Ready to fight back Covid: Specialty freezers are stocked with Pfizer vaccine

Freezers filled with Pfizer vaccine were lined up in a safe location before the shocks were distributed to the NHS.

Photos show dozens of freezers keeping the vaccines at temperatures as low as -70 ° C before being introduced into nursing homes and general practitioners' offices within 14 days.

Public Health England (PHE) has secured 58 specialized Twin Guard ultra-low temperature freezers that can hold approximately five million doses of potential Covid-19 vaccines that require ultra-low temperature storage.

Logistical issues make it difficult to get the bite to residents because the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine must be stored at minus 70 ° C before thawing and can only be moved four times within that cold chain before use.

The non-portable refrigerators hold around 86,000 cans each. The distribution of the vaccine in the United Kingdom is being carried out by Public Health England and the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through systems specially adapted to those used for national vaccination programs.

When the vials are ready to be injected, they are warmed to room temperature over two hours, diluted, and drawn into needles. The teams then have six hours to vaccinate the patients

Rows of vaccines have been kept in a safe place in the freezers before they are expected to be introduced within the next ten days. The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has yet to stamp the protocol to remove the fragile vaccine from the freezer, but authorities expect this to be fixed within a few days

NHS England said NHS staff worked all weekend to prepare for the program to start.

In the first wave in England there are 50 hubs. In the coming weeks and months, more hospitals will start vaccinating when the program gets underway.

Professor Stephen Powis, National Medical Director of the NHS, said: “Despite the enormous complexity, hospitals will launch the first phase of the largest vaccination campaign in our country's history from Tuesday.

& # 39; The first batch of vaccine shipments will land on readiness in hospitals by Monday.

"The NHS has a long history of running extensive immunization programs, from flu shots to HPV shots to life-saving MMR shots. Hardworking staff will once again face the challenge of protecting the most vulnerable from this dire disease. "

Mr Hancock said: 'This coming week will be a historic moment when we start vaccinating against Covid-19.

& # 39; We're prioritizing the most at risk first, and nursing home workers and NHS colleagues over 80 will all be among the first to receive the vaccines.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that we can also meet the challenges of vaccinating residents as quickly as possible.

"I urge everyone to do their part in suppressing this virus and comply with local restrictions to protect the NHS while doing this important work."

Family doctors were told last night to prepare to receive doses in the week beginning December 14th. Nursing homes should receive the vaccine in the same week.

In a letter, NHS chiefs said the central GP hubs would receive trays of 975 cans and use them all within three and a half days. The locations where the shocks are to be received will be confirmed on Monday.

The letter said: "It is critical that we activate local vaccination services so that priority patient cohorts can have access to the vaccine."

The logistics for storing and shipping the complex Pfizer vaccine had delayed plans to make nursing home residents the first to receive the bumps.

Health bosses had placed vulnerable social care residents high on a priority list for the vaccine, which was approved on Wednesday. The plans were delayed due to the convenience of transporting the vaccine, which can only be moved four times and must be stored at -70 ° C.

Instead, over-80s and nursing home workers will be the first to receive the sting when the vaccination program – called Operation Courageous – begins in NHS hospitals next Tuesday.

In the picture, Matron May Parsons (right) talks to Heather Price (left) during training at the Covid-19 vaccination clinic of the University Hospital in Coventry

Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, warned NHS staff last night that despite the prospect of a vaccine, expect some tough months to come.

In a letter to NHS staff co-signed by senior physicians in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Professor Whitty wrote: “Although the very welcome news about vaccines means we can look forward to 2021 with greater optimism The use of vaccines will have little impact on reducing the number of patients entering the healthcare system with Covid in the next three months.

“The social mingling that happens around Christmas can put additional pressure on hospitals and general practitioners in the New Year, and we need to be prepared for that.

“We think it is likely that the effects of vaccination will be felt in the spring when the number of new admissions, visits and deaths from Covid is significantly reduced. However, it takes many weeks to get to this stage.

"We have to support each other as a profession when we go into the next tough months."

In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Hancock said he couldn't wait to get rid of the three tier system of coronavirus restrictions and let the country live by mutual respect and personal responsibility again, not set by law in parliament ".

When asked if starting vaccine delivery this week could end restrictions earlier in the first three months of 2021, he said, "Yes it will."

Mr Hancock, who allegedly referred to Tuesday as 'V-Day', told the newspaper: "There is no doubt that vaccination early … will bring forward the moment we can lift these broken restrictions, but are by then we it. " must follow them. & # 39;

Preparations for the launch of the vaccine to thousands of people are well underway. Politicians speculating the UK people might be ready to go back to normal by April

The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has yet to stamp the protocol to remove the fragile vaccine from the freezer process. However, authorities expect the problem to be resolved within a few days (photo in stock).

Family doctors were told last night to prepare to receive doses in the week beginning December 14th. Nursing homes should receive the vaccine in the same week. Pictured a truck leaves Pfizer Manufacturing in Puurs, Belgium as the UK approves the emergency vaccine

According to government scientists, immunity certificates are possible for people vaccinated against Covid

By Victoria Allen, science correspondent for the Daily Mail

Certificates of immunity for people vaccinated against coronavirus are "possible," government advisors said yesterday.

Scientists advising on the pandemic have re-examined immunity certificates – the idea that people who have been given a Covid sting or who have recovered from the virus could be exempted from pandemic restrictions for a period of time.

They gave up their deliberations yesterday, days after the new Vaccination Minister Nadhim Zahawi controversially suggested that restaurants, bars and cinemas could turn people away if they could not prove they had been vaccinated.

Nervtag (the Advisory Group on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats), which also advises the government, concludes, "Some form of Covid-19 immunity certification is likely possible, but further data and consideration are needed before making a recommendation can. & # 39;

Scientists advising on the pandemic have re-examined immunity certificates – the idea that people who have been stung or who have recovered from the virus could be exempted from pandemic restrictions for a period of time. In the picture, May Parsons (right) is examined by Victoria Parker (back) during training at the Covid-19 vaccination clinic at the University Hospital in Coventry

It was decided to check immunity certificates after vaccination trials showed that shocks offer a "high level" of protection against the disease from Covid.

With the UK in the second wave of falls, significant numbers of previously infected people may also have some immunity. It is not known how long people are safe and what protection they have.

In a section of their document on Immunity Certificates, titled "Key Uncertainties", the advisors state, "The duration of natural or vaccine-induced immunity is not yet fully understood."

With Qantas airline requiring international travelers to be vaccinated before they can board an airplane, immunity certificates have raised human rights and medical privacy concerns. Critics fear that they could ultimately be used to deny people access to public transport, universities or jobs.

It is because medical professionals become familiar with the administration of the new vaccine.

Two of the nurses who will lead the vaccination fight were pictured in training yesterday.

They gave up their deliberations yesterday, days after the new Vaccination Minister Nadhim Zahawi controversially suggested that restaurants, bars and cinemas could turn people away if they could not prove they had been vaccinated. Pictured Matt Hancock

At the Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic at Coventry University Hospital, Matron May Parson was seen touching her foster colleague Heather Price's spot to show where the push should be given.

Cabinet minister Michael Gove insisted this week that the government has no plans to introduce "vaccination records" and told BBC Breakfast: "Let's get stuck, this is not the plan."

However, according to Nervtag, there is evidence that certificates could work.

The scientists say a "high proportion" of people who have had Covid will develop immunity that will prevent them from getting sick again within a month of being infected.

This protection is expected to last at least three months, although experts are not entirely convinced of it.

A vaccine also protects a high proportion of people. The crux of the matter, however, is that experts do not yet know whether recovered and vaccinated people can still infect with Covid without getting sick.