Covid19 Vaccine – who will get it first?
This week we witnessed the biggest breakthrough in the fight against Coronavirus in the shape of the Covid19 vaccine. In addition to this, the UK has also become the first country in the world to approve a Covid19 vaccine. Although for some this has been a long-awaited ticket to freedom, for others its been met with controversy regarding safety.
What exactly is the Covid19 Vaccine?
The covid-19 vaccine was created by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech for emergency use, meaning that vaccine rollout will begin soon. Here, we look at the science of the vaccine, and who will get it first. Also, how confident we can be in the authorisation process and the logistics of vaccinating everyone in the UK.
How effective is the vaccine?
About 95 per cent. The phase 3 trials of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine involved 42,000 people, about half of whom got the experimental vaccine and the rest a placebo. In total, 170 people fell ill with covid-19. Only eight of them were in the vaccine group; 162 had received the placebo. So around 5 per cent of cases were in the vaccine group, which is where the 95 per cent figure comes from. That is a very healthy number, although not quite high enough for some.
Who will get the vaccine first?
Care home residents and their carers have the highest priority, according to a priority system devised by the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
- Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
- Everyone aged 80 and over, front line health workers and social care workers
- People ages 75 and over
- Age 70 and over, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable
- Age 65 and over
- People aged 16-64
However, there are problems with delivering this specific vaccine to care home residents. This is because it needs to be transported at very cold temperatures in special cases that carry around 1000 doses. These cases cannot be broken up for distribution, which makes it very hard to get the required doses into individual care homes.
The aim is that as many people as possible over the age of 16 receive a Covid-19 vaccine. Although that would be more than 50 million people, so it will be a long-term plan for 2021.
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