Voice of London

The UK may see hospitals starting to prepare for the rollout of a Covid-19 vaccine in ten days’ time, reports The Guardian. 

The Guardian reports that hospitals in England may well be expecting to receive their first deliveries of the vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech as soon as 7 December, following stocks of the vaccine on 7, 8 or 9 December. 

On 9 November, the news broke about a potential 90-per-cent effective vaccine that may start being rolled out sooner than expected. The vaccine has been developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. 

A few days later, a vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca was found to be 70% effective, the developers told in a press release on 23 November.

They also revealed that there was a possibility of reaching 90 per cent effectiveness. 

NHS workers would be expected to be at the front of the queue, The Guardian reports. Despite the two groups being classed by the government as top priorities for a vaccine, care home residents and people aged over 80 will have to wait. 

There seems to be more complications in regards to how the Pfizer vaccine appears to work as its composition means it needs to be moved a limited number of times, according to experts. 

Vic Rayner, the executive director of the National Care Forum said to the Guardian that this “would be a betrayal of the most vulnerable and those who support them” if the vaccine was to be first administered to NHS staff workers. 

Caroline Abrahams told The Guardian that there is “some light at the end of the tunnel” and though the older people may not be able to receive the vaccine first, “we need to be patient while the complex logistics of rolling out these vaccines are worked out.” 

Words: Sam Tabahriti | Subbing: Grace Staley