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Tomorrow, Great Britain will start vaccinated its population against the corona virus. Before the start, preparations are in full swing in several hospitals. Boxes with the first vaccine doses arrived at the weekend – among other places in a hospital in the south of London. The vaccine from Biontech and Pfizer presents the authorities with a logistical challenge, as it has to be cooled at minus 70 degrees Celsius.
If necessary, the British government wants to fly in the preparation produced in Belgium by military aircraft so that it does not get stuck in the feared brexit traffic chaos.
Vaccination card as proof
Starting tomorrow – already euphorically referred to by the British Minister of Health as “V-Day” (V for “Vaccination”) – initially over 80-year-olds, staff in nursing homes and particularly vulnerable medical staff are to be vaccinated. Vaccinated persons will receive a vaccination card as proof of vaccination, which will also serve as a reminder of the second vaccination date around three weeks after the first one.
For the majority of the population, however, it will be a long time before they can be vaccinated, according to the National Health Service (NHS). Larger vaccination centers – for example in soccer stadiums – will not be opened until larger quantities of the vaccine are available.
The vaccination program will be “a marathon, not a sprint,” said NHS Chief Stephen Powis. Government medical adviser Chris Whitty welcomed the start of the program, saying it felt “like the beginning of the end”.
40 million doses ordered
Great Britain had advanced last week and was the first country to grant emergency approval for the vaccine of the Mainz-based company Biontech and the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer. In total, the country has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – enough for 20 million Britons, which is slightly less than a third of the population.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is also expected to make the important decision on approval of the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine in December.
hp, Source: ORF.at/agencies. picture: pixabay.com
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