More than a million doses of the Coronavirus vaccine are scheduled to arrive in Britain, as general doctors begin to reserve thousands of patients for the vaccine.
Messages will be sent to priority cases, including the elderly and home care workers, to receive vaccinations in their surgeries from next week after hospitals began their historic vaccination program this week.
Professor Chris Whitty said social distancing restrictions could start to lift once the 20 million vulnerable Britons are vaccinated. Mirror Reports.
Comments made by England’s chief medical officer as evidence before the House gave hope for a return to normal life before spring.
The NHS advised that an additional 1.2 million or 1.6 million doses should arrive next week, in addition to 800,000 doses this week.
The remaining four million initial doses for December will arrive the following week.
This came in the form of “significant” reactions that were discovered in two people who received the Pfizer vaccine, which caused the suspension of all vaccinations in people with a history of allergic reactions yesterday (Wednesday).
Professor Witte was asked by members of Parliament at Joint Corona Virus Lessons learned inquire about when vaccines can lift restrictions on social distancing.
He said: “This disease is very predictably more serious than the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions.
“Once we get to that first list that takes us close to 20 million people, there will be some broader options about where we go from there.
These will be important ethical and political options, as well as medical options.
“Once you get to that point, I think, now a conversation about what we want to do next becomes a really important conversation.”
Professor Whitty suggested that this point is unlikely to come until the end of the busy January-February period for the NHS.
He said, “I think very few people would recommend starting to actually remove things during the high-risk period of the year in which winter is always reserved for respiratory infections.”
“I want to be very clear, we will not be sufficiently protected for the next three months.”
Assuming the much-anticipated Oxford-AstraZeneca strike is approved, it is likely that at least 20 million Britons will be vaccinated by the end of February.
Britain was betting heavily on this filter, pre-ordering 100 million doses.
Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance appears to be telling MPs whether introducing a vaccine to younger age groups depends on approval.
“We have a lot to do to roll out vaccines to make sure the vulnerable are protected,” he said.
“We’re so far away so far no matter how you look at the rest of the population, it depends on things like, is AstraZeneca vaccine approved.”
Professor Whitty said “three of the four vaccines” should be available next year when “broader choices” are needed about who gets them.
Ending social distancing after the vaccination of more than 20 million vulnerable people will still leave many younger Britons infected with the virus and develop long-term Covid-19.
Permanent side effects can include brain fog, fatigue, muscle pain, shortness of breath, and lung damage.
Professor Witty added: “It will still drive a lot of people who can get this disease and in some cases it can have dangerous consequences.”
Professor Whitty told the MPs that he and the regulator chief Dr. John Raine were discussing safety issues “at 11:30 last night” after it emerged that two people had experienced an allergic reaction.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has announced a “precautionary advice” that anyone with a history of “significant” allergic reactions to drugs, food, or vaccines should not receive the vaccine.
Pfizer said the vaccine was “well tolerated” during trials with “no serious safety concerns”.
A spokeswoman said: “The MHRA has informed us of two yellow card reports that may be related to an allergic reaction to the administration of the Covid-19 BNT162b2 vaccine.
“As a precaution, the MHRA has issued interim guidance to the NHS as it conducts an investigation in order to fully understand each case and its causes.”