‘A great day for humanity’

Hopes of a vaccine roll-out by Christmas after drugs giant Pfizer says its jab is safe and ready to be deployed

SCIENTISTS say Britain could return to normal life by spring, after a Covid vaccine breakthrough was hailed as a “great day for science and humanity”.

International trials on 43,500 people found that the jab prevented 90 per cent of cases of coronavirus, with no safety concerns raised.

Last night Boris Johnson said the “bugle of the scientific cavalry” was getting louder, while leading scientists said they were “smiling from ear to ear” after Pfizer declared its results.

Britain has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, including 10 million which could be administered before Christmas, if regulatory approval is granted.

The elderly are set to be first in line for the vaccine, along with health and care workers, with NHS plans to create 1,500 vaccination sites within weeks for the roll-out.

Under Government prioritisation plans, it will then be rolled out to all over-50s, and younger people with health conditions, before being offered more widely.

Stock markets around the world surged when Pfizer and Biontech revealed early results from the clinical trial in six countries. The FTSE 100 index had its best day since March, as shares in airlines and hospitality firms soared, with a 36 per cent rise in easyjet prices, while those in online groceries fell.

The developers – Pfizer and BionTech – described it as a “great day for science and humanity”.

They will apply for approval for the vaccine to be licensed once they have amassed sufficient safety data, which is expected to be handed over later this month.

Sir John Bell, a member of the Government’s vaccine task force, said he could say “with some confidence” that Britain could return to normal life by spring.

Prof Jonathan Van-tam, deputy chief medical officer, told a Downing Street press conference: “This is a very important scientific breakthrough. I am certain of that.” He said he was “hopeful but not yet certain that we could begin to see some vaccine by Christmas”.

“This is a huge milestone. But, more importantly, it is good news for many of the vaccines to come because almost all of the vaccines coming also target the S protein. So this is like getting to the end of the play-off final, it’s gone to penalties. The first player goes up scores that goal. You haven’t won the cup yet, but what it does is it tells you that the goalkeeper can be beaten. And that’s where we are today – that first sign,” he said.

However, Mr Johnson stressed that the vaccine advances did not mean the lockdown could be eased any earlier. He told the conference: “If the Pfizer vaccine passes all the rigorous safety checks and is proven to be effective then we will begin a Uk-wide Nhs-led programme of vaccine distribution.

“We have talked for a long time … about the distant bugle of the scientific cavalry coming over the brow of the hill. Tonight that toot of the bugle is louder, but it is still some way off.

“The biggest mistake we could make now would be to slacken our resolve at such a critical moment,” he said.

Mr Johnson said he was “buoyantly optimistic about the prospects of this country next year”. But he said some uncertainties lay ahead: “I just don’t want to let people run away with the idea that this development is a home run, a slam dunk, a shot to the back of the net, yet. There is a long way before we have got this thing beat.”

Pfizer and Biontech have to hand over two months of safety data to be examined by watchdogs before a licence can be granted for its use.

This data could be available as soon as next week, meaning regulators in the UK and Europe could be able to give the vaccines the green light within weeks.

The results come from a phase 3 study of 43,538 participants, in six countries, with most participants now having received two doses.

Oxford University and Astrazeneca are expected to publish their safety and efficacy data shortly, meaning their vaccine could also soon get the go-ahead.

Scientists said the most significant part of the breakthrough is that it brings hope for a raft of other vaccine trials, which work in a similar way. Britain has ordered more than 350,000 doses from a number of manufacturers, raising hopes of mass roll-out next year.

Yesterday NHS leaders announced

21,350

that the health service would start testing all front-line staff twice a week, to prevent the spread of the virus by those who are asymptomatic.

The daily figures showed 194 more deaths from Covid-19, bringing the UK total to 49,238.

Last night Prof Van-tam said the vaccine breakthrough would not be soon enough to prevent the current wave of Covid cases, though he said a “much better horizon” could come by the end of spring.

“We have to keep pressing hard for now. We’ve seen a swallow, but this is very much not summer. It would be a colossal mistake on the part of any one of us to relax at this point,” he said.

Prof Van-tam likened Britain’s situation to a train journey, in precarious conditions.

He said: “It’s wet, it’s windy, it’s horrible. And two miles down the tracks two lights appear and it’s the train and it’s a long way off and we’re at that point at the moment. That’s the efficacy result. Then we hope the train slows down safely to get into the station, that’s the safety data, and then the train stops.

“And at that point the guard has to make sure it’s safe to open the doors. That’s the regulator. And when the doors open, I hope there’s not an unholy scramble for the seats. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has very clearly said which people need the seats most and they are the ones who should get on the train first.”

Prof Peter Horby, professor of emerging infectious diseases and global health in the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, was among the scientists celebrating last night.

He said: “This news made me smile from ear to ear. It is a relief to see such positive results on this vaccine and bodes well for Covid-19 vaccines in general. Of course we need to see the final results, and there is a long, long way to go before vaccines will start to make a real difference, but this feels like a watershed moment.”

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation, said: “We welcome the encouraging vaccine news from Pfizer and Biontech and salute all scientists and partners around the world who are developing new safe, efficacious tools to beat Covid-19.”

DAILY CORONAVIRUS CASES

+0%

CHANGE IN 7-DAY AVERAGE

49,238

DEATHS + 194

‘We have talked about the distant bugle of the scientific cavalry. Tonight that toot is louder’

UP TO 1,500 vaccination centres will be created across the country to roll out the new coronavirus jab when it arrives, NHS plans show.

Many of the centres will be based at GP practices, while Nightingale hospitals may also be used. Under the NHS plans, medics have been told to be ready to start administering the vaccine as soon as the start of December.

Britain has secured 40 million doses of the new Pfizer vaccine. This is enough for around one third of the UK’S population, given that protection requires two doses, a few weeks’ apart.

It is hoped that the first 10 million doses will arrive before Christmas, but the NHS will then be engaged in a massive effort to get them to those most in need across the UK.

Yesterday health officials stressed that age will be the “far and away” the biggest factor deciding who is eligible for the vaccine. Everyone over the age of 50 has been placed on a “preliminary” prioritisation list, with the very oldest taking precedence.

While some younger people with underlying health conditions will be given early access to jabs, along with those working in health and care, much of the population below the age of 50 can expect to have to wait.

Officials have said that delivering the vaccine in early December would be a “very optimistic” scenario but said they are “hopeful” that some of the first jabs can be administered before Christmas.

Last week Sir Simon Stevens, NHS England chief executive, said the mass vaccination centres could include Nightingale hospitals, while “roving teams” may visit care homes and vulnerable groups. He said: “The bulk of this is going to be the other side of Christmas, but we want to be ready.”

Under the prioritisation lists those living or working in care homes are given top priority, followed by anyone over the age of 80, and NHS and social care workers. Next up will be those aged 75 and over, followed by the over 70s, then all those aged 65 and over, under the lists drawn up by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

Everyone aged 65 and over – and those working in health and care sectors – would be eligible for the jabs before younger people with high-risk underlying conditions are offered them.

And all those aged 50 and over can expect to be offered the jab, before jabs are offered more widely to the younger population.

Drugs regulators including the European Medicines Agency and the Medic i nes a nd Healthcare pro ducts Regulatory Agency will consider safety data from the Pfizer trial at the same time as it is considered by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. Pfizer say this data could be available as soon as next week.

Yesterday Prof Jonathan Van-tam, the country’s deputy chief medical officer, said that age would be the key criteria behind eligibility, with hospitalisation rates rising “very dramatically” after the age of 50. However, the list will be revised if a successful vaccine turns out to be more effective in particular age groups, or among those with specific risk factors.

Prof Van-tam said that the most significant point about the Pfizer trial results is that it was “good news for many of the vaccines to come.” In total, more than 350 million doses of different types of vaccines have been “pre-ordered”.

Professor Van-tam said: “Frankly, we’re in the middle of the second wave, and I don’t see the vaccine making any difference for the wave we are now in. ”

Yesterday Kate Bingham, chairman of the UK vaccine task force, said air freight would be used to make sure vaccines could be delivered from Belgium to England, regardless of Brexit.

Hundreds of thousands of doses of the Pfizer jabs have already been manufactured in Belgium. But there are logistical challenges involved in distributing vials which must be stored at around -78C, and the military may be drafted in to help secure stocks.

Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health, University of Southampton, said the temperature could pose difficulties. “It has been reported that the vaccine requires storage at -70C and that is not necessarily routinely available in most health centres even in the UK, let alone globally.”

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: “There are production and distribution problems to be overcome, but these should not be beyond the wit of human ingenuity.”

The vaccine is one of at least seven that have already been pre-ordered by the UK, with total batches amounting to 350 million doses.