Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
VIRUS JABS FOR ALL BY APRIL
NHS reveals plan to inoculate every adult... if Government secures supplies in time
A HUGE drive could lead to the whole of the UK getting a Covid jab by April.
A secret NHS document reveals it could begin next month... if supplies are ready.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was “more and more confident”. But union bosses pointed to the test and trace fiasco and said he was unlikely to deliver.
A RETURN to normality may be on the horizon as the NHS plans to make a Covid jab available to everyone by early April.
And the most vulnerable age group could start to get the vaccine by mid-december if supplies are ready.
It relies on Government pulling off an unprecedented logistical effort.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told yesterday’s No10 briefing he was “more and more confident” of a safe return to freedom by the spring.
The news came on the day Government advisers said the outbreak may finally be shrinking.
The R-value – the number of people each new case infects – is officially between 1 and 1.1, down from between 1 and 1.2 the previous week.
The North West was the only area now below 1, at between 0.8 and 1.
But Government scientists SAGE went further saying they are “not confident R is above 1 in England” but that data will not reflect that yet.
The national Covid-19 Infection Survey also estimates that new cases
are falling. NHS England’s planning document assumes a 75% uptake of vaccine and says up to five million will get the jab every week.
Two doses will be needed 28 days apart. The document says care home residents, social care and healthcare workers will be first in the queue from the beginning of next month.
Over-80s could start getting the jab from midDecember then the 70-79 group from late December. In early January it would be the turn of 65 to 69-year-olds and all high and moderate risk under-65s.
The 50 to 64-year-olds will get the jab from mid-january with 18 to 49s following from late January to March. The plan is for 88.5 million doses to be delivered at community sites run by GPS and at mass vaccination centres in conference halls and stadiums. The secret document, seen by the Health Service Journal, is dated November 13 and was shared among top NHS leaders on Thursday.
The head of England’s biggest NHS trust confirmed that i n a “best-case scenario” it could be done by April. Dr David Rosser, of University Hospitals Birmingham, said: “But the big truckloads of stuff are not going to come before February.”
The rollout is dependent on data confirming the Moderna jab is safe.
The Pfizer vaccine has already published safety data.
Enough supplies for rapid rollout are unlikely without the Oxford University vaccine also being found to be effective. Trial results are due in a few weeks. The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer jab and expects 10 million by the end of the year. It has also ordered 100 million of an approved Oxford vaccine.
Mr Hancock said: “I know everyone wants to know about the timing and the speed of the rollout. That will depend on the speed at which vaccines can be manufactured.”
UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis said: “The nation’s hopes are pinned on this. No one wants another test and trace shambles.”
Rachel Harrison of the GMB union said: “Anything that helps bring this nightmare to an end is clearly good news but past experience shows it’s unlikely the Government will deliver.”
Ministers will meet next week to try to thrash out coronavirus rules for Christmas. England’s national lockdown is due to end on December 2 but tiered restrictions will return.
US scientists have found antibodies produced by the MMR jab can lead to less severe Covid symptoms.
This year has been a difficult one all round, and for some who had already found themselves struggling financially, the pandemic has made life even harder.
For people in communities across the country, this
Christmas is going to be a particularly difficult one.
That’s why the
Tesco Food
Collection urgently needs your donations. It’s urging shoppers to donate long-life food to help its charity partners – the Trussell Trust and Fareshare
– deliver much-needed meals and support for those unable to manage this year.
People find they need to use food banks for a variety of reasons, and the pandemic has shown just how quickly things can change for any of us.
This year the need is far greater, with the Trussell Trust expecting to provide a food parcel to someone every nine seconds this winter – parcels that would not be possible without donations from the public. “Every year customers are so generous, but this is not a normal year,” says Tesco’s head of community, Claire De Silva. “The two charities we work with need to provide more food than ever.”
Last year you really stepped up, donating more than 3 million meals-worth of food during the collection.
Tesco will once again be topping up the value of donations with an additional 20 per cent in cash.
The Tesco Food Collection launched on November 16 and you can donate in store until this evening (Saturday 21st).
Just a few minutes’ extra thought when writing your own shopping list and a couple of extra items popped in at the end could really make someone’s Christmas.