London: The first 50 National Health Service (NHS) hospitals are gearing up for what the United Kingdom (UK) government has described as the ‘biggest immunisation programme in history’. The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 have already arrived at ‘secure locations’ in the United Kingdom. The vaccines have been sent from neighbouring Belgium this weekend.
Frontline healthcare staff, people over the age of 80 and care home workers will be among the first to get the vaccine as part of Phase 1 of the programme from Tuesday. The vaccine was approved for rollout by the UK’s independent regulator earlier this week.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) had declared the jab safe for human use against the COVID-19 after ‘rigorous’ checks. The vaccine claims to offer up to 95 per cent protection against COVID-19.
“This coming week will be an historic moment as we begin vaccination against COVID-19,” said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock. “I urge everybody to play their part to suppress this virus. They should follow local restrictions to protect the NHS while they carry out this crucial work,” he added.
Hancock also informed that the government is doing everything it could to overcome ‘significant challenges’. This is to ensure care home residents are vaccinated as soon as possible after they were also cleared for Phase 1 by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that NHS staff is working through the weekend for the first vaccinations to take place from Tuesday across 50 shortlisted hubs in the first wave. More hospitals will start vaccinating over the coming weeks and months as the programme ramps up.
Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, and those who are being discharged home after a hospital stay, will be among the first to receive the ‘life-saving jab’. Hospitals will also begin inviting over 80s in for a jab and work with care home providers to book their staff in to vaccination clinics.
Some media reports indicate that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, are likely to be among this group.
“Despite the huge complexities, hospitals will kick-start the first phase of the largest scale vaccination campaign in UK’s our history from Tuesday. The first tranche of vaccine deliveries will be landing at hospitals by Monday in readiness,” said Professor Stephen Powis, NHS National Medical Director.
“The NHS has a strong record of delivering large scale vaccination programmes – from the flu jab, HPV vaccine and lifesaving MMR jabs – hardworking staff will once again rise to the challenge to protect the most vulnerable people from this awful disease,” asserted Powis.
General practitioners (GPs) and other primary care staff are also being put on standby to start delivering the jab, with a number of them ready from December 14 and more in other parts of the UK joining in a phased basis during the coming weeks and months.
Vaccination centres treating large numbers of patients in sporting venues and conference centres will subsequently join the drive when further supplies of vaccine come on stream, the DHSC said.
The vaccine is typically delivered by a simple injection in the shoulder but there is a complex and difficult logistical challenge to deliver from the manufacturers Pfizer to patients. It needs to be stored at -70C before being thawed out and can only be moved four times within that cold chain before being used.
Defrosting the vaccine takes a few hours and then additional time is required to prepare the vaccine for administering. Everyone will be required to take a booster jab 21 days later.
The DHSC said that NHS staff has been working over the weekend to prepare the sites and accept deliveries. Each box needs to be opened and unpacked manually, and temperature data has to be downloaded from each box.