A major hospital trust in London has been informed they should prepare to receive the first batches of the Oxford Astra-Zenica vaccine from the “week commencing the 2 November”. Frontline doctors and nurses will be vaccinated at the hospital as soon as the Government gives the green light. There are security fears over potential anti-vaccination protests and so the hospital is planning to organise extra security measures.
Speaking to , a Whitehall source said: “They are liaising with the police and even the Army over a number of security concerns.”
The news comes as the George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Warwickshire “has been told to be prepared to start a Covid-19 staff vaccine programme in early December”.
There is also developments from the US about a vaccine breakthrough.
Medical officer Doctor Anthony Fauci said: “We will know whether a vaccine is safe and effective by the end of November, the beginning of December.”
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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, who is the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also told CNN: “The amount of doses that will be available in December will not certainly be enough to vaccinate everybody.
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“For that, you’ll have to wait several months into 2021.”
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.”
