Coronavirus UK: Military run dry run for Britain's largest vaccination program ever

The full list of hospitals where Pfizer puffs are being delivered to the first UK recipients was released last night when the UK military was running dry runs for the country's largest mass vaccination.

Fifty trusts stand ready to bring Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine to market when the first of 40 million doses is given starting next week. 13 in the Midlands, eight in the North West, South East and South West, seven in East England and London, and only one each in Yorkshire and North East.

The Army conducted a trial run at one of the first mass vaccination sites vaccinating tens of thousands of patients after NHS chief Sir Simon Stevens told a press conference on Downing Street yesterday that the logistics of getting the vaccine to the people " complicated & # 39 ;.

Nursing homes have been told to wait as the inventory cannot be broken down into batches less than 975 each. The vaccine, which must be kept at -70 ° C (-94 ° F) until just before use, means that storage must be carefully controlled throughout the distribution and storage process.

Because of these stringent requirements, hospitals equipped with ultra-cold freezers have been asked to act as “hubs” where the first few people receive bumps.

The exercise, code-named Exercise Panacea, took place at Ashton Gate Football and Rugby Stadium in Bristol. Approximately seven regional hubs are used to vaccinate the broader population as GP surgeries target high-risk patients and hospitals are used to immunize NHS and nursing home staff, as well as some patients.

The government and the NHS will need to obtain additional permission from the MHRA to break up the vaccine supplies into smaller batches that can then be distributed to nursing homes to give to their residents. It is not yet clear how long this might take, but Sir Simon said most vaccinations would be given in 2021, not this year.

In yesterday's exercise, 30 staff and volunteers were dragged around the building pretending to be different types of patients, from one with a side effect to one with symptoms or one who doesn't get the bump.

The stadium is scheduled to have vaccinations 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Other venues to be used as regional hubs include Nightingale Hospital in London's ExCeL Center, Leicester Racecourse and the Manchester Tennis and Football Center.

The NHS estimates that between now and April there will be between 75,000 and 110,000 people vaccinated each week at the stadium and other local facilities in Bristol and the neighboring towns of North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Yesterday's exercise follows an earlier live field exercise, codenamed Exercise Asclepius, held at Epsom Downs Racecourse in October to gauge the capabilities of mass vaccination centers.

Initial batches of the Pfizer sting are already going to the UK after a clinical study found it was 95 percent effective. It is distributed first in hospitals, then in general practitioners' offices and cities through stadiums and conference centers.

In other coronavirus news:

• The UK saw another drop in daily deaths from Covid-19 after officials announced 648 more victims.
• England's assistant medical officer said people may continue to wear face masks after the pandemic ends.
• Organized criminal gangs could benefit from the approval of the new Covid vaccine by stealing supplies to resell or sell counterfeit cans, Interpol warned.
• Comparisons between Pfizer's vaccine and the thalidomide scandal are "insulting," a charity warned after the birth defect drug became trending on Twitter after Britain approved the sting.
• The head of supermarket giant Iceland told No10 that he was "ready" to help the UK deliver the Covid vaccine and said the company's "cold chain know-how" could help with local distribution of the jab.
• Teachers, soldiers and bus drivers could come first for a Covid vaccine once all over-50s and "at risk" Britons are protected, according to JCVI guidelines.
• Matt Hancock claims Brexit helped Britain become the first country in the world to approve a Covid vaccine "because European regulators were moving too slowly";
• Britain may still have to lock up in January or February – despite Pfizer's 95% effective push being rolled out next week, a top scientist warns.
• The MHRA was so keen to approve Pfizer's Covid vaccine that it responded to emails within ten minutes, according to Pfizer's vice president of medical and scientific affairs.
• NHS officials in Leicester have received an email confirming that Leicester Racecourse will be converted into a vaccination center "as soon as the government says to leave".

Cans – which need to be wrapped in dry ice – come from Belgium to a central warehouse in the UK, from where they are sent to NHS hospitals across the country.

However, there is growing confusion about which groups will receive the first doses. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) yesterday published its list of priorities for Covid-19, advising that nursing home residents and the staff treating them should be the first to be vaccinated.

However, officials warned they could not promise that nursing homes would get the vaccine before anyone else, admitting that "whether this is actually feasible or not depends on the deployment and implementation".

Sir Simon said in yesterday's briefing, “The vaccine approved for use by the NHS today, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, has been independently proven medically safe but is logistically complex.

“We have to move it around the country in a carefully controlled manner, initially at minus 70 degrees Celsius or so, and there are a limited number of other movements that the regulator is allowed to make.

"It also comes in packs of 975 people, so you can't just hand it out to every single family doctor or pharmacy at this point like we would normally do for many of the other vaccines available on the NHS."

"The stage of delivery, as we are going to do, is that next week around 50 hospital centers across England will be offering the vaccine to those over 80 and looking after nurses and other JCVI identified staff, usually humans." who had to go to the hospital next week for an outpatient appointment.

"So if you happen to be one of those people next week, or if you get in touch in the following weeks, you don't have to do anything yourself."

He added, “If the MHRA, the independent regulatory agency, approves, as we expect, the safe distribution of these packs of 975 doses, the good news is that we can distribute these to nursing homes.

"And when more vaccines are finally available, we can turn on major vaccination centers across the country and probably invite local pharmacists to offer vaccinations in early January."

Here's what the launch of the vaccine could look like:

1. Next week: 50 hospitals across the UK will be the first vaccination centers to be set up and are expected to start operating next week, the week starting December 7th. Patients over the age of 80 as well as health and care workers are expected to be the first to be invited for vaccinations in hospitals.
2. The following weeks: The NHS director general Sir Simon Stevens said he expected medical practices to be able to offer vaccines to vulnerable people in the "following weeks".
3. This month: The government and the NHS must obtain additional approval from the Medicines Agency MHRA to split the vaccines into batches of fewer than 975 doses each. Officials will have to wait for approval before they can take the bumps to nursing homes, as transport that is imperfect can make the vaccine unstable and stop working after the injection.
4. January 2021: Sir Simon said that "as soon as more vaccines become available early in 2021," the NHS would be able to open more vaccination centers outside of hospitals, as well as making them available in local pharmacies. This is expected to be the final phase of the program and will coincide with thrusts offered to younger and healthier groups of people.

To keep the cans of the shock at this extremely low temperature, they have to be packed with dry ice and placed in a special transport box the size of a suitcase containing 5,000 cans.

These containers can prevent the vaccines from spoiling for 10 days if left unopened. Once the batches arrive at the vaccination centers, they can be stored in standard medical refrigerators between 2 ° C and 8 ° C for up to five days. Or they can be stored in their shipping boxes for up to 30 days if the containers are filled with dry ice at least once a week.

Fifty NHS hospitals in England are already equipped with super-cold freezers that can keep the vaccine at -70 ° C so health workers could be vaccinated first. The sticking point for nursing homes, however, could be that BioNTech says the vaccine can only be stored between 2 ° C and 8 ° C for six hours in transit without it falling off.

Since the Pfizer cases contain 5,000 doses of vaccine, smaller amounts would have to be removed from the dry ice cases to be transported to nursing homes.

But once they're on the go, the cans could die off after six hours. Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the logistical problems "in practice at the time meant we could not deliver this vaccine to nursing homes".

Matt Hancock welcomed the approval of the jab, claiming the end of the pandemic was now "in sight" while Boris Johnson said it would "allow us to get our lives back and get the economy going again".

About 800,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which will require two doses given 21 days apart, will be made available "next week". The UK has ordered a total of 40 million cans, 10 million of which are due by the end of 2020 and the remainder due next year.

Mr. Hancock declared the vaccine campaign "one of the greatest civil logistical efforts we have faced as a nation". "It's going to be difficult," he said. "There will be challenges and complications, but I know the NHS is up to the task."

He added, "We will deliver based on clinical prioritization and operational need as the vaccine needs to be kept at minus 70. This makes this vaccine particularly difficult to use."

Mr. Hancock explained how vaccines are being rolled out across the country, including the use of "conference centers and sports venues". He said: "As we start vaccinating next week, most of the vaccinations will be in the New Year, but I urge everyone who is asked to be vaccinated by the NHS to act quickly, for themselves, their loved ones and to protect his community.

& # 39; Vaccines will be delivered in three different ways over the next few months. First of all, we will start with vaccinations in hospital centers. Second, we will deliver through local community services, including general practitioners and, in due course, pharmacies. & # 39;

As soon as the vaccine arrives in the UK from Pfizer's Belgian plant, the batches are checked for quality in a central warehouse. The vaccine is then unloaded and placed in freezers where it is subjected to an additional temperature test.

Public Health England (PHE) will process orders from the NHS for next day delivery to hospital centers across the UK. At this point, the first phase of the rollout process can begin.

England's deputy medical officer warned the British may wear face masks in the years to come and become as commonplace as they are in the Far East, even after a successful vaccine became available.

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said there was no opportunity "to have a big party and throw away our masks and hand sanitizer," much like celebrations for the end of World War II.

It was then interrupted by Mr Johnson at a # 10 press conference, who insisted that life would be "almost normal" again in this House the day after the biggest Tory riot to date.

However, Mr Johnson warned, "The worst thing now would be to think that this is the moment we can relax our guard," he said It would be wrong to think it was "game over in the fight against Covid" and "this is not the end" when he urged people to abide by the new rules before returning to normal life in the spring of next year can.

Prof Van-Tam appeared alongside Mr Johnson at a # 10 press conference, admitting that mask mandates, social distancing and hand sanitizer use are unlikely to remain guidelines after the pandemic ends – a sign of support for Restrictions wears off.

Prof. Van-Tam said everyone was "fed up" with the measures, but low intake of the Covid-19 vaccine would mean longer-lasting restrictions. However, when he suggested that it might be a good thing if some of the habits that were picked up persist, Mr. Johnson was quick to suggest otherwise.

Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, Prof. Van-Tam said, "I think there will be a big moment where we'll have a big party and throw our masks and hand sanitizer and say, 'That's it, it's behind us "the end of the war? No, not me.

"I think these kinds of habits that we learned from … may last for many years to come, and that can be a good thing if they do."

But Mr. Johnson replied, "And maybe … on the other hand, we might want to go back to life as normal."

The comments came when the UK became the first country to regulatory approve Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine. Officials announced that rollout would begin next week.

However, Prof. Van-Tam warned that people must be patient and continue to follow government guidelines until something else is said. He said, “We have to be realistic about how long this will take.

“It will take months, not weeks. And for now, the other measures, the step measures, the social distancing have to stay in place. If we relax too soon, if we just say, "Oh, the vaccine is here, let's give up caution," you're just going to cause a tidal wave of infections.

& # 39; And that vaccine then has to work against headwinds to get back to the game. And that will make it harder. & # 39;

Prof. Van-Tam added, “Everyone wants social distancing to end – we're sick of it. Nobody wants to see locks and the damage they do. But if you want this dream to come true as soon as possible, you must take the vaccine when it is offered to you.

"Low intake will almost certainly make the restrictions last longer."

Prof. Van-Tam also told the public not to rely on being protected by the vaccinated, saying, "The vaccine won't help you if you don't take it." He warned, "Watching others do it and hoping it will protect you won't necessarily work."

The medical professional believed that the coronavirus will never be eradicated and believes it could come to a point where the disease becomes a seasonal problem. "I think it will be with humanity forever," said Prof. Van-Tam.

He concluded by saying, “I would like to be challenged when I may not have been clear and the Prime Minister picked me up on that occasion, and it is all right because it gives me the opportunity to clarify what I mean here.

“I don't think the government has to go on recommending social distancing, masks and hand sanitizer forever and for a day. I hope we return to a much more normal world.

"But the point I wanted to make was, do I think that some of these personal habits might last longer for some people and maybe last for some people? Yes, I think it can."

Sir Simon Stevens, executive director of NHS England, told the press conference that the introduction of the vaccine would begin next week in 50 "hospital centers" in England.

Mr Johnson then admitted that while the government wants the vaccine to be brought to nursing homes as soon as possible, there are "difficulties" associated with the process.

Trucks loaded with the first batches of Pfizer / BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine are already on their way to the UK after the breakthrough seals UK medical regulatory approval.

Thousands of doses of the vaccine were shipped from Pfizer's factories in Belgium by MHRA this morning within hours of the green light. This made the UK the first country in the world to receive a clinically approved Covid-19 shock. The cans could reach the UK tomorrow.

In # 10, Mr Johnson said, 'This is a big moment and … it's a very moving thing too. I am really lost in admiration for science and in the ability of scientists to solve human problems the best they can.

& # 39; It's not easy. Remember, we now have a vaccine against Covid that really, really works. There's no question it works, but we don't have a vaccine for Sars, Mers and HIV. There's a huge, huge, fantastic effort that has gone into this.

“And when you look at the damage this virus has done to human life around the world, the economic damage, the social damage, not to mention the cost of life and suffering, it's a fantastic moment.

“But to reiterate the key message, the worst thing now would be to think that this is the moment we can relax our guard and think that the fight against Covid is game over. This is not. This is not the end. & # 39;

Professor Van Tam repeated a similar feeling when he said, "I don't mind telling you, I'm not saying it as an effect, the office will tell you it's true that I was quite emotional this morning, when I heard June Raine. Sir Munir Pirmohamed and Wei Shen Lim explain how exactly they reached their conclusions about the Pfizer vaccine.

“And what a meaningful journey and international effort it was. Discovery by two scientists who originally lived in Turkey, development by a German biotech company, involvement of a massive US pharmaceutical giant, and subsequent involvement of our own UK MHRA to bring the goods home related to the UK. What a fantastic trip. & # 39;

The announcement comes on the day England emerged from its second national lockdown and numbers say Covid cases and deaths continue to fall. Another 648 deaths and 16,170 cases when the second wave subsides.

Ben Osborn, Pfizer's UK country manager, said the vaccine was "in progress".

He said, “As you probably heard from Secretary of State Matt Hancock this morning, the delivery schedule has already been set.

& # 39; We're delivering as we speak from Belgium to the UK – that process has already started.

"We expect to have about 800,000 cans in the coming days for the NHS to provide next week."

He said the pharmaceutical company was not giving an "absolute figure" for the total number it would ship to the UK this year.

Mr. Osborn added: “You will understand that this is a significant challenge. But we will be able to dispense millions of doses in the coming weeks.

"This is part of a larger scale-up that will essentially enable the UK to receive 40 million doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine."

Sean Marett, commercial director at BioNTech, said the first shipment of his newly approved vaccine could arrive in the UK tomorrow.

He told BBC Radio 4's World At One, “We're wrapping them up now as we speak and preparing to ship. What we can definitely say is that it will arrive in the next few days, the first broadcast, and that could be tomorrow or a few days later, but the UK will be the first country in the world to receive the vaccine for administration to the Population.

& # 39; We will likely be shipping multiple shipments to the UK over the next few weeks and numbers may vary based on the size of the package we put together in a truck and then ship, so there is a good number of vaccines in the UK it will be available in December. & # 39;

Before the first batch of cans was sent to the UK, the batches were checked in a central depot to ensure their quality. The vaccine is then unloaded and placed in freezers where it is subjected to an additional temperature test.

Public Health England (PHE) will process orders from the NHS for next day delivery to hospital centers across the UK. It takes several hours to thaw the vaccine for use and then additional time is required to prepare the vaccine for dosed administration.

Gesundheitsminister Matt Hancock, der zugab, nicht sicher zu sein, wie viele Menschen geimpft werden müssen, bevor die Beschränkungen aufgehoben werden können, teilte den Commons mit, dass die erste Charge des Impfstoffs heute Morgen fertiggestellt wurde.

Er sagte, die Einführung des Impfstoffs werde "eine der größten zivilen logistischen Anstrengungen sein, mit denen wir als Nation konfrontiert waren".

Herr Hancock sagte den Abgeordneten: „Es wird schwierig. Es wird Herausforderungen und Komplikationen geben, aber ich weiß, dass der NHS der Aufgabe gewachsen ist. & # 39;

He added, "We will deliver based on clinical prioritization and operational need as the vaccine needs to be kept at minus 70. This makes this vaccine particularly difficult to use."

Herr Hancock sagte, die Einführung des Stichs sei der Beginn eines "neuen Kapitels in unserem Kampf gegen dieses Virus".

Er sagte: „Seit die Pandemie vor fast einem Jahr unsere Küste getroffen hat, wissen wir, dass ein Impfstoff entscheidend ist, um uns freizulassen. Es ist nicht mehr, wenn es einen Impfstoff geben wird, es ist wann.

'In unserem Kampf gegen das Virus ist Hilfe auf dem Weg. Heute ist ein Triumph für alle, die an die Wissenschaft glauben, ein Triumph für den Einfallsreichtum, ein Triumph für die Menschheit. & # 39;

Professor Wei Shen Lim, Vorsitzender des JCVI, sagte heute Morgen auf einer Pressekonferenz in der Downing Street: "Der Rat zielt darauf ab, den Nutzen von Impfstoffen zu maximieren, und richtet sich daher an die am stärksten gefährdeten Menschen, die Menschen in Pflegeheimen sind."

Er fügte hinzu: „Ob der Impfstoff an Pflegeheime geliefert werden kann oder nicht, ist ein gültiger Punkt, und es wird eine gewisse Flexibilität geben (mit der Prioritätenliste). Es sollten alle Anstrengungen unternommen werden, um den Impfstoff für die Bewohner von Pflegeheimen bereitzustellen und anzubieten. Ob dies machbar ist, hängt von der Bereitstellung und Implementierung ab. & # 39;

Bei den Fragen des Premierministers zur Mittagszeit gab Herr Johnson zu, dass es "logistische" Probleme geben würde, wenn versucht würde, alle Pflegeheime zuerst zu immunisieren, nachdem sie von Sir Keir Starmer befragt wurden.

Der Labour-Chef fragte: „Welche Pläne hat er aufgestellt, um diese besonderen Probleme zu lösen, den Impfstoff sicher und schnell in Pflegeheime zu bringen, angesichts der praktischen Schwierigkeiten und der Angst, die diejenigen in Pflegeheimen haben werden, ihn schnell zu bekommen ? & # 39;

Herr Johnson sagte: „Wie das Haus meines Erachtens versteht, muss es bei -70 ° C gehalten werden. Daher müssen logistische Herausforderungen bewältigt werden, um schutzbedürftigen Menschen den Zugang zu dem Impfstoff zu ermöglichen, den sie benötigen.

„Wir arbeiten mit allen vier dezentralen Verwaltungen daran, um sicherzustellen, dass der NHS im ganzen Land in der Lage ist – und es ist der NHS, der an der Spitze steht -, ihn so schnell und vernünftig wie möglich an die am stärksten gefährdeten Gruppen zu verteilen . & # 39;

Der walisische Gesundheitsminister Gething äußerte weitere Zweifel daran, dass Pflegeheime heute Morgen zuerst geimpft werden, wenn er nach dem Einsatz des Impfstoffs gefragt wird.

Er sagte, die Regierung in Wales habe "geeignete Optionen für den erstmaligen Einsatz dieses Impfstoffs" geprüft, aber "in der Praxis zu diesem Zeitpunkt können wir diesen Impfstoff nicht an Pflegeheime liefern".

Sean Marett, Chief Commercial Officer bei BioNTech und für den Vertrieb verantwortlich, stellte jedoch die Behauptungen britischer Beamter in Frage, der Covid-19-Impfstoff sei ein logistischer Albtraum, um in Pflegeheime zu gelangen.

Er sagte: „Wir haben jetzt Stabilitätsstudien, die den Beweis für den Transport von bis zu sechs Stunden bei zwei bis acht Grad wirklich belegen, sodass Sie Fläschchen aus dem Impfzentrum – eines der großen – wirklich in eine Tüte packen können bei zwei bis acht Uhr nachts und bringen sie zu den Pflegeheimen, wo sie den Patienten direkt verabreicht werden können. & # 39;

Er fügte hinzu: „Wenn Sie den Impfstoff im Kühlschrank aufbewahren, können Sie ihn bis zu fünf Tage aufbewahren. Wenn Sie einige dieser Fläschchen aus dem Kühlschrank mit dem Impfstoff nehmen und zu einem örtlichen Pflegeheim schicken möchten, müssen Sie dies innerhalb von sechs Stunden bei zwei bis acht Grad tun. & # 39;

Herr Marett sagte, eine Option sei die reine Lagerung, bei der Sie den Impfstoff herausnehmen und für den Patienten verwenden, und die andere darin, ihn in einen Lieferwagen zu legen und diese Impfstoffe an ein Pflegeheim zu liefern.

"Dort müssen Sie innerhalb von sechs Stunden um zwei vor acht liefern und den Impfstoff danach verwenden", sagte er.