UK has approved Oxford and AstraZe vaccine …

From London

The end of this fateful year brings good news. The control body United Kingdom approved the vaccine from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca. In the midst of the so-called British strain crisis, the the vaccination process will start next Monday and it will be added to the current inoculation of the other vaccine, Pfizer.

AstraZeneca has a advantage over Pfizer, the first vaccine approved on December 2: stores at only two degrees of temperature. Compared to 70 degrees below zero for Pfizer, this requires much simpler logistics that will allow this rapid start of the vaccination process in the midst of a crisis due to the alleged British strain.

he United Kingdom He already has 4 million doses: in January and February, he will add another 100 million. Between the two vaccines, you will have enough doses to inoculate your population before Easter.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the announcement as “a triumph for British science which will soon allow many more people to be vaccinated.” Health Minister Matt Hancock stressed that with the new vaccine it will be possible to complete inoculation of the most vulnerable areas, but warned that very difficult weeks are still to come. “We see the pressure the National Health Service is currently under. It is essential that people continue to abide by the rules to contain the spread of the virus, especially the new variant which is spreading much faster, ”Hancock said.

As of Tuesday, more than 53,000 new cases of covid-19 were recorded, a record number since the start of the massive screening process: the number of patients admitted to hospitals has exceeded 20,000, another record since the first decreed in March. confinement.

More than 600,000 people have been vaccinated with Pfizer so far, but with the new strain, the inoculation process has become a race against time. Yesterday the Municipality of Essex in South East England declared a state of force majeure (‘major incident’) for the region due to the increase in cases and the possibility of an impending overflow of hospital capacity.

Against this backdrop, shadow Minister of Health, Labor member Jonathan Ashworth, welcomed the announcement but urged to speed up the vaccination process. “It’s time to go out with everything to vaccinate. We have seen a surge in the circulation of the virus, which means that the danger of new strains is increasing. It’s a race against time. We need to strengthen the immunization process, especially for the National Health Service staff, ”the Labor member tweeted.