The Government announced the approval of the third Covid vaccine from US suppliers Moderna. The vaccine works similar to that of the Pfizer one, which is already being offered by the NHS.
The UK has pre ordered 17 million doses of the vaccine, 10 million more than planned, but supplies are not expected to be available until Spring. The increased order has been placed to get people immunised as quickly as possible.
Since the beginning of December, 1.5 million people in the UK have already received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine so far, either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines are already approved by UK regulators. This includes almost a quarter of those over 80, those with the highest risk of severe illness or death from the virus.
There are nine priority groups identified by the Government and the vaccines are being given to the most vulnerable first, which will cover around 30 million people. The target for the Government is to vaccinate 15 million people by mid-February. This will include care home residents and staff, frontline NHS staff, everyone over 70 and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
In order to meet this target, ministers need to deliver more than two million jabs a week by the end of January, in one of the largest civilian logistical operations launched in Britain.
In total, the UK has now ordered 367 million doses of vaccines to protect against Covid-19.
The logistics of the ‘last mile’ is proving a challenge in many regions due to the lack of sufficiently sized vaccine transport bags to move the vaccine from a hub out into the community. If you are looking for a different solution, take a look at our website or contact our team sales@corrmed.com
