Maria Laura Avignolo
12/02/2020 12:07
Clarín.com
World
Updated 12/02/2020 12:09
In a historic day for the pandemic, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the
Pfizer
/ BioNTech COVID-19
vaccine
for
use
.
It has received the go-ahead from the British health regulator (MHRA) and will be implemented early next week.
In Scotland, vaccinations will
begin next Tuesday
, Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced.
In the rest of the country, next week, without specifying when.
A day of relief for the kingdom, which was the most affected in terms of deaths in Europe, with
59,000 victims.
The first 800,000 vaccines will arrive
in Britain
this weekend
from Belgium, their inventors, the owners of the BioNtech company, announced at a prey conference from their laboratory in Germany.
First they will send
10 million doses
before the end of the year, over which the elderly of the geriatrics and their caregivers will have priority.
At least
40 million doses
, enough for 20 million people, will arrive in Britain for the entire vaccination campaign and will need to be refrigerated at 70 degrees below zero.
They can then be kept at temperatures of 2 to 8 degrees, once out of the super freezer and remain stable.
The Iceland supermarket offered its gigantic freezers.
v 1.5
Coronavirus in the UK
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Source:
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Immunity
Studies have shown that it is
95% effective
and works in all age groups.
Each person will receive two doses, 21 days apart and just
three days after
the second dose, they will start to build immunity.
Unlike other countries, more than 57 percent of British adults want the vaccine, according to a survey by Savanta / ComRes.
But a campaign for those who do not believe in it will begin, although the vaccine
will not be mandatory.
A safe vaccine
The German Turkish scientists who invented the vaccine gave a press conference in Mainz, Germany.
Ozlem Tureci, the laboratory's chief medical officer and one of its creators, said that following the approval of the British agency,
the process of delivering
the vaccine to Britain
begins
.
“We hope that the distribution of the vaccine will happen in the next few days.
We are waiting for a decision on approval from the United States and the European Union by mid-December. "
announced Dr. Ozlem Tureci.
Pfizer's headquarters in Belgium from where the doses will depart to the UK.
Photo: AP
It was she who explained that there were no safety concerns for the vaccine.
"It was actually a
well-tolerated
vaccine
.
We see common reactions that go with all vaccinations, including
injection
site
pain, fatigue, headache, and muscle pain.
These reactions were mostly
mild to moderate
”, he described.
"The vaccine was tested in
Argentina and Brazil,
among other countries," according to the scientist.
Sean Marret, in charge of vaccine distribution for BioNtech, said there are
570 million doses
of the vaccine ordered
worldwide
.
Among them, 40 million have been bought by Great Britain.
"These doses that we have for Great Britain
are already packed
by our colleagues at Pfizer, at the facility in Belgium, ready to be shipped
very, very quickly,
" he explained.
To the reassurance of the nursing home, he gave hope and logistics calm, explaining that the vaccine can be transported for
six hours at higher temperatures.
The priorities
Residents of nursing homes and their carers will be the first to be vaccinated, confirmed the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) of the British government.
In the
second phase
will be those who are
80 years or older
, along with those who are on the
front line
in hospitals and social workers.
Then, in
the third,
everyone who is
over 75 years old
.
Crowded streets in London after some non-essential businesses reopen.
Photo: AP
In the
fourth phase
those who are over 70 years old and individuals who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
In the
fifth phase
, those who are over 65 years old are added.
In
the sixth
, those who are
between 16 and 64 years old
, with health conditions that put them at risk of mortality or high risk.
In the
seventh
all those who are over 60 years old.
In
the eighth
those who are over 55 years old and in the
ninth
those who are over 50 years old.
Who will not get the vaccine
There are two groups that will not receive the vaccine:
pregnant women
and children
under 16 years of age
.
The children who can be vaccinated are those with
severe neurological problems
that require nursing home care.
"The public can be assured that the standards we have worked with are equivalent to standards around the world," explained June Raine, chief executive of the UK regulatory agency (MHRA).
British victory or global project?
In Britain the announcement of the vaccine is being seen as
a government victory
, in the middle of Brexit, and not a global and European project.
German Ambassador Andreas Michelis
criticized the euphoria
of British Business Minister Alok Aharma.
"Why is it so difficult to recognize that this is an important step as a great international effort and success?" He asked.
“I don't think it is a national story.
Beyond the fact that it is the German company BioNtech that made this crucial contribution, this
is European and transatlantic,
”said the diplomat.
Boris: "fantastic news"
After facing a rebellion by 56 of his own conservative lawmakers against Covid restrictions in the regions on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Boris John celebrated in the House of Commons
"the fantastic news"
that British regulators approved the Pfizer vaccine.
Boris John celebrated "the fantastic news" in the House of Commons.
Photo: EFE
"The vaccine will allow us to direct our lives."
said the premier, in the first good news for his government in weeks of crisis.
"This is unquestionably good news but by no means is it the end of the story, it is not the end of our battle against the coronavirus," admitted the premier.
He advised people not to hope "too quickly" that they could get the vaccine right away because
there is a priority list.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said that regardless of all their differences, "we are all part of this national effort."
Hospitals, pharmacies and centers
For Health Secretary Matt Hancock, the approval of the vaccine is "fantastic news."
"The MHRA, the fiercely independent regulator, has clinically licensed the launch of the vaccine," he announced.
"The NHS is ready for that to happen. So from the beginning of next week we will start the program of vaccinating people against COVID-19 here in this country," he said.
Hancock added that there would be
"three modes of administration"
of the vaccine.
"The first is the hospitals themselves," he explained.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Photo: AP
"There are 50 hospitals across the country that are already installed and waiting to receive the vaccine as soon as it is approved, so now it can happen," he said.
"Also the
vaccination centers
, which will be great centers where people can go to get vaccinated. They are being installed now," he continued.
Hancock said that
the military
is involved in
the logistics
of launching the vaccine, as they were in the middle of the pandemic, when the government was unable to impose order on the lack of control.
An effective vaccine is considered the main weapon in the fight against the pandemic, which has claimed more than 1.4 million lives worldwide.
Hospitals, mass vaccination centers, family doctors and pharmacies are part of the immense logistics to vaccinate the population.
Hancock explained that there will be "a combination of three modes of administration" for the vaccine.
Logistical challenge
"Due to the 70 degrees below zero storage conditions of this vaccine, they will be able to support deployment wherever they have these facilities." "The NHS is ready," he said, referring to the British health service.
"This is a challenging implementation and the NHS everywhere in the UK is ready for that to happen," he announced. "They are used to handling vaccines and drugs like this with these kinds of conditions. It's not easy, but we have those plans in place. march ”he declared.
Hancock fought back tears in the Commons Tuesday night when he revealed that his grandfather Derek died on November 18 after contracting COVID-19.
He told MPs about the death within his family, at the conclusion of the six-hour debate on
the new
level
restrictions
, which will be implemented in England from this Wednesday.
A sign that the Covid and its wave of death
has touched everyone
in the kingdom.
Paris, correspondent
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