Q&A What Scots need to know about vaccine
QWhat is the Covid vaccine and how does it work?
AA
vaccine created by Pfizer/BioNTech is the first to be approved as safe for use anywhere in the world. It’s an mRNA vaccine – a cutting-edge technology. The vaccine works by introducing genetic material, called mRNA, which contains the instructions to make the so-called “spike” protein of the coronavirus, to the body. In response to these proteins, the body’s immune pathways are activated – a response which offers protection should we encounter the virus itself. It has a 95 per cent success rate.
QWhen will the vaccine be available in Scotland?
AScotland’s
share of the initial delivery of 800,000 doses will be here next week and the first doses will be given on Tuesday. The rest of the UK’s initial 10million batch should be in the country by the end of January at the latest, depending on how quickly it can be manufactured at Pfizer’s lab in Belgium.
QWho will be first to get it?
AThe
Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation says older people in care homes and those aged over 80 and their carers should be first in the queue. Those involved in vaccinating others will be the first to get it, along with some other key NHS workers.
QHow will it be administered?
APeople need two doses 21 days apart – with injections into the arm.
QWill I be able to get it from my doctor’s surgery?
AIt
is unlikely this particular vaccine will be available from GPs unless they have specialist storage facilities. The vaccine needs to be kept below -70C so hospitals – where this kind of storage is available – are the most likely setting to get it.
QHow ATo
keep it at the required ultra-low temperature, doses will be packaged with solid carbon dioxide and placed in reusable containers resembling pizza boxes for shipping. Unopened, these boxes keep the vaccine at the correct temperature for 10 days. QThe
will the vaccine be transported to this country?
number of Pfizer vaccines are unlikely to be enough for the whole of Scotland. Are any other vaccines in the pipeline?
ABoth the Moderna mRNA vaccine and the Oxford University/ AstraZeneca vaccine are under review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). QAre these vaccines as good as the Pfizer one? AThese vaccines have a key advantage over the Pfizer jab as they don’t need to be kept at such low temperatures, which makes them easier to distribute to places such as care home and prisons.
QCan I be made to have the vaccine?
ANo, the Scottish Government has no plans to make vaccination compulsory.
Q Are there any people who shouldn’t get the vaccine?
APregnant
women or those planning to become pregnant within the next three months are advised not to get it at the moment because of a lack of evidence about possible effects on the unborn child.
QThe
vaccine has been approved for use by the MHRA but in Europe it hasn’t been approved yet. Should we be concerned?
ANo,
the MHRA used to run the regulation of all vaccines across the EU. In the wake of Brexit, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) was set up but the MHRA continues to provide services for the UK. They have the same approach.