Oxford jab rollout starts as army urges ‘war’ on virus
THE Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine arrived in hospitals yesterday, with patients set to receive the first jabs tomorrow.
Inoculations will be carried out at a small number of sites as a trial run before the bulk of the first 530,000 doses are sent to hundreds of GP-led services later in the week.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS
Trust, where the vaccine was developed, is expected to be among the first to use it.
It comes as defence chiefs are urging ministers to go on to a “war footing” against the virus.
Senior commanders are ready to supply 5,000 personnel to help with the rollout. One said:
“Defeating Covid needs to be the military’s main effort. Engineers can build vaccination centres very quickly and equip them with trained medical staff. We need a war footing – now. ”
Our source said there was growing doubt among military top brass that No10 had grasped how complex vaccinating most of the population would be.
They believe the operation will need huge numbers working 24/7 for months on end.
But an MoD spokesperson said: “The NHS is well prepared to deliver the vaccine and keep pace with supplies as they increase over the coming weeks.” Meanwhile Pfizer and
AstraZeneca have rejected Government warnings of months-long vaccine supply gaps, claiming there will be enough doses to hit the two million a week target.
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty had last week warned vaccine availability issues would “remain the case for months” as firms struggled to keep up with global demand.
But Sir Richard Sykes, who led a review of the Government’s Vaccines Taskforce in December, this week said he was “not aware” of a shortage in supply.
India, producing the Oxford vaccine under licence, already has 50 million doses ready to go. In May Health Secretary Matt Hancock pledged 30 million would be ready upon approval.
Because of apparent shortages the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has modified guidance so booster doses are given up to three months – rather than three weeks – after a patient’s first jab.
But Pfizer released a statement on Wednesday saying its vaccine was not intended to be taken more than 21 days apart.
Boris Johnson said: “The Oxford vaccine is a triumph of British science. There are challenges still ahead of us, but I’m confident this is the year we will defeat coronavirus.”