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The medical director last night assured the public that the vaccines should still be effective against the new ‘mutant’ strain that is catching on in Britain, amid signs that Oxford’s groundbreaking jab will soon be approved.
Delivering positive news on a gloomy day in the fight against coronavirus, Professor Chris Whitty said there was no indication that vaccines developed so far are ineffective against the new strain. It means protecting the country from Covid-19 in a matter of months with a widespread vaccination that should still be possible.
Last night, Boris Johnson said that 350,000 people had already been vaccinated and there is hope that the figure will reach half a million in the next few days.
By Christmas, the number of people getting vaccinated is expected to reach 200,000 per day, and the NHS will vaccinate people on Christmas Day itself, as well as Christmas Eve and December 26.
Professor Chris Whitty said there is no indication that the vaccines developed so far are ineffective against the new strain.
In another positive development, government sources said the Oxford vaccine is likely to be approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) later this month, paving the way for the first recipients to receive the injections before the New Year. .
Speaking during last night’s press conference, Professor Whitty said that while there were ‘theoretical reasons’ to suspect that some genetic mutations could affect the effectiveness of vaccines, the’ working assumption at this time … is that the answer of the vaccine should be suitable for this virus [variant]’.
Scientists believe that a small amount of changes in the virus’s spike protein, which is where the hits concentrate their firepower, are highly unlikely to render them useless.
Meanwhile, the Oxford jab, produced in conjunction with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is expected to be approved in 10 days. That will revolutionize the inoculation program since, unlike the Pfizer drug that is already in use, it does not need to be frozen and can be handled like a regular flu shot.
Boris Johnson said 350,000 people have already been vaccinated and there is hope that the number will reach half a million in the next few days.
It should also soon be available in much larger quantities than the Pfizer vaccine, which has suffered from supply problems.
Those two key benefits of the Oxford jab will open the door to the NHS using a network of mass vaccination centers in stadiums, conference centers and other venues, which are now being prepared across the country.
Smaller GP surgeries will also be able to join, while the Oxford vaccine will allow more mobile vaccination teams to go to nursing homes.
The vaccination campaign, which began almost two weeks ago, has not been without initial problems.
Manufacturing problems at Pfizer’s Belgian plant meant an early goal of the UK receiving 10 million doses before the New Year was abandoned and even now officials refuse to say how much has come. The UK has ordered 40 million doses.
Those two key benefits of the Oxford jab will open the door to the NHS using a network of mass vaccination centers in stadiums, conference centers and other venues, which are now being prepared across the country. In the picture: a vial of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford
The ministers initially declined to say how many people had been vaccinated. When the figure was finally released last Wednesday, 137,897 after eight days of vaccination, it was a surprise that it was not higher.
Stories have also emerged about the waste of the Pfizer vaccine, £ 15 per injection, and its irregular distribution across the country.
Once a GP receives your batch of 975 doses, delivered in a box frozen at -70 ° C, all must be used within three and a half days after thawing. Between thawing and administration they should be kept refrigerated.
At Harborough Field Surgery in Rushden, Northamptonshire, hundreds of doses are believed to have been ruined due to a refrigerator failure, delaying vaccinations. The surgeon apologized, saying that the Pfizer vaccine “poses a number of complex logistical challenges.”
Ian McCubbin, UK Vaccine Task Force manufacturing lead, said the “vast majority” of the government-ordered 100 million Oxford doses will be manufactured in the UK. In what he called a ‘whim’, the initial doses will come from Germany and the Netherlands.
However, one big question remains: which Oxford jab dosage regimen will the MHRA approve? Trials in 9,000 volunteers showed that two full doses, one and then another 28 days later, produced a 62% protection rate.
Trials in 9,000 volunteers showed that two full doses, one and then another 28 days later, produced a 62 percent protection rate. In the picture: a volunteer is given the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford
But in another trial, where recipients received a half dose and then a full dose, the protection rate was 90 percent. But this trial had only 2,700 people, none older than 55.
The scientists emphasize that both dosing regimens for the Oxford puncture appear to offer good protection against serious illness, as no volunteer who received it has needed hospital treatment. The MHRA last night declined to say which dosage regimen it was evaluating, citing “commercial confidentiality.”
The government’s hopes of rapidly inoculating tens of millions, increasingly urgent due to the new strain, are largely based on these two vaccines. However, it also ordered seven million doses of Moderna’s mRNA vaccine, which has just been approved for use in the United States.
Murdoch, 89, has criticized the NHS at his local GP surgery
Rupert Murdoch received the Covid vaccine at his local GP, ignoring fears fueled by the coup on his American television channel Fox News.
The media mogul, who was born in Australia but is now a US citizen, was brought to the NHS site in Henley, Oxfordshire, in a convoy of Range Rovers from his nearby £ 11.25 million mansion, where he has been isolated with his wife Jerry. Hall. .
Rupert Murdoch received the Covid vaccine at his local GP surgery, ignoring fears stoked by the coup on his American television channel Fox News.
Murdoch, 89, said in a statement: “I strongly encourage people around the world to get the vaccine as it becomes available.”
On Thursday, Tucker Carlson, host of one of the top-rated shows on Fox News, suggested on the show that people should respond “nervously” to the vaccine’s “marketing campaign.”
Other public figures in the UK who have received the vaccine include Bake Off Judge Prue Leith.
