Speed boost for vaccine drive after NHS says patients no longer need to be monitored for 15 minutes after receiving the Oxford jab, says NHS
- The 15-minute wait policy was introduced last month in case of allergic reaction
- Experts have put the likelihood of that happening at about one in a million
- Critics feared the advice could increase the chances of someone catching Covid
Patients receiving the Oxford vaccine do not need to be monitored for 15 minutes after getting the jab, the NHS has confirmed.
This means sites will be able to deliver more doses every day, providing a major boost for the bid by ministers to inoculate 13million people by mid-February.
The 15-minute policy was established last month, when the first Britons began to receive the Pfizer vaccine, in case patients suffered a dangerous allergic reaction.
New guidelines published by NHS England has confirmed there is ‘not a requirement’ for 15 minutes of observation for those who receive the Oxford vaccination, like Lorna Lucas, 81
Experts say the risk of such a response is around one in a million – and critics feared the policy would actually increase the chances of patients catching Covid in waiting rooms.
Now new guidelines published by NHS England confirm that ‘there is not a requirement for 15 minutes [of] observation’ for those given the Oxford jab developed with AstraZeneca. The UK has ordered 100million doses of this vaccine, compared with 40million from Pfizer.
The government has ordered 100million doses of the Oxford vaccine, compared to 40million from Pfizer
Dr Steven Rossi, clinical director of the North East Derbyshire Primary Care Network, hailed the guidance as ‘fantastic news’. He said the Pfizer jab’s 15-minute observation period effectively halved the number of patients that could be seen in a day.
NHS England said those given Pfizer’s vaccine should still be monitored for 15 minutes after vaccination, ‘with a longer observation period when indicated after clinical assessment as set out [by] the MHRA’.