The Covid-19 vaccine can be rolled out in as little as three weeks – but what side effects can it have?
The vaccine has been tested in clinical trials involving 44,000 volunteers – with some side effects compared to that of a “hangover”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock revealed that the NHS is preparing for a major vaccination program.
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The first needles could be ready by December 1, “to give hope to millions of weapons this winter,” he told lawmakers.
Vaccines will be available first to residents and care home workers, followed by the NHS, caregivers and those over the age of 80 – which could allow older people to incubate their grandchildren during the holidays.
Each vaccinated person will need two injections of Pfizer and Biontech syringes.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is examining the effectiveness of the injection.
Its findings can allow nursing home residents to receive visitors safely – family reunions on Christmas.
The watchdog’s directives will have an immediate impact on how those vaccinated will behave if its rollout is approved in December.
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Fine source He told the mirror: “It is definitely something our experts will be investigating in terms of how quickly and how long the immune response develops.”
Another source warned that allowing a behavior change in time for Christmas would be aggravating because immunity does not develop until 14 days after the second dose is given.
The clinical trial involved 44,000 volunteers in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, South Africa, and Turkey.
Among them was Glenn Deschilds, a lobbyist from Austin, Texas, who compared the side effects of a stab with a “severe hangover.”
The 44-year-old was “very excited” by the results of the experiment, adding: “My grandfather, one of his first memories of the bells was ringing at the end of World War I.
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It was a terrible war, horrible things happened and people were just happy it was over.
“It felt in my mind the same way … it kind of felt like something.
“Alhamdulillah, it will be over at some point.”
Half of the participants were given the vaccine and half of a placebo – a harmless liquid that will have no effect.
Results of full clinical trials on 22,000 recipients of the vaccine, which will be announced in the last week of November, can confirm previous results showing no major side effects.
The trial is double-blind, which means that the participants do not know if they are receiving the vaccine or a placebo.
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Carey, 45, of Missouri, said signing up was a “civic duty” and she was “very proud” of the results.
She said. “There are a lot of people who have been infected with it and have suffered.
“Thinking that we can do something to prevent people from suffering from this, from losing family members, that we can get rid of it and return to some kind of normality in our lives – that’s the driving factor for that for me.
“I don’t want anyone else to get sick.”
Carey, who is in the publishing business, received her first shot in September and the second last month.
She thought she was vaccinated after experiencing mild side effects – headache, fever, and body aches – similar to the flu shot.
Brian, an engineer from Rome, Georgia, felt “a little proud” to hear the news.
“It was the least I could do to help,” said the 42-year-old.
Brian believes he got the placebo – he didn’t feel any immune response, and after receiving two shots, he contracted Covid shortly after he picked up his daughter last month.
His entire family caught up in the end but they all recovered.
The United Kingdom purchased 40 million doses of Pfizer / Biontech jab.
The clinics are expected to operate seven days a week.
Mr Hancock told the House of Commons: “The deployment of the vaccine will involve work long days and weekends, and is on top of everything the NHS has already done for us this year, and I would like to thank my NHS colleagues in advance for the work that this will entail.
“I know they will rise to the challenge of being prepared when good science comes to inspire hope for millions of weapons this winter.”
Emphasizing that the army may participate in the launch of the vaccine, he added: “The logistics are complex, the doubts are real and the size of the mission is large, but I know that the NHS, with great help from the armed forces, will rise to this mission.”
Experts have warned of technical difficulties in delivering the vaccine, which must be stored at 70 degrees below zero for up to a few hours before injection.
Richard Wilding, professor of supply chain strategy at Cranfield University, cautioned that temperature limits “will only add to the complexity around transportation and storage logistics with the need for specialized warehousing.”
“The specialized infrastructure and warehousing equipment will become a supply chain in its own right with its manufacturing and distribution operations attached,” he said.
“The stress on this supply chain will affect how much vaccine you can transport.”
He believed that launching the program “is likely to be one of the biggest logistical challenges we have faced this century.”
