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Pfizer / BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine has finally arrived in the UK after a “top secret” operation to transport the first batch of doses, via a fleet of unmarked trucks, authorities quoted by the Daily Mail confirmed on Thursday. ‘.
Government sources say they want to keep the location of the cargo secret, following fears that organized criminal groups could “intercept and damage” the vials that, according to information from the Deputy Director General for Health this morning, would arrive “within a few hours’.
But questions about whether the vaccine had finally reached British soil arose after the release of truck photographs near the busy port of Calais. UK Department of Health officials have already confirmed that the vaccine has arrived in Folkestone, but refuse to reveal any more details.
The UK plans to launch its largest vaccination campaign in history next week, with the first 800,000 doses being carried out in specially equipped laboratories to verify they are safe for use, before being transported to hospitals and other healthcare facilities. .
It is recalled that yesterday the UK approved Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, but British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to moderate expectations about the speed of distribution of the covid-19 vaccine.
“I think, at this stage, it is very, very important that people do not have high hopes of how quickly we will be able to implement this vaccine,” he cautioned 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 UK government is waiting for “several million in more than doses ”by the end of the year.
The British pharmaceutical agency announced today that it has 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 United Kingdom’s Joint Vaccination and Immunization Commission has set a priority order for the population of 66 million to receive the vaccine, placing residents and employees of nursing homes first, followed by seniors over 80 and health professionals .
The list therefore continues to count down in terms of age groups and vulnerable people in terms of risk or health problems.
However, the British Prime Minister has hinted that the order of priority could be influenced 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 has to be kept at negative 70 degrees, has logistical challenges to overcome so that vulnerable people have access to the vaccine they need,” he justified.
Boris Johnson promised to proceed with the vaccination “as soon as possible” but stressed that the current strategy of local restrictions and rapid testing during the “difficult winter months” indicates that the operation should continue until at least the spring of 2021.
The UK has secured 357 million doses of several covid-19 vaccine projects still in development, including 40 million from Pfizer / BioNTech, but most have not yet been approved or entered the development phase. production.
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