It is estimated that around 5,000 to 6,000 Britons received their first injection on Tuesday.
That day, 70 hospitals welcomed the first patients authorized to receive the Covid-19 vaccine: those over 80, NHS staff, the national health service and that of retirement homes.
Next week, it will be the turn of some medical offices to take over.
Retirement homes are expected to follow at the end of December before large vaccination centers are built in 2021.
A solution to alternate different vaccines (one dose of Pfizer and Biontech, the second from Oxford and AstraZeneca, produced in the United Kingdom) is even under study for January.
The objective would be to strengthen the immune response of vaccinated people.
The government is delighted with such a success, but this enthusiasm is not shared by all.
“GPs have been asked to take on both prescribing obligations and financial responsibilities for the rollout of this campaign in a limited time frame,” commented Dr Ellen Welch, adviser to the Doctors Association UK.
The government's lack of clarification worries
According to the association, doctors would like to support 100% this vaccine but the last minute changes in instructions and the lack of clarity from the NHS England make this adhesion difficult.
Doubt was heightened on Wednesday after two nurses had allergic reactions to the vaccine.
They have been treated, but the UK Medicines Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has since recommended avoiding vaccination of people with a history of allergic reactions.
If this kind of phenomenon is common with new vaccines, the incident tends to undermine public confidence, especially since the decisions taken by the British government have sorely lacked transparency.
"Reports and regulatory documents indicating the quality and effectiveness of clinical trials performed have not been made public," said Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle.
Hundreds of millions of pounds have been spent on immunization programs and billions will be spent on these vaccines, the government must communicate.
The advice for use should have been known so that other independent bodies look into the results before giving the emergency authorization.
"
Supply threatened by Brexit?
This lack of transparency also gives rise to doubts about the possibility of transporting the vaccine from Belgium to the United Kingdom after Brexit.
"There will be disruptions at the border from December 31, whether there is an agreement or not," said Tammy Hervey, an affiliate professor at the UK in a Changing Europe institute.
We don't know to what extent this vaccine and even all the tooling to administer it will be affected at the end of the transition period, as no one has been able to scrutinize the government's plans.
"