LIFE-SAVER!
hopes vaccine will be ready before christmas Army of medics to be trained for mass roll-out
BRITAIN is preparing for the deployment of a life-saving Covid-19 vaccine, top medics revealed yesterday.
And hopes are high that a jab could be available before Christmas.
Efforts are being fasttracked to recruit an army of nurses, doctors and pharmacists for the mass roll-out.
They will be ready to administer a vaccine the moment one is declared effective and safe by health watchdogs.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam acknowledged scientists were “making progress” in developing vaccines.
Another senior medical expert yesterday told the Daily Express that the UK will be fully prepared by October and that a breakthrough on the vaccine itself is close.
The expert said: “The chances of having large volumes of vaccine this side of Christmas are small, but nevertheless it is plausible
‘We are making progress in saving lives and returning to normal in future’
at least for a couple of manufacturers that we are looking at.”
The UK has secured access to four types of vaccine from six different manufacturers and is supporting frantic research across the world.
One of the most promising has been developed in Britain by researchers at Oxford University and is already being used in largescale human trials to test its effectiveness.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering fast-tracking it for use in the US before the election this November, even though scientists have not yet proven it works. Elderly and vulnerable people and health and care professionals on the front line are expected to be the first people to get the medicine once it is proven safe.
But officials stressed that “no corners will be cut” and no that vaccine will be given to anybody unless it first passes safety tests controlled by the independent Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.
Ministers are also reported to be considering drive-through vaccine clinics which work in a similar way to the regional coronavirus testing centres.
People would be able to drive to specially set-up centres – possibly in GP surgery car parks – and get the vaccine without having to go into a clinic or hospital.
This could make the process faster and also make social distancing easier.
The car park plan was drawn up for flu vaccinations in the coming months, but it is possible that it could also be used for a Covid-19 jab in future.
Professor Van-Tam said: “We are making progress in developing Covid-19 vaccines which we hope will be important in saving lives, protecting healthcare workers and returning to normal in future.
“If we develop effective vaccines, it’s important we make them available to patients as quickly as possible but only once strict safety standards have been met.
“The proposals consulted on today suggest ways to improve access and ensure as many people are protected from Covid-19 and flu as possible without sacrificing the absolute need to ensure that any vaccine used is both safe and effective.”
Earlier this month, Professor Van-Tam said spring could be a “new dawn” for Britain and its battle with the disease.
In a ray of hope for the UK, he said people should be able to “live safely” by Easter 2021.
He admitted life will be different in the future and home-working is likely to become much more commonplace, but said he was hopeful.
Yesterday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We don’t rule out a vaccine coming on stream this year but also, by no means is that a done deal.
“And next year is more likely. It’s a very difficult science.
“It’s thankfully one that our scientists are up to, and each sign at the moment is going well and going in the right direction. But we don’t want to raise people’s hopes too much.”
Health experts said doctors and nurses will be their first choice to administer the drug, but even vets and dentists might be asked to help out.
A senior medical expert said: “Nothing is being left off the table.”
As part of the drive to ensure the UK is fully prepared, the Government will also clarify the protection from civil liability that healthcare staff could face.
The special measures include stronger powers for the UK to approve drugs this year independently of the European Medicines Agency, which is supposed to licence drugs up to the end of the Brexit transition period in December.
That step alone indicates that officials believe the vaccine has a
chance of being ready earlier than 2021.
Dr Christian Schneider, director of the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, said: “While the existing licensing system or a new UK one from next year is the preferred and expected route to supply any vaccine, these new measures will strengthen the regulatory regime and our ability to protect public health.”
Under the proposals more fully trained healthcare professionals will be able to administer vaccines under NHS and local authority occupational health schemes.
The plan will also enable an expanded workforce that can administer vaccinations.
This will make it easier and quicker for patients to access the vaccines.
The expanded workforce could include a wider range of existing NHS staff, as well as groups such as student doctors and nurses. The regulations already give healthcare workers and manufacturers protection from civil liability.
But the consultation will look at clarifying the scope of the protection to ensure it applies to companies that order the medicines and the additional workforce that could be allowed to administer vaccinations.
There are around 1.1 million people working in the NHS and everyone who is included in the scheme will go through a “robust training programme”, the Department of Health said.
The UK has secured access to 100 million doses of a potential vaccine being developed by pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca in partnership with Oxford University.
On July 20, the first human results from the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine trial were described as a “major breakthrough”. Professor Adrian Hill, the director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, has said that the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by December if enough people are recruited for trials by the beginning of September.
SOME naysayers – mainly on the Left or of a Remainer attitude – love to say that this country’s great days are behind it, that we are no longer able to stand up to the world’s great challenges without being propped up by others.
This of course is and always will be a nonsense. The way the Government has geared up the nation’s manufacturing capacity for vaccines is akin to the way our industrial weight was put behind producing weapons in the Second World War. In all the negativity surrounding coronavirus, we should actually be proud of the way our scientists and producers have responded.
What it shows is that while it is important to work with international partners, particularly in the face of such a crisis, it is also important to have the capacity to protect ourselves and be self-sufficient.
It is truly remarkable in the face of an unprecedented medical crisis that within six months we are not only getting close to a vaccine but have the ability to get it to everyone in the country.
Once the vaccine is rolled out, then at long last we can start looking forward to a return to normality and that is certainly something that cannot come too soon.