[ad_1]
NHS leaders have raised concerns over the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, with more than half of hospital trusts and two-thirds of general practitioners yet to receive supplies amid growing alarm concerning the new variant with rapid spread.
Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the British Medical Association’s GP committee, has urged the government to speed up delivery of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in order to save lives. Experts also demanded greater transparency from ministers on the number of doses available.
Vautrey said: “We need millions of doses available as soon as possible – urgently – because this is the number one priority for GPs, our patients and the nation, especially given the new mutant strain.
“GPs who don’t have it yet are frustrated because they also want to get along and get their patients vaccinated. Their frustration is understandable. They want to protect their patients, especially their vulnerable patients, as quickly as possible. “
Hospital bosses in England are also dismayed that, a fortnight after Margaret Keenan of Coventry became the first person to receive the blow on December 8, more than half of the 135 NHS intensive care hospital trusts in the country still have not received their first supplies. So far, 57 (42%) of them have had a childbirth and have been able to start the vaccination, according to the Guardian.
There are 414 vaccination sites run by general practitioners in England, NHS England has confirmed. Given that there is typically one site per primary care network, each of which typically consists of five or six surgeries, this means that around one-third of general practitioners are now involved in administering the vaccine. All hospitals and general practitioner administration sites expect to receive the vaccine by January 4 as the NHS is rolling out it in stages.
The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is expected to approve a second vaccine, from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, as early as Monday or Tuesday next week. However, anyone who has had a single dose of the Pfizer version will need a second dose of the same.
Whitehall and NHS sources say the current vaccine supply is “limited” and “limited”. This is believed to be the reason why groups of general practitioners working together in primary care networks to administer the vaccine in private complain that they often only receive a 24-hour warning in case of childbirth, forcing them to give birth. to organize at short notice the required number of often frail elderly patients to come in so precious doses are not wasted.
Five million doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in the UK by the end of the year, after Britain became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer / BioNTech version on December 2. That would be enough to immunize 2.5 million of the most vulnerable people – mainly those over 80 and health center staff – with the two doses needed for full immunity, three weeks apart.
The Pfizer / BioNTech Covid jab is an mRNA vaccine. Essentially, mRNA is a molecule used by living cells to transform the genetic sequences of DNA into proteins which are the building blocks of all of their fundamental structures. A segment of DNA is copied (“transcribed”) into a piece of mRNA, which in turn is “read” by the cell’s tools to synthesize proteins.
In the case of an mRNA vaccine, the virus’ mRNA is injected into the muscle, and our own cells then read it and synthesize the viral protein. The immune system reacts to these proteins – which alone cannot cause disease – as if they had been carried by the whole virus. This generates a protective response that studies have shown to last for some time.
The first two Covid-19 vaccines to announce the results of the three Phase III trials were based on mRNA. They were the first to come out of the blocks because, as soon as the genetic code for Sars-CoV-2 was known – it was published by the Chinese in January 2020 – the companies that had worked on this technology were able to start producing virus mRNA. The manufacture of conventional vaccines takes much longer.
Adam finn, Professor of Pediatrics at the Bristol Children’s Vaccine Center, University of Bristol
However, there is some confusion as to whether this goal will be achieved. The Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSC) declined to say how many doses had arrived and when more would have arrived in Britain from Pfizer’s production plant in the Belgian town of Puurs.
Amid disruptions at UK ports caused by country fears over the new variant, a DHSC spokesperson said: ‘We have sufficient doses to maintain our vaccination program as it continues to expand and we are working closely with Pfizer to ensure vaccines continue to arrive in the UK. , with robust emergency measures, so that deliveries from the mainland will continue unhindered. “
Global demand for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has increased in recent days after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency gave it the green light.
At least 800,000 doses have arrived so far, with Boris Johnson confirming on Monday that more than 500,000 initial doses were given to the elderly, nursing home staff and healthcare workers with underlying health conditions.
But the Royal College of General Practitioners demanded that ministers clarify supply figures so that as many family doctors as possible can participate in the rollout and help increase the number of vaccinated, and those who have already started know when their next batch will arrive.
College president Professor Martin Marshall said, “Every vaccination site needs to know when its next supplies are arriving, with as much notice as possible, so that they can make the necessary and feasible preparations.
“This includes being able to inform patients as much as possible about their appointment, which will likely increase attendance.”
NHS sources say the vaccine rollout has gained additional urgency due to the recent increase in the number of people infected and hospitalized with Covid-19.
Pfizer said 21 shipments had arrived in the UK since early December, which would greatly exceed the initial 800,000 doses, and had “been successfully delivered to our four countries across the UK”. A spokesperson said, “We continue to work tirelessly to ensure shipments are on schedule.”
The UK Doctors Association has joined in calls for NHS staff to receive the vaccine as a priority. The Basic Physician Network has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock urging him to ensure that staff who care for patients, including staff in A&E, wards and intensive care units , be allowed to be vaccinated.
GPs in some areas have started taking the vaccine in nursing homes this week for the first time, having previously administered it from vaccination sites, with 75-dose batches sent to nursing homes with an over large number of residents and staff.
DHSC is expected to start releasing weekly figures on the number of people vaccinated, possibly as early as this week, in response to calls for more transparency.
Source link
