Britain’s grand plan to introduce vaccines

Matt Hancock announced today that 2.3 million people in the UK have now received a Covid vaccine as the roll-out hits a rate of around 200,000 bumps per day.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week pledged to hit 200,000 doses a day by Friday, which means the target appears to have been met early after the number of people receiving their first dose of the vaccine fell from 1.3 within a week Sunday, January 3rd, has almost doubled to 2.6 m today.

The sign that vaccinations are increasing as planned is welcome news, as is the fact that the number of people diagnosed with coronavirus has fallen today.

Health Department officials announced that an additional 46,169 people received positive test results yesterday, down 20 percent in one week and the first reading below 50,000 since December 28.

Ministers today released the plan for the grand introduction of Covid vaccines in the UK, promising to distribute 2 million puffs a week in 2,700 centers across the country by the end of January.

With a successful vaccination campaign number 10, the only hope of ever ending the perennial cycle of hard lockdowns, officials have come under increasing pressure to make it clear how to protect the UK from coronavirus.

Matt Hancock said the plan – which includes setting up 50 mass vaccination centers in football stadiums and other major venues – "maps our path back to normal".

As part of the plans, teachers and other key staff could be added to the priority queue. Sir Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, claimed today there was a "strong argument" to give them nudges as soon as the first high priority groups, which include everyone over 70, adults with underlying medical conditions, NHS staff and nursing home staff belong, had their bumps.

"Roving" vaccination teams already in use in nursing homes could be asked to go door-to-door in districts with low admission rates.

The document adds that by the end of January everyone in England will be within 10 miles of a vaccination site. And for those outside of that basin, in very rural areas, the vaccine will be delivered to them via mobile teams.

So far, the UK vaccination program has been plagued by supply and staff shortages, logistical problems and bureaucratic obstacles that have hampered its expansion.

No10 also suggested today that they could set up a round-the-clock jab program if the public wanted – but that it hadn't happened yet because there was no demand for it. However, Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi blamed a supply shortage for not introducing round-the-clock shocks.

Ministers said an army of over 80,000 trained health workers would be involved in rolling out the vaccine, and more than 200,000 community volunteers said they will help with the non-clinical side of the program.

During a visit to Bristol City Football Club's Ashton Gate Stadium, which has been converted into a vaccine super center, the Prime Minister told reporters: “We cannot be complacent. The worst thing now would be for us to allow success in launching a vaccination program to create any kind of complacency about the state of the pandemic. & # 39;

It came when the Vaccines Minister today blamed a shortage of Covid-19 killing drugs for not introducing it around the clock when England's new mass vaccination centers opened this morning, offering an injection every 45 seconds.

Nadhim Zahawi also admitted that most people currently had "about a 45 minute drive" to the seven NHS locations that opened their doors this morning. Most of them are over 80 years old. The vulnerable faces are "exhausting" to get their bump because not enough general practitioners are participating.

Downing Street said this afternoon it could roll out around the clock but there was no demand for bumps outside of the current 8am to 8pm hours.

Prime Minister's press secretary Allegra Stratton said: “The NHS will tell you if they ask the people who are being offered vaccinations, they are asking them when it would suit them, at what time.

“If people come back and say they want an appointment after 8pm, they (the NHS) will think about it.

“I understand that at the moment there is no noise for appointments until late at night or early in the morning.

"If that were the case, the NHS might consider this as it is doing its best to get the shocks into people's arms as soon as possible."

Mr Zahawi previously said that the introduction of the vaccine could happen 24 hours a day "if we have to," but only if the vaccine concentration is high enough. He also suggested that the mostly elderly Britons who now need to be vaccinated are unlikely to want an appointment in the middle of the night, which means the current opening hours will continue to be 8am to 8pm.

When asked if it can be given day and night if there is enough vaccine, he told BBC Radio 4's Today program: "If we have to work around the clock, we must work 24 hours a day, to make sure we vaccinate as soon as we can '.

However, Pfizer said delivery of its vaccine was "on track and on our agreed schedule". A spokesman added, "Based on current projections, we expect to produce and ship up to 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine globally by 2021." UK with 40 million cans by the end of the year. & # 39;

Fears persist that the government may be too promising about how much can realistically be delivered – or not pushing hard enough to vaccinate the entire population and free the UK from lockdown. Matt Hancock will be giving a press conference at 5pm that will outline how vaccination will be offered to every adult in the UK by the fall.

Union leader Sir Keir Starmer said today that Boris Johnson's "first priority" must be to speed up the program to "around the clock", adding, "This is now the only way out of the darkness." Sir Keir also believes the government's 2 million shocks a week should double to 4 million by the end of February.

The gap between the first and second vaccine dose has already been extended from three to twelve weeks as ministers try to give the first dose to as many Britons as possible.

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs defended the decision today. Its Permanent Secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, said, “We followed the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) and the Chief Medical Officer that the best public health value was to take the first dose Bring maximum number of vulnerable people as soon as possible.

In contrast to the alternative strategy of giving the same people a second dose.

"It is better to have a larger number of people on first-dose protection than a much smaller number on double-dose protection."

It came when Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty said the NHS was in "the most dangerous situation anyone can remember" but the new vaccines mean the UK can go back to normal in "months, not years".

The mass vaccination centers, which are also open to health and nursing staff, offer an alternative to getting the sting at primary care practices and hospitals with Moira Edwards, 88, being the first to get their sting at the Surrey hub today.

They cover all seven NHS regions in England including the Center for Life in Newcastle upon Tyne. The others are Nightingale Hospital at the Excel Center in London, Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, Epsom Racecourse in Surrey, Millennium Point in Birmingham, Robertson House in Stevenage and the Etihad Tennis Center in Manchester.

Anyone can vaccinate a patient every four minutes, which means someone will receive a bump of about 45 seconds over every seven hubs – with each patient going in and out in four minutes. Hubs are coming online as Boris Johnson discusses plans for a stricter lockdown, including exercise limits, mandatory outdoor masks, closed kindergartens, and lack of support bubbles amid fears the current lockdown won't curb the spread of Covid.

Today there is concern that the centers are forcing the NHS to throw their net too far. An estimated 130,000 people live more than 45 minutes from the sites that will be invited to vaccinations in the coming weeks. Many are in the most vulnerable age categories with underlying health conditions and there are concerns that the journey is too far for them.

Mr Zahawi admitted that some of the most at risk would have to walk 45 minutes to get a sting, but added that he wanted to get to the point where people could just go to their pharmacy or local GP for a vaccine receive.

Mr. Zahawi has suggested that police officers, teachers and other critical workers fall into the "highest category of the second phase" of the vaccine rollout.

He told Sky News that the program is currently prioritizing those most vulnerable to death from coronavirus.

He added, “Of course some cops and teachers will actually get the vaccine (at stage one) because they're in those categories, but we're going to move very quickly to these other critical workers in business and of course these who like our cops and cops doing an incredible job of protecting us and enforcing the rules will also fall into the highest category of the second phase. & # 39;

Mr. Zahawi has failed to provide assurances that the current restrictions are sufficient and has raised concerns from those who fail to comply.

"We don't want to take harsher measures, the lockdown is tough, schools are closed, but it's important to remember that this virus loves social interactions," he told BBC Radio 4's Today program.

“We are reviewing all the restrictions, but these are pretty difficult right now. I worry about supermarkets and people who actually wear masks, follow the one-way system and make sure they wait outside the supermarket when capacity is full.

"I'm worried about some of the pictures I've seen of social interactions in parks. If you need to exercise, all you can do is exercise."

Mr. Zahawi has also urged the public to obey the rules, wear masks and monitor single-use systems in supermarkets.

He told Sky News: "We are concerned that in supermarkets, for example, we need to make sure that people are actually wearing masks and that they are following the one-way system rule, and that they are able to work safely so that people outside the supermarkets can wait.

"We don't want to get tougher because this is a pretty tough lockdown, but we need people who act like they have the virus so we can get this virus under control during vaccination."

said there had been "higher compliance" with coronavirus restrictions so far than in November but urged people to oppose social interaction.

"As for me – we don't want to take tougher measures, we have already banned pretty tightly," he told Times Radio.

& # 39; The only message is that this virus loves social interaction. We are all very sociable animals … (but) we must continue to be vigilant.

“It is these social interactions that help the virus that we need to avoid.

“These rules are not limits to be pushed against. They are rules designed to help us all lower the death rate, ease the pressure on the NHS, and help us help me keep vaccinating so we can actually stay ahead of the virus. '

Chris Whitty warned today that the next few weeks will be the worst yet for the NHS as the government begs people not to exceed the lockdown lines – and threatens to make them even tougher.

The chief medical officer went on the air to highlight the magnitude of the threat. He said 30,000 people are in the hospital, compared to the high of 18,000 in April.

In the midst of chatting in the street and in stores, Prof. Whitty urged people to remember that "any unnecessary contact" was an opportunity for the virus to spread.

He insisted that while the NHS is in "the most dangerous situation anyone can remember", vaccines mean the UK can be back to normal in "months, not years" – but he warned the situation is far from it away.

The intervention came amid concerns that the number of daily deaths could rise to 2,000, and Boris Johnson sought to tighten national lockdown rules even more dramatically if cases continued to increase.

A Whitehall source said MailOnline ministers had been talking about people being allowed to leave the house only once a week – although No10 today denied it was an option. Other ideas include making it mandatory to wear masks outdoors and banning extended bladders.

Vaccine Minister Nadhim Zahawi this morning suggested that stores be in the line of fire, stressing that everyone in supermarkets must wear masks and follow disposable systems. He appealed to people not to stop and chat with friends they meet outside of their homes.

Limiting people from different households to exercise together also appears to be in the pipeline as the government seeks ways to reduce transmission.

Prof. Whitty told BBC Breakfast: “We have a very important problem. The next few weeks will be the worst weeks of this pandemic as measured by the NHS numbers. & # 39;

He added, "That's everyone's problem."

Prof. Whitty said, "This is the most dangerous time we have really had in terms of the number of NHS members at this particular point in time."

A 99-year-old RAF veteran who feared slipping off the waiting list for Covid Jab thanked MailOnline after receiving a vaccination appointment within 24 hours of our story highlighting his plight.

The widower and great grandfather of four, Arthur Clark, said, “I cannot thank you enough for your intervention. It obviously did the trick. & # 39;

Arthur and his partner Joyce Steward, 87, spent hours on the phone with their family doctor in Beckenham, southeast London, as well as a local vaccination center after the national roll-out began last month, but like thousands of others, they were simply told to wait. despite Arthur's extreme age.

But after MailOnline revealed its situation on Friday, the wheels started moving surprisingly quickly.

"We got a call on Saturday night," he said. They asked me to go to the Beacon Health Center on Sunday morning and asked us to wrap up well in case we had to queue outside.

"But we didn't have to wait at all – the push was painless and we spent more time waiting afterwards than before."

Joyce, 87, was delighted to find she was also on the list for a sting, so the two of them were vaccinated together.

"We have no doubt that it was history that got things moving," she said. "Wir waren wirklich überrascht, dass Menschen in Arthurs Alter nicht ganz oben auf der Liste standen, aber es ist gut zu sehen, dass sich das Programm jetzt für alle schneller zu entwickeln scheint."

Herr Clark, ein ehemaliger Flieger der RAF, war Zeuge der Befreiung Birmas im Jahr 1945, als er Lord Louis Mountbatten traf und nach dem Krieg ein erfolgreicher Maurer wurde.

Die ersten paar hundert Menschen wurden in einem Massenzentrum auf einem Tennisplatz im Manchester City Etihad-Stadion geimpft.

Bis zu einem Dutzend erhielten ihre Covid-19-Impfstoffe gleichzeitig im Manchester Football and Tennis Centre in Schoten.

Die erste Person verließ kurz vor 9.15 Uhr, als ein stetiger Strom von Menschen auf den blauen Parkplatz von City gefahren wurde.

Sie machten dann einen kurzen Spaziergang zum weißen Eingang des Tenniszentrums mit 24 Innenplätzen.

Die erste geimpfte Person, eine Frau in den Achtzigern, die nicht genannt werden wollte, sagte: „Es fühlt sich wunderbar an, die erste Person zu sein.

„Ich war nicht nervös, nur aufgeregt, es zu erledigen. Das Personal war sehr nett. & # 39;

Patricia Stabler, 81, aus Rossendale, Lancs, war die nächste.

Die Großmutter sagte: „Es scheint alles sehr reibungslos zu laufen.

„Das Personal war großartig und hat Sie beruhigt. Aber ich war nicht nervös, weil ich es schaffen wollte.

Ich ging in eine Kapsel, um mich injizieren zu lassen, und krempelte meinen Ärmel hoch.

"Vorher mussten Sie sich registrieren, aber ich musste nur fünf Minuten warten."

Jean Rowland, 86, aus Astley, Gtr Manchester, sagte: „Es wurden ungefähr ein Dutzend Menschen gleichzeitig geimpft.

„Aber ich glaube, es gab ungefähr 50 Leute, die darauf warteten, erledigt zu werden.

»Man konnte nicht sagen, ob die Mitarbeiter Armee waren oder nicht, da sie alle weiße Overalls trugen.

„Ich musste nur fünf Minuten warten, bevor ich meinen Stoß bekam.

Dann musste ich 15 Minuten warten, um sicherzugehen, dass es mir gut ging.

'Es fühlt sich wunderbar an, einer der Ersten zu sein. Jetzt muss ich nur noch Ende März zurückkommen. & # 39;

Daniel Lapsley, 80, wurde von seiner Frau Florence, 78, begleitet, um auf dem Etihad-Campus auf dem Gelände der Stadt geimpft zu werden.

Der Großvater von sechs Kindern sagte: „Ich glaube, es wurden ungefähr 12 Leute zur gleichen Zeit wie ich gemacht.

'Aber es lief definitiv nur mit etwa der halben Kapazität.

"Es gab leere Räume um mich herum, so dass sie eine große Anzahl von Menschen impfen konnten, wenn es voll funktionsfähig ist."

Florence sagte: "Es lief gut, aber sie sagten Dinge wie:" Wir könnten es so machen ".

„Es ist erst der erste Tag, also haben sie die Dinge fein abgestimmt.

„Ich habe meinen Stoß nicht bekommen und war sehr eifersüchtig auf meinen Mann.

'I'm a bit younger so I have to wait a bit longer.'

Retired steel worker Ron Wadsworth, 94, of Swinton, Gtr Manchester said: 'It feels great to have innoculated.

'It seems to run very smoothly.

'There was hardly any waiting and they were all vert welcoming.

'I just have to come back in 12 weeks.'

The hubs will be staffed by trained volunteers from both St John Ambulance and the NHS Volunteer Responder scheme alongside NHS staff.

At the Newcastle site, some key workers received their jab over the weekend in advance of the doors officially opening to the public today.

There are around 1,000 vaccination centres, of which 800 are GP-led, but this will rise to 1,200 over the course of the week.

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS's national medical director, said: 'Please don't contact the NHS to seek a vaccine, we will contact you.'

It comes as 1.5 million in priority groups have received one of the jabs, and in order to meet the target of 13.9 million people in priority groups by mid-February there needs to be at least two million vaccinations a week.

And Boris Johnson wants to open 50 mass vaccination centres across the country within weeks to help hit his target of offering vaccines to nearly 14 million people by the middle of next month.

It is reported at least another 43 hubs are now being planned for areas with large populations.

A source told the Sunday Telegraph: 'By mid-February there will be 50 (of them).'

It is a minimum requirement for any public immunisation centre to manage 1,000 weekly doses, and these centres will be some of the largest in the UK.

The expansion of the inoculation programme is being handled by Nadhim Zahawi MP, who Mr Johnson recently made the minister for Covid-19 Vaccine Deployment.

But The Times has claimed much of the planning for the rollout had already been done before the former-businessman was appointed to the role.

Mr Zahawi's role has since been dismissed by some as a redundant position to assuage backbench calls for a 'minister for vaccines'.

One person involved in the rollout said: 'I don't think the success of the vaccine programme will depend on Nadhim Zahawi.'

Downing St had been worried about the relatively slow pace of the vaccinations across the country, with NHS boss Sir Simon Stevens said to be keeping ministers at 'an arm's length' from distribution logistics.

Senior government sources played down fears of glitches in the roll-out, saying that delivery of vaccines to the NHS had been 'lumpy'.

One said: 'This is a biological compound. It was always going to be lumpy. You get a delivery and they say 'we have had a delay, can we do the batch in a week's time'. And then the MHRA has to do inspections.'

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are running their own Covid vaccination programmes. Scotland will have enough Covid vaccine by the end of this month to vaccinate its top four priority groups, sources said.

Fears remain that the government may be overpromising how much can realistically be delivered, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock this morning saying that every adult in the country will be offered a COVID-19 vaccine by the autumn.

Mehr als 600.000 Menschen ab 80 Jahren werden diese Woche Einladungen erhalten, das Coronavirus in neuen großen Impfstoffzentren in ganz England abschießen zu lassen.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that officials were 'on track' to reach the 13.5 million target by the middle of February.

The vaccination drive comes as Britain sees a steep increase in infections and record numbers of COVID-19 patients being hospitalised, with many experts warning that the situation is more dire than it was when the country went into its first lockdown last spring.

Office of National Statistics figures last week estimated that 1 in 50 people in England had the virus.

Britain today suffered 563 coronavirus deaths – the third deadliest Sunday in the whole pandemic. Infections were recorded at 54,940, the thirteenth day in a row where the number was above 50,000.

Mr Hancock said that more than 200,000 people are being vaccinated in England every day, and that by autumn, the entire adult population should have been offered a jab.

'We've got over 350 million doses on order – they're not all here yet. We're rolling them out as fast as they get delivered,' he told the Andrew Marr show.

'But we are going to have enough to be able to offer a vaccine to everyone over the age of 18 by the autumn.'

Tracy Nicholls, die Geschäftsführerin des College of Paramedics, sagte, Mitglieder hätten Krankenwagen gemeldet, die bis zu neun Stunden vor Krankenhäusern standen und nicht in der Lage waren, Patienten an Notaufnahmen zu übergeben.

'This year particularly has seen incredible pressure because of the clinical presentation of the patients our members are seeing. They are sicker,' she said.

'We are seeing the ambulance handover delays at a scale we haven't seen before.'

England entered a third national lockdown in the beginning of January, which closed all nonessential shops, schools, colleges and universities for at least six weeks.

Regulators the MHRA authorised the Moderna vaccine this week, making it the third to be licensed for use after Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccines.

Trials suggest that the Moderna jab is 94.5 per cent effective in preventing symptoms and that it works in older people.

The government said yesterday that it had increased its order by 10 million doses to 17 million. Each person requires two shots.

However while batches of the other two are already being sent out to vaccination centres, the Moderna jab will not be available until the autumn, after waiting for trial data before making a commitment.

The United States and the European Union are ahead in the queue for the shot.