Liverpool: now the British government is planning Europe’s first mass vaccination

Paul Rogan has experience in delicate operations. As a member of the Royal Marines, he trained Afghan police officers in Kabul. At the Liverpool Police Department, Rogan specialized in special operations. The 59-year-old is now responsible for handling the massive Covid-19 testing in his hometown on the River Mersey.

“And I suppose that in the foreseeable future we will also carry out vaccines in addition to Covid tests,” says Rogan, pointing to the huge showroom at the Liverpool Exhibition Center. In two weeks, more than 130,000 asymptomatic citizens were screened at 16 testing centers. After Slovakia, Beatles City is Europe’s first major mass test pilot project.

Very soon, the UK could become the site of the first mass vaccinations in Europe. On Wednesday, the national drug regulatory agency, MHRA, announced that the vaccine developed by Biontech and Pfizer was approved immediately. The Boris Johnson government now plans to establish up to 1,000 vaccination centers across the country.

The first of the 800,000 doses of vaccines will be distributed to hospitals next week. In a first phase, nursing home residents and their caregivers, as well as clinic staff, will be in the program. It is followed by people over 80 years of age and people with previous serious illnesses. The NHS state healthcare provider has been planning for weeks to equip general practices and vaccination centers for twelve-hour shifts. The government has reserved 350 million doses from various providers and plans to vaccinate 50 of its 66 million citizens in the long term.

“We have the logistics for this. There is no problem, ”says former military officer Rogan. The pilot in Liverpool has shown how efficient the UK healthcare system can be when on a special mission. In the first phase of the massive tests, the British Army made sure everything went smoothly.

The young soldiers in riot gear brought tons of protective gear, partitions, tables and test material to the community centers and showrooms that were selected for the pilot project. The military did the whole process, from registering the volunteers to checking the stains.

Already on the first day, the “Scousers”, as the people of Liverpool are called, lined up. Liverpool FC’s German coach Jürgen Klopp also participated. “Regular testing kept the Premier League going. Let’s do it together. Let’s do it for Liverpool ”, the superstar Klopp appealed to the population through social networks.

Liverpool employee Rachel Moore also had a swab at the Exhibition Center, where she works as an events director. “I immediately went with my family, even several times,” says Moore. “That is a small price to pay to finally get us out of lockdown.”

Few cities in England have been closed for as long as Liverpool. In early October, Premier Johnson imposed “level 3 restrictions”, the harshest form. Only stores that are indispensable to everyday life were allowed to continue to open, the entire hospitality industry had to close.

Tens of thousands of students, a major source of income for Liverpool, were relegated to their dormitories and restricted almost entirely to online classes. Tough penalties for a city that breathes and lives off nightlife and entertainment. But the radical cure worked. If the number of new infections was 700 per 100,000 population at the end of September, it fell below 100 two months later.

The lockdown ended on Wednesday of this week. Liverpool has now moved on to the second stage. In the shopping streets of the city center, there was almost a festive atmosphere under the rare sun. Street musicians played John Lennon songs in the cold winter air. A painful reminder that the heart of the city, the music scene, has stood still since spring.

That the end of the second national lockdown coincides with the approval of a vaccine gives the nation hope that the pandemic will end. But those responsible in Liverpool are acting with caution. “The massive tests have shown that there are some obstacles to overcome. Especially in terms of public trust, ”said Paul Brant, public health councilor.

Fear of a positive test

While many of the highest paid “Scousers” – Liverpool residents – volunteered to participate in the mass testing, the turnout from people in socially disadvantaged districts was only four percent. Since the start of the corona pandemic, the city with its 500,000 residents has received 68,000 new applications for social assistance. Brant suspects that those who still have a job in the face of the dire job market do not want to lose it because they would have to stay home after a positive test. “And the almost 110 euros that the government offers a week for this case is simply not enough.”

According to Brant, citizens from socially disadvantaged backgrounds will also be difficult to convince of vaccines. “It is extremely important to reach out to people who generally have little trust in the state or who cling to conspiracy theories.” Therefore, the city council is also considering the successful recipe of using disc jockeys or celebrities such as Jürgen Klopp as ambassadors for its vaccination campaign.

Labor politician Brant can even imagine that vaccination will become a condition of participation in public life in the future. “There are countries that are not allowed to enter without a yellow fever vaccine. Nobody sees this as a restriction of civil rights. ” The ethical argument in favor of some kind of vaccination card is compelling to Brant. “If you don’t get vaccinated, you are not only at risk for yourself, but also for others.”

Popular places under radiant heaters.

At the “Maray” restaurant in the Albert Dock on the River Mersey, Tom Brown longs for the vaccination to begin, with or without identification. “The hospitality industry in Liverpool has had a difficult time. There will be many who will not reach the end of the pandemic. Thanks to the short-term job, Brown was able to keep his 50 employees busy.

He has just built six pavilions with radiant heaters in front of the restaurant, which are now completely full every night. According to Corona regulations, up to six people from different households can eat together when outside. “In Liverpool we always find a way out of the crisis together. That is the spirit of the city. That is why mass vaccination will be as successful as mass testing. “