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He also said the UK is ready for the “biggest vaccination program we have had in decades”. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Prof Van Tam stressed that the regular phase of vaccine development and approval has been accelerated due to the pandemic. But he stressed that the standards “aren’t lower” despite the need for quick results. US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its vaccine partner BioNTech this week released the first results suggesting their jab was 90% effective in protecting people from COVID-19.
Asked if he would be ready to be among the first people to be vaccinated, Prof Van-Tam said: “If I could rightly and morally be in the front row, I would.
“Because I absolutely trust the MHRA’s judgment on safety and efficacy.
“But clearly that’s not fair: we need to target the highest risk individuals in society and that’s how it should be.
“If I could be in the front row, I would be.
“But let me tell you this, I think the ‘mom test’ is very important here.
Nursing homes and NHS staff should be given priority for vaccination (Image: Getty)
“My mom is 78, she will soon be 79, and I already told her ‘mom, make sure when you call you are ready, be ready to take this back, this is very important to you because of your age’.”
Nursing homes, the NHS and social care personnel, and therefore the elderly, will have priority for vaccination.
And the prof. Van-Tam said people shouldn’t be able to skip the line by privately paying for a vaccine.
“One of the things I like about the NHS is that it’s there for everyone, regardless of their level of wealth or who they are in society,” he said.
“This is a very important principle for me, personally.”
Prof Van-Tam added that deciding on such an issue would be “a ministerial decision”, but added: “I am giving you my opinion as a doctor that I think these vaccines should be prioritized to those who need them, not to those who can afford it to pay them privately “.
He admitted that launching a coronavirus vaccine would be a “gigantic challenge” for the NHS, but said he was reassured about questions about refrigeration capacity, transportation systems, and the supply of needles and syringes.
Professor Van-Tam also offered to deliver the vaccines on his evenings and weekends.
But he was unable to say whether lives would return to normal by Easter due to the development of a vaccine.
Retired doctors and medical students will be enlisted to help dispense the vaccine (Image: Getty)
“We still don’t know if this vaccine will prevent transmission as well as prevent disease, and from that perspective it would be wrong of me to give you the feeling that whoever told you we would be completely back to normal for Easter is right,” the deputy said. medical director.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee, said the second phase of the vaccination program could prioritize those who may be suffering from the long-lasting effects of the coronavirus or who transmit the disease.
“In phase two of the program it is likely that we will prioritize people who may be suffering due to the need for hospitalization due to COVID or perhaps due to long COVID,” he said.
“The reason it hasn’t been decided is because we also need to balance the possible priority of individuals who are transmitting COVID instead.”
A priority list that Brits should get a vaccine for first was drawn up earlier this year by the influential Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee (JCVI) and is now being used as a model for launch.
Nursing home residents and their carers, estimated to number 1.1 million across Britain, are top of the priority list and are expected to be vaccinated by the end of the year.
After the nursing homes, the NHS staff and all over 80s will be the second in line immediately after. They too could get hit before New Year’s if distribution plans go according to plan.
The over 75s will be next in line, followed by the over 70s, the over 65s and the high risk adults under 65 suffering from diseases such as cancer.
Prof Van Tam illustrated how the approval phase of a vaccine has been accelerated due to the pandemic (Image: Getty)
They will be followed by moderate-risk adults under 65, including diabetics and asthmatics.
The over 60s will be next, with the over 55s and over 50s the final priority groups. Hopefully any vulnerable Britons will be protected by Easter, which has raised hopes of returning to normal by spring.
The general population will be the last to get their hands on a jab, and the JCVI says priority will be given based on age or underlying condition.
Retired doctors and medical students will be enlisted to help dispense vaccines from a thousand doctors’ surgeries across the country amid fears that there are not enough staff to perform the mammoth operation. The military will also be used to help transport vaccines between laboratories and clinics.
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