This week, the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) formally authorised the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 - allowing vaccinations to start taking place from next week.
The UK is the first country in the world to have a clinically approved vaccine for supply, with the NHS standing ready to start vaccinating early next week. The government has secured 40 million initial doses of this vaccine, enough to vaccinate up to a third of our population, with several million expected before the New Year.
It follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA. They have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. The NHS will be able to start vaccinating from early next week.
The NHS has decades of experience in delivering large-scale vaccination programmes, not least in delivering the flu vaccine programme each year. They are now putting their extensive preparations into operation for the UK's Covid-19 vaccine deployment programme. They are in the process of establishing vaccination centres across the country that can manage the logistical challenge of storing the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at minus 70 degrees, while also establishing vaccination hubs in hospitals for NHS staff.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has published its advice setting out the order of priority according to clinical need; this includes care home residents and their carers, the over 80s, and the frontline health and social care workers. The vaccine will be delivered according to clinical prioritisation and operational necessity. All Covid-19 vaccines will be free at the point of delivery, distributed according to need rather than someone’s ability to pay. The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is the first of seven different vaccine candidates to gain regulatory approval in the UK, but the government is confident it will not be the last. To date, the government has procured 357 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines on behalf of the whole of the UK.
Welcoming the news, Richard said: "This is fantastic news for our country and a step towards reclaiming our lives and getting our economy back on track. Alongside mass testing, the vaccine can be rolled out through winter and into the spring, offering hope that the need for localised restrictions will start to gradually reduce – and life can once again return closer to normality."
