LONDON (UK) – The coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech will be rolled out in the country on Tuesday. Thus Britain will become the first Western nation to begin inoculating its general population.
The beginning of the mass vaccination in Britain will become a watershed moment in the fight against the virus, which has flattened economies and killed more than 1.5 million around the world. However, ultra-cold storage facilities and tricky logistics will limit its use for the time being.
The country is the worst-hit in Europe and Prime Minister Boris Johnson hopes to turn the tide against the virus by giving the nod for mass vaccination before the US or the EU.
Less than a week ago, Britain granted approval for the shot and it is being rolled out through its National Health Service (NHS).
“The deployment of this vaccine marks a decisive turning point in the battle with the pandemic,” said NHS chief executive Simon Stevens. “NHS staff are proud to be leading the way as the first health service in the world to begin vaccination with this COVID jab”
As many as 40 million doses of the vaccine have been ordered. Each person requires two doses and they are enough to vaccinate 20 million people out of a nation of 67 million.
Within the first week, 800,000 doses will be made available and they will be given to care home residents and carers, octogenarians and some health service workers.
The roll-out will be seen as a test case for the distribution networks of Pfizer and BioNTech. The vaccines have to be stored at -70C (-94F) and they can be kept for only five days in a regular fridge.
So this means, the shots will be available at first in 50 hospitals and will not be taken to care homes.
Britain has placed orders for 357 million doses of seven different coronavirus vaccine candidates.