Delay to Arran Covid vaccine
It may be priority groups will have to wait for second vaccine to be approved.
No one has yet been vaccinated on Arran against the Covid-19 virus, it has been confirmed to the Banner.
The delay is because permission to transport the vaccine by sea was only given on Tuesday. In addition, the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures and can only be transported for a short period of time once it has been thawed so careful planning is required to minimise waste, NHS Ayrshire and Arran said.
And it may be that priority groups on the island may have to wait for a second vaccine, which does not have the storage or transportation issues, to be approved.
However, latest figures show the level of coronavirus cases on Arran remains very low. There were fewer than three new positive cases of Covid-19 on the island in the seven days until December 11. In six other locations in North Ayrshire the spread is also very low.
However, that is not the case in the remainder of the council area where the level coronavirus cases has jumped to the second highest in Scotland with a total of 233 positive cases of coronavirus in North Ayrshire between December 5 and December 11.
North Ayrshire’s weekly rate of Covid cases stood at 172 per 100,000 people between December 5 and 11. Only Clackmannanshire has a higher rate according to Public Health Scotland’s latest figures published.
The rise comes after North Ayrshire stayed in level three restrictions., but with a warning a move to level four is possible.
Parts of Kilwinning have seen the highest number of people testing positive and the council has been forced to close St Matthew’s Academy in Saltcoats until January because of a surge in positive cases and contact tracing underway at Greenwood Academy in Dreghorn.
In a statement, Dr Joy Tomlinson, joint director of public health, told the Banner:
‘The Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine must be stored at ultra-low temperatures and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Tuesday, December 15, confirmed authorisation to transport the vaccine by sea once it has thawed.
‘This means that to date we have not been able to transport the vaccine to our island communities on Arran or Cumbrae. In addition the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can only be transported for a short period of time once it has been thawed so careful planning is required to minimise waste.
‘We are hopeful that the MHRA may be close to approving a second vaccine, which does not have the same storage or transportation issues, in the near future. It will be for the MHRA to confirm the safe storage and transportation requirements of any Covid-19 vaccines given approval for use.
‘It is our intention and commitment to vaccinate the priority groups resident on our islands as soon as it is safe and logistically possible to do so. Authorisation to transport the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine by sea allows us to start planning this vaccination programme for the nationally agreed priority groups.’