FIFTY NHS hospitals first in line to roll out Covid vaccine revealed

FIFTY NHS hospitals are standing by to roll out the Pfizer Covid vaccine next week - as Britain becomes the first country to get the jab.

Matt Hancock tweeted "help is on the way" as it was confirmed this morning the jab is now approved for use in the UK.

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The vaccine needs to be stored at -70C temperatures, far colder than typical jabs which only need to be kept at fridge temperatures of around 4C.

A total of 53 NHS trusts in England, some which cover a number of hospitals, are equipped with super-cold freezers that can store the jabs.

They will act as "hubs" which will offer the jabs to people in their area in order of priority, as well as co-ordinating distribution.

The Midlands has the most hospital hubs that will receive the vaccine, at 13. Countess of Chester Hospital, Northampton General Hospital and Walsall Healthcare are among those.

Eight hospitals in the North West are preparing to dish out the vaccine, one being Liverpool Royal Hospital.

Eight hospitals are in each of the South East and South West, and seven each in the East of England and London.

One hospital is in the Yorkshire region - United Lincolnshire Hospitals - and one is in the North East - The Newcastle Upon Type Hospitals.

Northern regions of England have been the hardest hit by the virus, with high R rates forcing huge areas into severe restrictions for months.

But there have been concerns for soaring infection rates in the South of England, while cases are declining faster in the North.

A number of the hospitals with the capacity to store the vaccines currently have the most Covid-19 patients. These include Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, University Hospitals Birmingham and Leeds Teaching Hospital.

Sir Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said the NHS will contact people who can get their jab when it is ready.

But it would take until March or April for the entire at-risk population to be vaccinated.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the NHS would now embark on the the “biggest programme of mass vaccination in the history of the UK” from next week.

He said from No 10: “It will inevitably take some months before all the most vulnerable are protected – long, cold months.

“So it’s all the more vital that as we celebrate this scientific achievement we are not carried away with over-optimism or fall into the naive belief that the struggle is over."

Although care home residents are supposed to be first in line to be immunised, logistical challenges appear to be blocking this from happening.

The vaccines, once taken out of the freezer, can only be thawed in batches of 1,000. But each care home looks after a maximum of several hundred residents, sometimes below 100.

And once they are thawed, it they can only be stored at fridge temperatures for five days.

Officials have to work out how to split the huge batch and how to transport them so none of the vials go to waste.

THE ROLL-OUT

Sir Simon gave details of the phasing in roll-out at the Downing Street briefing this evening:

1. "Around 50 hospital hubs" will start offering vaccines to over 80s and care home staff, who are at the top of the priority list published by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) today. Typically they might be people already coming into the hospital for appointment, and will be contacted by the NHS beforehand.
2. That will be followed in subsequent weeks by GP practices, growing to over 1,000 across England. GPs will get in touch with at-risk patients offering them to come in and get their jab.
3. If the MHRA give approval for a safe way of splitting the 1,000 doses, which is expected, distribution to care homes can start.
4. Pharmacies will probably start giving the jabs out from January.
5. As more vaccines become available, the programme will be expanded to large vaccine centres such as conference centres and sports venues. Nightingale hospitals are earmarked to helps with this.

WHO IS FIRST IN LINE?

It was announced the jab - which is 95 per cent effective - has been backed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) this morning.

Hours after the news Pfizer's jab was safe to be rolled out, experts confirmed who will get the first doses.

It's based on who most needs the vaccination due to their risk of death or spreading the virus.

Care home residents, their carers and the over 80s will be front of the queue to get the first doses.

The jab will then be rolled out by age, with those over 80 years old first ine line, and also to those deemed clinically extremely vulnerable, including people with obesity.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, of the JCVI, told the No 10 briefing this morning he hoped that in the first phase of the vaccine programme 99% of the most clinically vulnerable would be covered.

He added: “This is the start of a programme and not the end of a programme."

The Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning: "This will start small and ramp up. The vast majority of vaccines we expect to be in the new year.

"We are expecting a matter of millions of doses for the whole of the UK by the end of this year."

Mr Hancock said we can expect 800,000 doses in the UK by next week.

These have already left Pfizer's plant in Belgium bound for the UK today.

"Several million" doses will arrive by the end of this year. But Mr Hancock refused to give an exact figure.

NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens has said the service is “ten out of ten” ready to roll out the “biggest vaccination campaign in our history”.

A WORLD FIRST

The UK is the first country in the world to have a clinically approved vaccine for supply, and has beaten the EU and US.

Just days ago, it was announced that the drug was set to get the green light for use - and medics were told to prepare for approval in early December.

Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla described the MHRA announcement as an “historic moment”.

He said: “Today’s Emergency Use Authorization in the U.K. marks a historic moment in the fight against COVID-19."

BioNTech co-founder Ugur Sahin said on NBC news: “It's a historic day. It's indeed the beginning of the end of the pandemic.”

Matt Hancock, said Health Secretary said the approval marks a "new chapter in our fight against the virus", while the PM said it will help us "reclaim our lives".

Speaking in the commons, the Health Secretary told MPs: "Even since the pandemic hit our shores almost a year ago we have known a vaccine would be critical to set us free.

"It's no longer a case of if there's going to be a vaccine, it's when.

"In our battle against the virus, help is on its way.

"Today is a triumph for all those who believe in science, a triumph for ingenuity, a triumph for humanity."

The Prime Minister hailed the "fantastic" vaccine news which will allow us to "reclaim our lives".

At the Downing Street Briefing this evening, Mr Johnson said scientists had performed “biological jiu jitsu” to turn the virus on itself.

Despite warning against over-optimism, Mr Johnson said it was now “sure and certain” that life could start returning to normal in 2021.

A combination of community testing, vaccines and social distancing measures were still necessary, he said.

Ministers are also primed to launch a nationwide campaign across TV and radio highlighting the benefits of vaccination as early as next week.

Health bosses are gambling the Oxford-developed AstraZeneca jab, which can be stored in a normal fridge, will be approved in a matter of days.

Officials expect it will form the backbone of mass community immunisation, with 19million doses available by the end of the year.