The coronavirus vaccine developed by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germanys BioNTech was being sent to hospitals across the UK in super-cold containers on Sunday, two days ahead of the kickoff of Britains biggest-ever immunisation programme
A matron is assessed by a nurse during training in the COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic, England. UK has secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine having a 95% efficacy. Pic/AFP
The coronavirus vaccine developed by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech was being sent to hospitals across the UK in super-cold containers on Sunday, two days ahead of the kickoff of Britain's biggest-ever immunisation programme, being closely watched around the world.
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Around 8,00,000 doses are expected to be in place for the start of the rollout on Tuesday, a day that British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has reportedly dubbed as "V-Day," a nod to triumphs in World War II.
"Despite the huge complexities, hospitals will kickstart the first phase of the largest scale vaccination campaign in our country's history from Tuesday," said Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England's national medical director. "The first tranche of vaccine deliveries will be landing at hospitals by Monday in readiness."
Vaccinations will be administered at around 50 hospital hubs in England starting Tuesday. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also begin their rollouts the same day. Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospitals as outpatients and those being discharged after a stay in the hospital will be among the first to receive the jab in Britain.
Hospitals will also start inviting over 80s in for a vaccine shot and will work with nursing homes to book staff into vaccination clinics. Any appointments not taken up will be offered to those health workers deemed to be at the highest risk of serious illness from COVID-19. Everyone who is vaccinated will need a booster jab 21 days later.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on speculation that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, will be vaccinated within weeks and then make it public, a move that could reassure anyone nervous about getting a vaccination.
Daily Russian virus infections hit record
Coronavirus infections in Russia hit a new record on Sunday, as the country's authorities registered 29,039 new confirmed cases, the highest daily spike in the pandemic. Russia's total of over 2.4 million reported infections remains the fourth largest caseload in the world. Russia has also reported 43,141 virus-related deaths. The country has been swept by a resurgence of the virus this fall, with daily confirmed infections and deaths significantly exceeding those reported in the spring.
China readies for large-scale rollout
Provincial governments across China are placing orders for experimental, domestically made vaccines, though health officials have yet to say how well they work or how they may reach the country's 1.4 billion people.
Developers are speeding up final testing, the Chinese foreign minister said at a UN meeting last week. Even without final nod, over 1 million healthcare workers and others in China who are deemed at high risk of infection have received experimental vaccines under emergency use. There has been no word on possible side effects.
Virus cases still climbing in US
Coronavirus infections across the US continue to rise as the country moves deeper into a holiday season when eagerly anticipated gatherings of family and friends could push the numbers even higher and overwhelm hospitals. A new daily high of nearly 2,28,000 cases was reported nationwide on Friday, eclipsing the previous high mark of 2,17,000 cases set the day before.
3,93,255
Total no. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours
6,56,51,683
Total no. of cases worldwide
15,31,362
Total no. of deaths worldwide
Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins
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