The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer / BioNTech finally arrived in the United Kingdom after an “top secret” operation to transport the first batch of doses, via a fleet of unmarked trucks, the authorities quoted by the Daily Mail confirmed on Thursday. ‘.
Government sources say they wanted to keep the location of the cargo a secret, following fears that organized groups of criminals could “intercept and damage” the vials, which, according to information from the deputy general director of health this morning, would arrive «Within hours».
But questions about whether or not the vaccine had finally hit British soil emerged after the release of photographs of trucks near the busy port of Calais. British Department of Health officials have already confirmed that the vaccine reached Folkestone, however they refuse to reveal any other details.
The UK plans to start its largest vaccination campaign in history next week, with the first 800,000 doses being made in specially equipped laboratories to make sure they are safe for use, before being transported to hospitals and other health facilities.
It is recalled that yesterday the United Kingdom approved the vaccine against Covid-19 from Pfizer, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sought to moderate expectations about the speed of distribution of the vaccine against covid-19.
“I think that, at this stage, it is very, very important that people do not have very high hopes about the speed with which we will be able to implement this vaccine,” he warned yesterday, during the weekly debate in parliament.
The vaccination campaign, Johnson said, will start “starting next week” with 800,000 doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, enough for 400,000 people (each person needs two doses), and the British government is waiting for “several million more of doses ”before the end of the year.
The British drug agency announced today that it approved the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine against Covid-19 after “rigorous testing”, becoming the first Western health authority to approve a vaccine against the disease.
The Joint Vaccination and Immunization Commission of the United Kingdom has established an order of priorities with which the population of 66 million inhabitants should receive the vaccine, placing residents and employees of nursing homes at the top, followed by elderly people over 80 and professionals of health.
The list then continues to count down in terms of age groups and vulnerable people in terms of risk or health problems.
However, the British Prime Minister hinted that the order of priority could be affected by the need to store the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine at very low temperatures, limiting its transport and distribution.
The two doses are administered with a difference of approximately one month.
“This specific type of vaccine quickly for nursing homes, because it needs to be maintained at 70º negative, has logistical challenges to be overcome so that vulnerable people have access to the vaccine they need”, he justified.
Boris Johnson promised to proceed with vaccination “as soon as possible” but stressed that the current strategy of local restrictions and rapid tests during the “difficult winter months”, indicating that the operation should continue at least until spring 2021.
The UK secured 357 million doses of different vaccine projects against covid-19 still during the development phase, including 40 million from Pfizer / BioNTech, but most have not yet been approved or entered the production phase.
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