About a year after the first patient was discovered in China, the scientific community did the unbelievable and produced a vaccine against the corona • It finally happened yesterday, when the British Minister of Health announced: "Help on the way"
Britain enjoyed the fruits of Brexit for the first time yesterday, albeit in difficult conditions: While the EU announces to the world that its first approval for Corona vaccines is expected at the end of the month and that mass vaccinations are scheduled for mid-January, the UK government Pfizer, thus making the United Kingdom the first Western country to approve mass use of vaccines.
The British military is setting up vaccination centers across the kingdom, and as early as next week 800,000 doses of primary vaccine are expected to be prepared for high-risk groups and medical staff, who are at the forefront of the fight against plague in hospitals.
Photo: Reuters
Also, the UK government has already ordered 40 million vaccines and is preparing to increase the vaccine stock in the country so that every citizen will have five vaccine doses in the warehouses.
Britain is one of the European countries hardest hit by the plague, with some 60,000 dead.
The Boris Johnson government, which itself was hospitalized in critical condition after contracting the virus, has stated that expedited approval is a symbol of Britain's leading role in humanity's fight against the Corona.
"Help along the way with this vaccine," said British Health Minister Matt Hancock.
But with all due respect to the vaccine, the virus is mild here in its potency.
For example, 684 people died in the last day in Italy, and the number of new infections stands at 20,709.
The EU, which has once again become the world's mainstay for corona proliferation, is under heavy political pressure from member states to speed up approval procedures for vaccines that have been shown to be high, that is, by the combination of biotech-pfizer and American modernity.
The approval for the Biontech-Pfizer vaccine is expected to be given as early as December 29, as a larger number of vaccines are available for this combination.
Approval for modernity may be given in mid-January.
These approvals will be temporary, and will be extended at the end of the year.
In any case, the start of mass vaccinations is planned for the beginning of the civil year.
The European Commission has already purchased 300 million vaccines in advance, and they will be distributed among the EU countries in proportion to the size of the population.
Keep up the pace
And after the UK, the US is also on the safe path to corona vaccine approval: In a week from now, December 10, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will discuss an emergency approval for Pfizer vaccine. The administration is again, this time to discuss an emergency permit for a modern company vaccine.The U.S. administration hopes the immunization itself will begin a few days after receiving the approval, and is already planning a complex and huge array to distribute the groundbreaking vaccines.
On Monday, outgoing Vice President Mike Pence held a conference call with governors across the U.S. and told them that immunization could begin as early as the third week of December. FDA chief Stephen Hahn to the White House to brief prime ministers on the vaccine approval process.Some executives wondered why Britain had managed to complete the move before the US.
Do not wait
In any case, even while waiting for approval, the delivery of the vaccines began.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it has already assisted in the "first giant shipment" of vaccines.
A United Airlines plane carried Pfizer vaccines from Brussels, Belgium, to O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
Treatment in two doses
Once approval is received, distribution and immunization will begin almost immediately.
The Centers for Disease Control's expert committee, the CDC, recommended yesterday that medical staff, as well as residents of nursing homes, be the first to be vaccinated, probably before the end of 2020. It is estimated that 40 million Pfizer vaccines will be ready this month, That would be enough to vaccinate 3 million people in nursing homes and nearly every 21 million Americans working in the health sector.
It is important to remember that Pfizer's vaccine - and also Modern's' vaccine - is divided into two doses, and the second dose will be given weeks after the first, so that 40 million doses will actually be enough for 20 million people.
By the beginning of next year, Pfizer and Moderna will be able to carry about 70 million vaccine doses a month, according to a report in the Washington Post.
Then the vaccines will start in the following target populations - Americans over the age of 65, as well as all those who suffer from background diseases and are therefore in a high-risk group.
In February, Johnson & Johnson also plans to submit its vaccine for approval, and if approved, it will join the distribution network.
The advantage of Johnson & Johnson is that its vaccine is given in one dose, not two.
In April, May and June, the entire population will be vaccinated, and the U.S. hopes that the vast majority of Americans will be vaccinated by early summer 2021.