UK: every two adults vaccinated: the reasons for success

Stand: 10:36 am | Reading time: 3 minutes.

IIn the UK, half of all adults have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. Almost 27 million people received a first dose of vaccine and about two million received the second. The Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed a “fantastic success” over the weekend.

While the EU desperately awaits supplies, the British only occasionally have to deal with bottlenecks in deliveries, also because they hardly export vaccines. But that is not the only reason. An overview of why things are better there:

General practitioners and pharmacies

All who can vaccinate do so; The British approach can be summed up that simply. In addition to vaccination centers, general practitioners have also been able to vaccinate for months. Even numerous pharmacies have been approved. “Most vaccines are given by general practitioners,” reports Azeem Majeed, a physician at Imperial College London. The British are resourceful with their vaccination centers: they also remodel empty stadiums, race tracks, shopping malls, and even churches like the famous Westminster Abbey.

General practitioner notifications

Britons are usually registered with a number with the NHS national health service and therefore with a family doctor in their area. In addition to the official letter from the NHS, GPs also communicate with their patients directly by SMS or by phone when it is their turn to vaccinate. Anyone who is not notified, but is still there according to the official vaccination sequence, will receive an uninvited appointment.

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Team

Vaccination appointments can be booked online at the centers using a uniform reservation system nationwide. There are usually multiple locations to choose from and exact times can be booked as well. If you prefer to be vaccinated by your GP, you will sometimes have to wait a little longer, but you can also make an appointment there, usually by phone. Anyone who has been notified but did not book an appointment will not be out of sight. The so-called immunization management service carries out a telephone follow-up. You also receive an SMS with an appointment reminder sent to your cell phone.

No storage

The British do not delay the second dose of vaccination, unlike what often happens in Germany. What’s in the fridge is also vaccinated. They trust that there will still be enough vaccine available when the second appointment comes. So far, it has paid off, but the country is less affected by delivery bottlenecks than the EU. Just a few days ago there was the first report that a few million cans of Indian production would arrive later.

Distance between appointments

Britain relies on longer intervals between the first and second doses. With the AstrazZeneca vaccine, other countries are now doing the same after more data on effectiveness was released. However, the British are also extending the interval at Biontech / Pfizer and thus providing partial immunity to a large part of their country from the first dose.

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Remaining cans

“We don’t waste any vaccines,” says Dr. Majeed. Doctors’ offices keep lists of patients who can come to the office quickly if there are doses of vaccine left overnight. Therefore, there are always people who get vaccinated even if it is not their turn, but at the right time and in the right place. Germany also wants to use its order more pragmatically in the future than before.

More courage to take risks

While rare side effects such as blood clots are temporarily suspended by several EU countries due to isolated cases, the British continued to vaccinate. The British regulatory authority asked people with long-lasting side effects to seek the advice of a doctor. Yet the government consistently insists that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. The government’s medical adviser, Jonathan Van-Tam, says: “The vaccine does not save lives when it is in the refrigerator.”

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