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LONDON (Reuters) – Britain is poised to roll out tens of millions of COVID-19 vaccines to the public, with residents of healthcare facilities and the elderly in the first place for a coup which doctors hope will allow the world to return to some semblance of normalcy.
The announcement that a vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech was over 90% effective raised hopes that there may soon be an end to the lockdowns that have sunk around the world by cutting millions of jobs and upsetting normal life.
England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said the country was ready to roll out a vaccine once regulators approved it as safe, joking he told his 78-year-old mother to be ready for a vaccine.
“Do I think we will then move forward at the pace to keep up with the volumes that are provided to us? Yes, I absolutely do,” Van-Tam told reporters, adding that he would love to be in front of the line. waiting for a vaccine. but that high risk individuals should come first.
Van-Tam added that the government will not use any vaccines until the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved it.
“There is absolutely no chance that we will compromise the standards of safety or efficacy,” said June Raine, CEO of MHRA.
When asked if people should be able to skip the line when buying a vaccine, Van-Tam said wealth shouldn’t be a determining factor in getting the shot.
“I think these vaccines should be prioritized on those who need them and not on those who can afford to pay for them privately,” he said.
Britain has ordered a total of 350 million doses of vaccines in development, including 40 million shots from Pfizer. Trial data from a competing vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is expected in the coming weeks.
“At the top of our list of priorities are residents of nursing homes and people who work in nursing homes,” said Professor Wei Shen Lim, member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization who advises government on immunization.
Lim said the next line would be people over 60 and then adults with underlying health conditions.
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)
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