[ad_1]
The British prime minister said 350,000 people in the UK have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, as its medical director suggested that the vaccine gives rise to optimism amid a “terrible” moment of the pandemic.
oris Johnson revealed the number of people who had already received the initial injection of the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine during a press conference in Downing Street on Saturday.
Appearing alongside him, Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said that the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus was another “terrible” moment in the pandemic, but not “the worst” due to medical treatments and the launch of the vaccine.
He said, “Is it the worst time? Well, I’m afraid there have been so many terrible moments in this epidemic that this is another.
“But I have to say in my own opinion that this is not the worst moment of the epidemic and the reason is that although this virus is more transmissible and we must do everything possible, which is what the Prime Minister has announced, to maintain what as restricted as possible, keep it as low as possible so it doesn’t spread. “
Professor Whitty added: “We have medical countermeasures, we have a vaccine that is already being implemented as the prime minister said and so there is a prospect, relatively in the medium term future, where things could be much better.” .
He acknowledged that the new strain “would make things a lot worse”, but there were “optimistic things” if the vaccine works against him, something that was a “working assumption.”
In a statement released Saturday morning, Professor Whitty said “there is no current evidence to suggest that the new strain causes a higher death rate or affects vaccines and treatments,” but work is underway to confirm this.
During the press conference, he said that if the number of coronavirus cases could be reduced across the country, “that will give us the opportunity to get the vaccine out and protect the most vulnerable people so that, if it does, we can escape what we have is the vaccine barrier to help protect them. “
His comments came after former health secretary Jeremy Hunt warned that stocks of the coronavirus vaccine could run out by the end of January unless new ones, such as the Oxford vaccine, are approved.
Hunt told the BBC’s Today program on Saturday that if the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were approved soon, it would make a “big difference” because current stocks of the Pfizer vaccine would be depleted by the end of January.
Hunt’s comments come amid reports that the Oxford vaccine could be approved before the new year, with the Daily Telegraph reporting that senior Whitehall sources believe the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will authorize it on the December 28 or 29.
Hunt, who is also chair of the Health Select Committee, said that if regulators approve the Oxford-AstraZenca vaccine before the end of the year, it will ensure that the vaccination program rollout can be sustained.
A government spokesman said millions more doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine will be available in the coming weeks.
Pfizer said shipments of the vaccine will reach the UK by March next year, with deliveries underway and progressing according to the agreed schedule.
The President of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Martin Marshall, also said that the implementation of the coronavirus vaccination program in nursing homes will accelerate if regulators approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
But the MHRA said its review of the Oxford vaccine was still ongoing.
Around 200 GP-run vaccination clinics were expected to be up and running by the end of the week, with more to come.
To date, there are 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine in the country, which is enough for 400,000 people.
Overall, the UK has ordered 40 million doses, enough to vaccinate 20 million people.
Meanwhile, the Modern Covid-19 vaccine has received authorization for use in the US by the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The move marks the world’s first authorization for Moderna’s vaccines, and the vaccine is very similar to one from Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech vaccine that is already being rolled out.
Online editors
[ad_2]