Health Secretary Matt Hancock yesterday said there was “a role for the armed forces” in distributing the vaccine. Mr Hancock added: “We’re doing the logistical work, led by the NHS working with the armed services who are playing an important role in the logistics of it to ensure that we have that rollout programme ready.” Health bosses have raised concerns that hospitals may be targeted by anti-vaccine protesters which could put stockpiles at risk, according to .
Concerns have also been raised for when hospitals first receive vaccines for front-line staff.
A Whitehall source said: “They are liaising with the police and even the Army over a number of security concerns.”
Anti-vaccination protests have taken place since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes as the UK’s National Health Department last night said: “The NHS has a tried and tested track record for delivering vaccination programmes.
“We will work with existing partners across the healthcare system to ensure a Covid-19 vaccine can be deployed safely and effectively.
“A Covid-19 vaccine will only be deployed once it has been proven to be safe and effective through robust clinical trials.
“It will have to be approved for use by the independent regulator.”
About 500 volunteers in Wales have taken part in a coronavirus vaccine trial, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
READ MORE: Brexit LIVE: Boris shamed over ‘U-turn’ as Leaver vows to fight
“Some will be in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area in Gwent, some will be in Cardiff and there will be others in north Wales they will probably be with a different vaccination.”
There has also been developments in the US regarding a vaccine breakthrough.
Doctor Anthony Fauci, who is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said: “We will know whether a vaccine is safe and effective by the end of November, the beginning of December.”
He told the BBC: “The question is, once you have a safe and effective vaccine, or more than one, how can you get it to the people who need it as quickly as possible?”
Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, he added there will have to be “a substantial proportion of the population vaccinated and that will have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak”.
He said: “What I do foresee is that with a successful vaccine and the continuation of some form of public health measures, as we go and progress through the months of 2021, getting towards the third and fourth quarter, we will see a considerable approach towards some form of normality.”
Doctor Fauci also told CNN: “The amount of doses that will be available in December will not certainly be enough to vaccinate everybody.
“For that, you’ll have to wait several months into 2021.”
