COVID-19: Pfizer vaccine to arrive in the UK ‘within hours’, says Jonathan Van-Tam
Written by News on 03/12/2020
The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will arrive in the UK within “hours, not days”, according to Jonathan Van-Tam.
The deputy chief medical officer for England made the announcement on Thursday morning as he hailed the UK’s approval of the jab.
Speaking to the BBC, Prof Van-Tam revealed that the UK will likely receive deliveries of the inoculation today.
Live COVID updates as UK prepares for vaccine rollout
The professor said the Pfizer vaccine is expected “very, very shortly in the UK. And I do mean hours, not days”.
The UK was the first country to give the green light for Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and has ordered 40 million doses – enough for 20 million people.
Refrigerated transport is needed to carry the vials, which must be stored at -70C.
Boris Johnson has warned of “immense logistical challenges” due to the cold temperature needs of the inoculation.
The Pfizer/BioNTech jab was shown in clinical trials to prevent 95% of COVID cases. And it works just as well in the elderly, who are most at risk of serious illness from the virus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said 800,000 doses will arrive next week, while BioNTech chief commercial officer Sean Marett said the UK is likely to get at least five million before the end of the year.
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Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, told a Downing Street press briefing that because of the conditions ceeded to store the jab, it can only be moved a few times and only in large quantities.
A box of the vaccine contains 975 doses, but the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not granted approval for these containers to be split up.
This makes distribution to care homes difficult and it could see doses go to waste.
Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said the vaccine priority list was made to be flexible and could react to what was happening on the ground.
Pfizer and BioNTech have said their inoculation can be sent to care homes so long as it travels for less than six hours after leaving cold storage and is put into a normal fridge.
(c) Sky News 2020: COVID-19: Pfizer vaccine to arrive in the UK ‘within hours’, says Jonathan Van-Tam
