2.0
