The largest vaccine campaign in UK history is underway as the UK battles the coronavirus epidemic, which has been with us for ten months. Millions of people are hopeful that they will be able to come out of lockdown and resume their normal lives as a result of the vaccine.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been used to vaccinate 500,000 people in the United Kingdom against the virus. The vaccine has been licenced in both Canada and the United States, and it is currently being administered.
The government intends to administer one million doses every week as more vaccines become available, with more GPs and vaccination centres being constructed to speed up the process.
Pfizer has obtained 40 million vaccine doses, Moderna has secured seven million vaccine doses, and Oxford / AstraZeneca has secured 100 million vaccine doses for the UK.
The Pfizer vaccine is administered in two doses, and enough vaccinations are currently available in the UK to cover 20 million people.
The vaccination is now only required for people over the age of 80, residents and workers in nursing homes, and healthcare workers.
Adults over the age of 65 account for nine out of ten coronavirus deaths, according to a study conducted by Ipsos More and Kings College London, and people in this age group are more likely to receive the vaccine if it is offered to them.
The vaccine is not required, and in the United Kingdom, no vaccine has ever been required.
The Pfizer vaccine is more difficult to store and transport since it must be kept at minus 70°C. The Oxford vaccine, on the other hand, does not require such a low temperature.
Professor Sarah Gilbert of the University of Oxford believes the Oxford vaccine will be accessible before the end of the year.
She stated, “I believe the possibilities are fairly good.”
“However, we do require a number of vaccines; all countries require multiple vaccines; the entire world requires many vaccines; and, if at all possible, we require vaccines made utilising a variety of technologies.”
According to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the new Covid-19 strain that is spreading across the UK is “extremely unlikely” to affect the vaccination.
“I must stress that there is currently nothing to suggest that this variant is more likely to cause serious disease, and the latest clinical advice is that this mutation would fail to respond to a vaccine,” he said in a statement to the Commons. “However, it does show that we must be vigilant and follow the rules, and everyone must take personal responsibility not to spread this virus.”
BioNTech’s CEO believes that their coronavirus vaccine will work against the UK strain, but additional study is needed to prove this.
