Coronavirus vaccine: When will it be approved in UK…

Coronavirus vaccine: When will it be approved in UK and who will get it first?

With coronavirus cases around the world now at over 65 million, scientists have been working around the clock to develop a vaccine.

Several promising jabs have been developed, including vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and the University of Oxford.

Without a vaccine, there will always be a risk that new outbreaks of Covid-19 will emerge.

And while testing, contact tracing and quarantining can help to control the spread of the virus, the only way to significantly reduce the threat is for enough of the population to become immune to the virus.

Thankfully, several vaccines are on the cusp of being rolled out in the UK, with reports suggesting a jab could be deployed from as early as this week.

Here’s everything you need to know about the coronavirus vaccine, including when it will be rolled out in the UK, and who will get it first.

When will the coronavirus vaccine be rolled out in the UK?

NHS hospitals have been told to be ready to deploy a coronavirus vaccine from as early as Wednesday this week, according to sources speaking to The Daily Telegraph.

Sources said trusts ‘have been asked to mobilise’, amid widespread anticipation that the Pfizer vaccine will get regulatory approval this week.

Pfizer’s vaccine is currently undergoing Phase III trials, with results being examined for approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

If the vaccine is approved, doses could being arriving on the frontline within days.

Who will get the vaccine first?

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has set the order of priority for the coronavirus vaccine rollout in the UK.

Care home residents and staff will be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by those over 80 and health and social workers.

The vaccine will then be given to those over 75, before being rolled out to Brits of descending age:

1. older adults’ resident in a care home and care home workers

2. all those 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers

3. all those 75 years of age and over

4. all those 70 years of age and over

5. all those 65 years of age and over

6. high-risk adults under 65 years of age

7. moderate-risk adults under 65 years of age

8. all those 60 years of age and over

9. all those 55 years of age and over

10. all those 50 years of age and over

rest of the population (priority to be determined)

The JCVI said: “The prioritisation could change substantially if the first available vaccines were not considered suitable for, or effective in, older adults.”

Where will the vaccine be administered?

Pfizer’s vaccine must be stored at between -70°C and -80°C, making it tricky to store at GP surgeries and pharmacies.

This means that it’s likely the initial doses will need to be administered from hospitals.

How many doses has the UK secured?

The UK has access to a total of 357 million doses of vaccines from 7 different developers.

This includes 7 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine candidate - enough to vaccinate 3.5 million Brits.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: “With a wide range of vaccine candidates in our portfolio, we stand ready to deploy a vaccine should they receive approval from our medicines regulator, starting with those who will benefit most.”