Vaccine doses, approved by UK regulators on December 30, will initially be delivered to “a small number of hospitals in the early days for surveillance purposes”, before the bulk of the doses arrive at doctors’ offices later in the week, said the National Health Service (NHS).
The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is easier to transport and store than the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine – which was approved for use in the UK last month and should be stored at -70 degrees Celsius – facilitating out-of-hospital delivery settings.
Tens of thousands of current and former NHS staff are being trained as vaccinators to support what the health service has described as “the largest immunization program in its history”.
Brian William Pinker, 82, was the first person to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday morning.
“I am very happy to receive the [Covid-19] vaccine today, “Pinker said after receiving his dose, according to the NHS England Twitter account. He added that he was considered a vulnerable person for having received dialysis.
“The vaccine means everything to me, for me it is the only way to return to normal life,” he said.
“The very positive news this morning that the Oxford vaccine has started to be launched – it is a triumph of British science that we have managed to get where we are,” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News on Monday. .
The launch occurs as coronavirus cases in the UK continue to increase. The country recorded more than 50,000 new Covid-19 cases for six consecutive days, with 54,990 new cases reported on Sunday.
“It is a very difficult situation in terms of the growth of the virus,” said Hancock. “But we also have this very good news this morning, it is a really crucial moment with the arrival, in fact, in hospitals in the UK, of the Oxford vaccine.”
The launch comes after a change in the UK’s immunization strategy. The government said it will now prioritize administering the first of a series of two doses of vaccine to as many people as possible, before administering a second dose up to 12 weeks later.
This will apply to the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine and the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine that is already being administered.
The British Medical Association (BMA), a body representing doctors in the United Kingdom, criticized the decision to postpone consultations for very vulnerable patients who are currently awaiting their second injection.
But UK chief doctors defended the change in strategy, saying it was a move based on a “balance of risks and benefits” and that the “vast majority” of initial protection came from the first blow.
The University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine also has the potential to quickly protect millions more people worldwide, as and when regulators in other nations grant approval.
AstraZeneca has pledged to supply hundreds of millions of doses to low- and middle-income countries and to deliver the non-profit vaccine to those nations in perpetuity.
The vaccine is significantly cheaper than others that have been approved and, crucially, it would be much easier to transport and distribute in developing countries than its rivals, since it does not need to be stored in freezing temperatures.