There seems to be a way back to normalcy as British government approved Pfizer-BioNTech Covid 19 vaccine and began vaccination Tuesday, Dec.8, 2020
Last week Britain became the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.5 million worldwide.
Britain on Tuesday began the biggest vaccination programme in the country’s history, with a 90-year-old grandmother becoming the first person to receive the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer-BioNTech.
The historic inoculation was given to Margaret Keenan in Coventry, central England.
Britain has been one of the worst-affected countries in the world, with more than 61,000 deaths in the outbreak from 1.6 million cases.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent days in intensive care with COVID-19 earlier this year, called it a “huge step forward in the UK’s fight against coronavirus”.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has offered to have the jab on live television to allay public fears, said the roll-out was a “key moment” that would protect the most vulnerable.
The head of the state-run National Health Service in England, Simon Stevens, said it was a “decisive turning point” against the “greatest health challenge” since the NHS was founded in 1948.
Regulatory approval for the vaccine was given last Wednesday, sparking a race against time to prepare scores of vaccination centres across the country.
A news report, monitored on Mail online, stated that the UK has ordered 40 million doses of the jab, enough to vaccinate 20 million people, with 800,000 in the first batch.
Apart from Margaret Keenan, who was the first to be inoculated, other people who will be given the vaccine include Care home staff; Health workers who administer the jab; People aged 80 and over – with hospital inpatients and those coming in for treatment prioritized; NHS staff most at risk from the virus will take any leftover doses at end of day
Up to four million doses are expected by the end of December.
The report quoted Sir Simon Stevens, CEO, NHS saying; “This is a landmark day for our country and a momentous day for the NHS as we begin the biggest vaccination campaign in our history.
NHS staff have been pulling out all the stops to prepare for ‘V-day’.
When nurses deliver the first ‘jabs’ this morning it will be the culmination of months of hard work by many people here and abroad, and the latest intervention from the NHS to help protect the public from Covid-19.
When the first jab is given today, scientists, doctors and health professionals will have together achieved in months what normally takes years.
So it’s right to say a huge thank you to all those who have worked tirelessly to develop the vaccine, to the volunteers who selflessly took part in the trials and the expert regulators for the thorough job that they have done in ensuring it is both safe and effective.”