Don’t snub it... this is the safest option

THE vaccine has been approved by one of the best regulators in the world – and since the summer it has been working on the vaccine data as it arrived.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) gave it the go-head after closely examining all the full trial data set which involved around 40,000 people.

There is no evidence that the side-effects are any greater than a sore arm, headache and perhaps a mild fever.

These are symptoms you can get with the normal flu vaccine, although you may get a bit more of a sore arm with this injection.

The vaccine will not be given to pregnant women or those planning pregnancy within the next three months – nor will children under 16, because there is no data on these groups. This will remain the case until we have seen safety data on those groups.

The vaccine has been produced much more quickly than others because everyone has been working tirelessly since the start of the pandemic, given the urgency of the situation.

There are people who might say “well you’ve found a cure for

Covid-19 in a few months so why can’t you find a cure for cancer?”

It’s important to say that this is not a cure, this is a prevention. If you are exposed to the virus following the vaccine you are less likely to get complications or might not have any symptoms at all.

You can still get Covid-19 but your body will start to fight it the minute you are introduced to it.

As a result, your symptoms might be less or nil.

At the moment we are unable to break up the vaccine batches to deliver it to care homes, but this is a rapidly evolving situation.

In the meantime we would encourage care workers to have the vaccine. They have seen first hand the devastation it can cause.

One infected care worker can wipe out a whole home.

In short it is far, far less safe not to have the vaccine than take the small risks of a potential serious side-effect, which would be very rare.

Prof Harnden is a GP and deputy chair of the Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunisation