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The NHS is being told to prepare for a possible vaccine launch starting in December, Sky News has understood.
GP Pulse magazine reported for the first time that GPs are on hold to begin vaccinating those over 85 and front-line healthcare workers from the beginning of next month.
Family physicians will receive a “targeted enhanced service” (DES) starting next week that sets out how they deliver the service, the magazine said.
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A coronavirus The vaccine has not yet been approved and will need to go through regulators to confirm that it is safe and effective before it can be offered to the public.
But there are two vaccine candidates that are currently in late-stage clinical trials and could send clinical data to regulators in weeks.
The two pioneers are potential vaccines from the German company BioNtech and the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer, and the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
A committee that advises the government on vaccines has already established which groups should be prioritized to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Residents and nursing home workers should be the first to receive any approved vaccine, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization said.
Subsequently, all people over 80 years of age and health and welfare workers should be the next to take the hit.
The Oxford University vaccine candidate is one of the pioneers
A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: “While there are no certainties in the development, production and timing of new vaccines, there is a possibility that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available in the UK in the early part of 2021.
“It will only be implemented once it is shown to be safe and effective through robust clinical trials and approved by the drug regulator MHRA (the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency).
“Once approved, the NHS is ready to begin the vaccination program for those most at risk, before implementing it more widely.”
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There have also been warnings that the first set of coronavirus vaccines “is probably imperfect” and “may not work for everyone.”
UK Vaccine Task Force Chair Kate Bingham recently wrote in The Lancet: “We don’t know if we will ever have a vaccine. It is important to avoid complacency and over-optimism.
“The first generation of vaccines are likely to be imperfect, and we must be prepared that they do not prevent infection but reduce symptoms, and even then they may not work for everyone or for a long time.”
