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Frontline NHS staff have been denied the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, leaving doctors alarmed and “scrambling” to get vaccinated.
A new survey reveals that nearly two-thirds of responding physicians have yet to receive the vaccine, half believe their delivery to the NHS frontline has been “ad hoc” and one-third have no idea when it will be offered. They fear that the government’s decision to prioritize those over the age of 80 and nursing home staff over healthcare workers has left them at risk of contracting the disease, especially given the emergence of the variant of the coronavirus, which it is 70% more transmissible.
The findings, from a survey of 1,316 doctors by EveryDoctor, came as the UK’s drug regulator prepares to approve the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, possibly as early as Monday. Top doctors and NHS chiefs believe that the availability of the second vaccine will allow a dramatic increase in the number of people vaccinated, including healthcare professionals.
The fact that Oxford vaccine can be stored and transported at normal temperatures, while Pfizer vaccine must be frozen at -75 ° C, will make it much easier to distribute, especially in people’s homes and residences. The government has ordered 100 million doses, of which 40 million must be delivered before the end of March. Some 10,000 people have reportedly been recruited to administer the vaccine in places such as racetracks, sports stadiums and village hallways that have been commissioned as vaccination sites.
Ministers believe that vaccinating 15 million Britons will help regain a significant degree of normalcy, as many of those most at risk from Covid will have been immunized.
However, The Guardian has seen messages sent by NHS chiefs to staff acknowledging their great concern, and many workers feel they have been left unprotected.
In an email sent to colleagues on Boxing Day, Len Richards, executive director of the board of health at Cardiff and Vale University in Wales, said: “I understand there is great frustration among colleagues regarding access to coronavirus vaccine. I can fully understand and appreciate that frustration. “
Richards said the number of staff wanting the vaccine “significantly exceeds the amount of vaccine available to us.” The problem had been caused by “an indisputable limitation of supply and demand,” and the organization had had to ration the blows because “the supply is very low,” he added.
Similarly, in a letter to staff on Dec. 18, division directors of medicine, surgery and nursing at Derby University Hospitals and the Burton NHS Trust, admitted that “the lack of clarity” on when workers might have the jab “is causing a high degree of anxiety and concern for some groups of our staff.”
The trio explained that the trust’s “limited capacity for staff vaccination slots” was the result of ministers decreeing that 75% of Pfizer’s vaccine supplies must be delivered to the over-80% and 20% to nursing home staff, leaving only 5% – or 48 doses out of a batch of 975 – for NHS staff.
Dr Julia Patterson, Director of EveryDoctor, a grassroots network of doctors on the NHS, said: “The government urgently needs to rethink its strategy regarding Covid-19 vaccine priorities.
“Vaccines prevent people from transmitting viruses. We have limited vaccines available. Who needs a vaccine the most? People who are forced to mix with others. And those people are the front-line healthcare personnel who take care of Covid-19 patients, who come across Covid-19 continuously. “
In EveryDoctor’s self-selection survey, 831 (63%) of 1,316 physicians had not yet received the first dose of the vaccine, while 451 (34%) said they did not know what the plan was to immunize staff.
A consultant from the Imperial College Healthcare Trust in London said: “Some of us have received overflow vaccines in GP surgeries, which has involved word of mouth and last minute discussions.”
A GP in Warwickshire said it was “ridiculous” not to prioritize vaccinating healthcare professionals given the risk of them transmitting the virus to patients. Yesterday 30,501 new cases and 316 more deaths were registered.
While the Pfizer vaccine was shown to be 95% effective in trials, the Oxford vaccine resulted in 62% for those who took two full doses four weeks apart, but 90% for those who took half a dose and then one full dose later. However, the latter regimen was only tested in those under 55 years of age.
But Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca chief executive, sought on Sunday to promote confidence in the jab by insisting it will be as effective as Pfizer’s.
“We believe we have discovered the winning formula and how to get an efficacy that, after two doses, is on par with all the others,” Soriot told the Sunday Times.
The Department of Health and Welfare insisted that NHS staff had always been able to get vaccinated since the launch began on December 8, although only those with underlying health problems have been eligible.
“Since the inception of the program, health and social care personnel have always been prioritized for the Covid-19 vaccine, along with the elderly,” said a spokesperson.
