Vets could administer vaccine in plan to rush out millions of doses

STUDENTS, dentists and vets could administer a coronavirus vaccine, under plans to rush out millions of doses.

The Government announced yesterday that it wants to change the law to increase dramatically the size of the workforce entitled to issue injections.

Ministers also plan to alter the rules on legal liability to make it harder for patients to sue healthcare workers if something goes wrong. The Government is backing six vaccine candidates, and has placed orders for 340million doses, to be used if and when a drug passes safety and efficacy hurdles.

A senior health official said yesterday he thought the chances of an effective vaccine this side of Christmas were “small but plausible”. However, planners are looking ahead to prevent bottlenecks in delivery when a drug becomes available. As well as expand- ing the workforce of people able to administer a jab, plans also include allowing a vaccine to be used before it is fully licensed by the regulator.

The Department of Health and Social Care insisted that this is mainly of bureaucratic significance – one conse- quence being to increase the financial risk to the drug manufacturers – and that no corners would be cut on safety.

Currently doctors, nurses and pharmacists administer vaccines, such as the annual flu jab. Prof Jonathan Vantam, the deputy chief medical officer, said: “We are making progress in developing Covid-19 vaccines. If we develop effective ones, it’s important we make them available to patients as quickly as possible, but only once strict safety standards are met.”

Launched yesterday, the consultation looking at amending the Human Medicine Regulations 2012 will last just three weeks. If a vaccine is discovered before 2021, the proposals will bolster existing powers that allow the MHRA to consider approving its use, before a full product licence is granted.

This is provided it is proven to be safe and effective during clinical trials.

The measures are necessary because during the transition period, a potential vaccine must be granted a licence by the European Medicines Agency. The regulations will permit the MHRA to consider temporary authorisation, allowing patients to benefit, while it undergoes the full licencing process.