The mass vaccination programme will be underway from next week after the UK’s vaccine approval body MHRA gave the green light to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine earlier this week. The first consignment arrived in the UK on Thursday, with 800,000 doses ready to go.
The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine – enough to vaccinate 20 million people – as two doses are needed.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We will have – I’m absolutely confident – that we will have 800,000 doses available at the point next week when we start the vaccination programme.
“Of course, by the end of this year we will expect some more doses to come through – I can’t give you a number on that.”
Boris Johnson said it was important to avoid “overoptimism” with regard to the new vaccine.
When do vaccinations start?
Vaccinations will begin on Tuesday, December 8.
Patients will receive two doses of the vaccine, 21 days apart.
Vials of the vaccine are on the way to eight mass vaccination sites, 50 hospitals, and more than 1,500 GP immunisation centres in England alone.
Military personnel are setting up mass immunisation sites across Britain, including locations in London, Bristol, Manchester, Leicester, and Derby.
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Aged 65 and over is next, then sixth in line is all those aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions.
The list will then move down in age brackets, with the youngest and non-vulnerable being last in line.
The first 800,000 doses of vaccine for the UK will be sent from Belgium to 50 “hospital hubs” which have the capacity to keep them at minus 70c.
Albert Bourla, chair and chief executive officer of Pfizer, added: “Today’s emergency use authorisation in the UK marks a historic moment in the fight against Covid-19.
“This authorisation is a goal we have been working toward since we first declared that science will win, and we applaud the MHRA for their ability to conduct a careful assessment and take timely action to help protect the people of the UK.”
