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A medical expert has stated that if the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca were implemented “24 hours a day, 7 days a week”, it could cut in half the time needed to immunize a large part of the population of the United Kingdom, 50 to 25 weeks.
The jab, which unlike Pfizer does not have to be stored at ultra-low temperatures, could be approved by regulators for use in the next few days.
It comes as hospital admissions approach the level of the first peak, and an ambulance service reports that Boxing Day was one of the busiest days in its history.
There were 21,286 people hospitalized with coronavirus in the UK on December 22, the last day for which government figures are available.
This is just slightly less than the 21,683 patients registered on April 12.
Dr Bharat Pankhania, a senior clinical professor at the University of Exeter, told Sky News that the Oxford vaccine “will be the one that allows us to immunize a lot of people in a short period of time.
“It is also easier to give and therefore can take you to nursing homes where people cannot come to the immunization center.”
He warned: “It will still take about 50 weeks to immunize 50 million people.” But he said a “24/7” operation could cut that down to 25 weeks.
“It can be done. We are a prosperous nation, we have the logistics, the skills to do these things.”
Dr Pankhania also dismissed reports that the UK could be free of blockages in February if the Oxford vaccine is rolled out quickly.
He said, “How are you going to immunize so many people by February amid a seemingly more infectious strain and a growing number of cases? If you’re going to achieve that, you have to double, triple vaccination.” process when the vaccine is licensed. “
Hospitals and ambulance services are struggling to cope with the worsening COVID situation
Meanwhile, the London Ambulance Service said Boxing Day was one of its “busiest days”, with 7,918 calls, more than 2,500 compared to the same day in 2019.
The numbers were so high that the service was forced to get help from other services throughout the South.
Sky’s Sadiya Chowdhury, reporting from outside Queen’s Hospital in Romford, Greater London, said patients were being treated inside ambulances “because they didn’t have enough beds left, that’s how bad the situation is.”
And a consultant from Southampton General Hospital told The Guardian about a “terrifying” situation with a huge increase in COVID cases.
They said: “The footprint of our general intensive care unit is now completely filled with COVID patients.
“We have expanded our ICU by 10 additional beds to receive ICU patients from both Portsmouth and Kent as they are in distress. [The situation] it’s under control so far, but unpleasant and scary. “
Heads of health services have warned NHS care providers nationwide that they must continue to “plan on the basis that we will remain in a level four incident for at least the rest of this financial year. [until early April] and the NHS trusts should continue to securely mobilize all available augmentation capacity over the next several weeks. “
There are also signs of stress in Wales, as a surgeon warned that Life-saving care for non-COVID patients was threatened if the intensive care units continued to fill up.
Shakir Mustafa, a consultant surgeon to the Cwm Taf University Board of Health, told Sky News that intensive care units in South Wales were reaching capacity.
“If it’s full of COVID-19 patients, it does not mean that we are only dealing with COVID and not with anything else, “he warned.
“It means that we can’t physically have someone who has had a hemorrhage after giving birth, for example, or who has had a burst appendix, or someone who suffers from sepsis.
“We would like to take care of all of our patients and we are in a situation where this is threatened.”
On Sunday, the government said 316 more people had died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19, bringing the UK total to 70,752.
At 9 a.m. M. On Sunday, there was a another 30,051 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases.
However, Scotland does not publish figures for deaths between 24 and 28 December and Northern Ireland does not publish figures for cases or deaths during the same period.
It occurs when more than 24 million people, or 43% of the population, are at the highest level of restrictions in England.
Scotland is also in Level 4 restrictions, there is a stay-at-home order across Wales and Northern Ireland is on a six week lockdown.
