How the vaccine will be rolled out
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine employs a new approach to making vaccines that uses a piece of genetic material called messenger RNA to prompt the body to make synthetic pieces of the coronavirus and stimulate an immune response. But mRNA is very fragile, so the vaccine must be kept at ultra-cold temperatures, meaning special storage equipment is required.
Speaking alongside the Prime Minister on Wednesday night, Simon Stevens, the head of the National Health Service in England, said that the rollout of the vaccine would be phased, with vaccinations for at-risk people taking place between January and March or April.
Starting next week, around 50 “hospital hubs” will begin offering the vaccine to people over 80 and care home staff. After that, doctors’ offices will start operating local vaccine centers — around 1,000 across England — to vaccinate vulnerable patients.
And once MHRA approves a way to split up the supplies of the vaccine, which is delivered in packs of 975 and stored at temperatures of minus-70 degree Celsius (minus-94 Fahrenheit), it will be distributed to care homes.
As more vaccine doses become available, it will be provided at large vaccination centers, and local pharmacists should be able to offer it from January, he said.
The rollout will then filter down to the general public by age, with older groups coming first. Individuals with underlying health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus will be able to receive the shot after the over-65 group is vaccinated.
Stevens also noted that the vaccine has to be given in two doses 21 days apart, so the process will take time. Second doses will also need to be reserved for people who get a first shot in December, he said, emphasizing that people will need to continue practicing social distancing guidance and be careful as the vaccine is deployed to the wider population.
The vaccine should be available at designated sites in England, seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. including holidays, the UK health department has instructed the national public health agency.
At a news conference with BioNTech executives in Mainz, Germany, BioNTech CEO Sahin said full immunity against Covid-19 would occur seven days after a patient’s second dose.
Sean Marett, BioNTech’s chief commercial officer, said doses for the UK were currently being packed very quickly at the Pfizer facility in Belgium. Thermoboxes are being packed with between 1,000-5,000 doses, which they will ship by truck or plane. The boxes are temperature controlled with a tracker to provide minute-by-minute updates before delivery to a site for distribution.
Marett said the companies hoped to have 50 million doses ready by the end of December. “The UK, like every country, gets a fair proportion,” he said, adding that 100 million doses are committed to the US, 200 million to the EU and 40 million to the UK.
Speaking to CNN after the news conference, Sahin raised the possibility of herd immunity by next autumn.
“I personally believe with a number of companies now reaching the approval in the next few months, we might be able to deliver a sufficient number of doses until the end of summer 2021 to reach the 60 to 70% of coverage, which could give us the relief to have a normal winter in 2021.”
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