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The Pfizer / BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine will be launched in GP surgeries in a few days.
Starting Tuesday, people will be able to receive the vaccine in GPs, a week after the first approved vaccines were administered in hospitals across the UK.
Sky News spoke with the President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), Professor Martin Marshall, about how that will happen and who will receive the vaccine initially.
Margaret Keenan, 90, was the first patient in the UK to receive the approved Pfizer / BioNtech at a hospital.
Who will get the vaccine and how will they know they have been chosen?
People aged 80 and over will be the first to receive the vaccine at GP surgeries.
Professor Marshall said, “You will receive an invitation if you are in that priority group.
“Please do not call the office for a vaccination or show up, wait for them to call you.”
He said there will be “some flexibility” at the local level to prioritize the most vulnerable within that age group, such as certain ethnicities or people with multiple conditions.
What will the procedure be once a person goes to surgery to receive the vaccine?
Like getting a flu shot, people will need to get to the office on time and check in with the receptionist.
“The staff will wear the necessary PPE and you will be aligned with appropriate social distancing,” said Professor Marshall.
“There will be staff at each stage of the process, who will describe the risks and obtain the consent of the person.”
Staff, probably nurses, will take a bottle out of the refrigerator and mix it with a saline solution, ready to use.
The vaccine will then be injected into the person’s arm and they will have to wait in another part of the surgery for 15 minutes.
What are the risks and is it safe to receive the vaccine in GP surgery?
Because two members of the NHS staff had reactions to the vaccine on the first day of launch, they all have to wait 15 minutes before they can get out of surgery.
Patients will be informed of the risks and the nurses will take their consent.
Anyone with a history of anaphylaxis to medications or food should not be invited to be vaccinated.
The risk is low, but if someone has anaphylaxis, GPs are well equipped to treat it.
“GPs do not have the immediate support of a hospital, but they have basic life support, oxygen, Piriton, everything that will treat anaphylaxis quickly and safely,” said Professor Marshall.
The vaccine will be removed from the refrigerator and then mixed with saline before giving it.
Will all GP surgeries administer the vaccine?
No. The practices will be chosen by Public Health England (PHE) to become vaccine centers on the basis that they will stay open longer to ensure that all the vaccines they have can be used.
Will the chosen GP surgeries continue to provide normal service?
Not all staff members at a surgery will be part of the vaccination program, but PHE has told chosen practices to prioritize the vaccine.
Patients may be able to get advice over the phone, but Professor Marshall said that if they need “more detailed or urgent care,” they can go to a consultation nearby.
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COVID-19 Vaccine: What’s Next?
This is the busiest time of the year for the NHS and in addition to the vaccine, they will continue to deliver the flu vaccine and treat patients.
“The practices will help each other, we are all in this together,” he said.
“It will show the best of the NHS.”
The vaccine must be stored at -70 ° C, how will GP surgeries cope?
Professor Marshall explained that the vials, containing five doses each, will be transferred from PHE main freezers to hospitals across the UK that have -70 ° C freezers.
“The vaccine can only be moved three times, so once it is in the hospital freezer, it must be delivered from there to 200-250 GPs across the country who have been chosen,” he said.
The vaccines will be taken from PHE’s main freezers and placed in -70 ° C freezers in hospitals across the UK before being sent to general practitioners’ offices.
“When they receive a package, 975 vaccines in a box, they are put in a refrigerator in practice, they are thawed and then they have five days to use them all.
“This is not going to be perfect, certainly not from day one and mistakes will be made, but I hope there aren’t many.
“We have such a strong record of mass vaccination, I am very confident that general practice can do well.
“The GP staff are so well trained that I hope mistakes are minimal and we learn very quickly.”
Will Pfizer Vaccine Be Given To People In Nursing Homes?
They will, but because the logistics are even more difficult than getting you to GP surgeries, the drug regulator, the MHRA, is still deciding how best to do it.
Professor Marshall said it won’t be for the first week, but when the launch is approved, a GP or practice nurse will go to a nursing home and administer the vaccine.
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“The biggest risk of taking them out of the centers and into people’s homes is denaturing the vaccine or wasting it,” he said.
“We must be cautious before taking that risk.”
