A SHOT IN THE ARMY
Troops called in to help hundreds of thousands get virus jab every day
BORIS Johnson called in the Army yesterday in a desperate bid to get the vaccine out to millions by February.
Brigadier Phil Prosser pledged to use his combat logistics skills to save lives but added the task is “unparalleled in its scale and complexity”.
Hundreds of vaccination centres will open this week.
BORIS Johnson brought out the big guns yesterday to reassure the public his ambitious Covid vaccine target will be hit.
The PM told a press conference the Army will use “battle preparation techniques” to protect the UK’s most vulnerable by mid February.
He introduced Brigadier Phil Prosser, the commander of military support for the vaccine, who said: “It is my role to deliver combat supplies to UK forces in time of war.
“My team are used to building supply chains at speed in the most arduous and challenging conditions.”
The rollout is the UK’s biggest logistical operation since the Second World War. In a display of organisational competency the country is not used to seeing, Brigadier Prosser outlined the three steps used by the military in complex operations.
“First, we analyse the situation and the mission, we then identify choices to select the best plan, and then we execute that plan at pace,” he said.
Hundreds of vaccination centres are set to open over the next week, one within 10 miles of every home.
The aim is that every elderly care home resident will be offered their first dose by the end of the month.
Operations will begin next week at the Etihad Tennis Centre in Manchester, Epsom Downs racecourse in Surrey, Robertson House in Stevenage, Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, Millennium Point in Birmingham and London ExCel. It is understood some care home workers are already receiving jabs at Newcastle’s Centre for Life.
Mr Johnson said there will be “lumpiness and bumpi-ness” in the rollout, adding:
“It will require an unprecedented national effort.” The Mirror, Labour and the TUC have launched a Let’s Vaccinate Britain campai campaign gn to encourage thousands to sign up as NHS volunteers. We also want them to get the jab and challenge anti-vax fake news. Alm Almost 1.3m people have had a jab but more than 200,000 need one ever every day to hit the target.
B Brig Prosser, Commander of the 101 Logistics Brigade, said: “I’ve foun found this operation unparalleled in scal scale and complexity, and I say this hav having served around the world.
“I “In the 30 days this programme has bee been in operation we have delivered 1.26 million doses of vaccine, hun hundreds of millions of consumable
items and established 769 sites. That’s the equivalent to setting up a major supermarket chain in less than a month, and next week we will increase our footprint by 20%.”
Hospitals face bleak weeks ahead with 10,000 people admitted with Covid since Christmas.
NHS England chief Simon Stevens said most were infected between Christmas and New Year when rules were relaxed. He said: “We’ve made a strong start on the vaccination programme but we need a huge acceleration.”
He slammed Covid deniers standing around outside hospitals.
Ministers have said people may need to be revaccinated every six months in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Labour leader Keir Starmer called on the public to “put our shoulder to the wheel” but said vaccination centres needed better information about deliveries.
“What they want is to know how many doses, how many batches they are getting so they can plan into the next few weeks,” he said.
Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, where the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was developed, said he was “very confident” the UK would “get on top of ” the virus in months.