Britain expects to start rolling out the Pfizer vaccine just before Christmas if it is declared safe and effective, Matt Hancock said
Matt Hancock today claimed Britain is ‘working very closely’ with Pfizer to roll out the drug giant’s breakthrough Covid vaccine from the start of December.
The Health Secretary said the UK would be ready to deploy the jab ‘as soon as it comes’.
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘We’ll be ready from the first of December… but more likely is that we may be able to start rolling it out before Christmas.’
Asked how many vaccines Britain would need, he said it depended on how effective they were at preventing transmission.
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech last week sparked hopes that the end of the pandemic was finally in sight, after they announced their jab was 90 per cent effective and could be available to the public as soon as next month.
The results revealed nine in 10 people who take the jab do not fall ill with Covid-19, but the data could not tell if the vaccine actually prevents people from passing it to others.
The major breakthrough means people could begin getting vaccinated before the year is out, if regulators are satisfied with the safety of the jab.
Hopes of another successful coronavirus vaccine are soaring after scientists today began a trial to test it on 6,000 people in the UK. Under an early-access deal, Britain is promised 30million doses of the vaccine from pharmaceutical firm Janssen by the middle of next year.
No10 has deals securing early access to 350million doses of six vaccines, including the Pfizer/BioNTech and Janssen jabs.
Government sources claim safety and efficacy data from Oxford and AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine — another one of the jabs the UK has bought — is on track to be published later this week.
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech last week announced their jab may be 90 per cent effective and could be available to the public as soon as next month
There are concerns about the number of people who will refuse to take a new Covid-19 vaccine due to misinformation being spread on social media.
The UK Government, unlike other countries, will not force Brits to take the jab, so achieving herd immunity will be purely reliant on people trusting that the jabs are safe.
Mr Hancock told Times Radio this morning: ‘Being opposed to vaccinations where they have been through the rigorous safety processes is entirely inappropriate.
‘And I wouldn’t advise it for anybody, because we don’t propose, and allow vaccines in this country, unless they pass some of the most stringent safety requirements in the world.
‘Getting a vaccine – whether it’s for flu or hopefully for coronavirus – is something that not only protects you but protects the people around you. So it’s a really important step.’
He added: ‘The whole of medicine is the story of advances that are based on science and vaccines are one of the most important advances based on science in the history of medicine.
‘And other than clean water have probably saved more lives than anything else in the history of humanity.
‘That’s what the science tells us, and I think that we should be guided by that science.’
There are around a dozen vaccines in the final stages of their clinical trials around the world.
And there are more than 100 more in various stages of development, some of which will fail and some of which may be better than the ones that are nearly finished now.
Experts say waiting for a vaccine better than the first one is not an option because the coronavirus is killing so many people so quickly.
Dr Mary Ramsey, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said the vaccine candidate from Pfizer posed a ‘challenge’ because it needs to be stored at minus 80C.
She said if the vaccine is approved for NHS use it would be stored in hubs – including hospitals and wholesalers – and then sent to vaccination clinics and GP surgeries.
‘The Pfizer vaccine in particular is quite challenging because it has to be stored at minus 80 degrees and then transported around,’ she told BBC Breakfast.
‘So there will be a balance – obviously you don’t want to waste vaccine because this is very precious stock and also, to get the vaccine to the people where they need it.
‘So, you know, we’re putting plans in place that will really allow us to try and do the programme as soon as the vaccine arrives.’
She added: ‘The Pfizer vaccine would have to be stored in hubs in each region and then delivered to GPs.
‘We will have hubs around the country that will be storing it. Some of them are in hospitals where they have those very low freezers, but also… maybe some wholesalers in particular parts of the country.’
She added that Public Health England is developing training so healthcare assistants will be able to help deliver a Covid-19 vaccine.
Dr Ramsey said: ‘In general, most vaccination in this country is given by nurses – they’re excellent at it and they do a brilliant job.
‘But we will have to use other staff. During the flu season we do tend to bring in healthcare assistants and other people.
‘PHE is developing training materials so that we can bring other staff on board.
‘They will be under the supervision of a nurse and/or a doctor, so there will be supervision and training.
‘But we will be using people who have a range of backgrounds. But that’s the normal way for delivering programmes like this.’
NHS England last week warned GP surgeries could have their services cut back until the middle of 2021 so that doctors can immunise millions of people.
A thousand practices are being geared up to dish out 1.2million doses of a Covid-19 vaccine every week, in a major army-backed operation to get life back to normal.
Mr Hancock has promised the health service will work around the clock to get the UK vaccinated, with practices open between 8am and 8pm every day of the week and on Bank Holidays.
Pharmacists and dedicated clinics set up in places such as sports halls are also likely to be used. Patients will need to be observed for 15 minutes after the vaccination is administered and appointments will be managed through a national booking system.
Number 10 has been urged ‘not to screw up’ the rollout of any coronavirus jab.
Pfizer’s jab — considered the front-runner alongside Oxford’s experimental jab — has to be stored at -70C which rules out keeping it at most GP surgeries or pharmacies.
And it needs to be transported in refrigerated lorries and special suitcase-sized boxes filled with dry ice to prevent it from spoiling.
The Government’s track record in handling logistical issues through the pandemic will not instill confidence that the mass-rollout of the new vaccine will run without any hiccups.
For example, the centralised testing programme has been hit by a catalogue of failures since the pandemic began and the contact tracing mobile app was delayed by four months.