| Category: Regional: United Kingdom |
THIS incredibly detailed ID card will be handed to every Brit after they get their Covid jab — starting from tomorrow.
The first of 50 UK hubs received the vaccine yesterday as an NHS boss declared it was “the beginning of the end” of coronavirus.
Information on the credit card-sized ID items will include the type of vaccine, its batch number and date it was administered.
A bolded-up message reminds patients to note the date of their crucial follow-up dose.
The details plus the patient’s personal information will then be registered on an NHS database.
Croydon University Hospital, South London, became the first UK hub to unpack and cold store the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine yesterday.
Staff spent all weekend preparing for tomorrow’s launch. More hospitals will give out the jab over the coming weeks and months.
NHS medical director Stephen Powis said the roll-out “feels like the beginning of the end”.
But he also warned that “the largest scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history” will be a “marathon not a sprint”.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock added: “This coming week will be a historic moment as we begin vaccination against Covid.”
The first recipients will be those over 80, care home workers and NHS staff at the highest risk.
The Government’s position is that jabs will not be made mandatory.
But there are fears Brits could be refused access to shops and services if they do not show the ID card.
June Raine, boss of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), urged everyone to get their jab — proved to be 95 per cent effective — and to ignore wild conspiracy theories.
She said the vaccine will allow the country to finally “turn the corner” — after a devastating year that has seen more than 61,000 Covid-related deaths.
Dr Raine told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show: “It’s as safe as any general vaccine, like a holiday or flu jab.
"It is vitally important it’s taken.
“I’d like to emphasise the highest standards of scrutiny, safety and effectiveness of quality have been met to international standards.
"There’s no doubt it’s very safe and highly effective.”
The Queen and Prince Philip have reportedly committed to taking it and will let the nation know when they have done so.
Dr Raine said that news was “humbling and represents everything we’re here to do”.
She added: “As a public health organisation our goal is to protect every member of the population — Her Majesty of course as well.”
The UK is expecting to receive up to four million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine by the end of the month, according to health bosses.
In all the Government has secured 40million doses — enough for 20million people.
It must be stored at -70C before being defrosted. Extra time is then needed to prepare it for injection.
There are also limits on the number of times it can be moved.
Saffron Cordery, deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, said only hospitals currently have the infrastructure to store it.
But she told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that NHS trusts are working with the MHRA to get them distributed more closely to care homes for those residents.
Yesterday, health centres urged Brits not to contact them following a surge of inquiries about when they might be eligible.
South London GP Dr Rosemary Leonard, a regular on BBC Breakfast, tweeted: “Please, don’t call your surgery asking for a Covid vaccine.
“We have not got them in stock yet and don’t know when they are going to arrive. When we do, we will call the most vulnerable patients as soon as we can.”
Her words were echoed by the NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group and a health centre in Bildeston, Suffolk.
They pleaded: “Please be patient. We will promote details when we have them.”
Business Secretary Alok Sharma confirmed more Pfizer doses are due by the end of this month.
The Government has also reserved 100million doses of the University of Oxford and Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
In total, it has secured 357million doses of seven vaccine candidates.
The Armed Forces will be called in to help with the roll-out.
Tens of millions of doses made in Belgium will be flown to the UK by military aircraft to avoid delays at ports caused by Brexit.
~ Via The Sun |
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