How Britain starts with the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine (without torpedoing the EMA)
All the details of Great Britain's decision to leave with the anti Covid vaccination: Johnson followed an emergency procedure provided by the same European authority Ema
90-year-old Margaret Keenan in Coventry was the first vaccinated in the UK with Pfizer-BionTech's vaccine. The cameras of all the British broadcasters framed her while the NHS nurse injected her with the antidote that should protect her from the disease. Ms. Keenan, who will be having her birthday just next week, said: "Weird to be the first, let's hope everything goes well." In London, another 90-year-old, George Lloyd, in Croydon, was the first to be vaccinated. The great British vaccination program is in full swing and in the afternoon the Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, will report to the councils in the Chamber.
Boris Johnson retweeted a post from the NHS to announce the start of the rollout, which, in the intentions of the government, will lead to immunizing almost the entire population by the end of spring. Speaking live on Sky News, the Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir Patrick Vallance, outlined the vaccination schedule. By Christmas, the vaccine will be brought to care homes.
Then, in the spring, when the other vaccines are also available, and in particular the Anglo-Italian one developed by the Jenner Institute in Oxford, the rest of the population will be vaccinated. As the vaccines are distributed, it will be possible to think about new forms of social coexistence and to change the restrictions that have changed the lives of the British since March.
Vallance, however, was clear about the return to normal: we are only at the beginning and thinking about a Covid-free world is still very early. The owner of Health, Hancock, spoke of a day of "strong emotions", and announced that, in addition to the initial doses of 800 thousand units, another 4 million doses will arrive by the end of December to complete the first cycle. "Today's is a great result", said the Minister, "but let's remember to always comply with the rules on social distancing, on masks and always wash our hands".
Vaccine administration has little to do with Brexit. The United Kingdom is still bound by the rules of the European Union and the EMA regarding health treatments until January 1st. Johnson only followed an emergency procedure provided by the EMA itself, as reported by the head of the UK's Medicine & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), Dr June Raine.
Perhaps, it has more to do with the fact that the British government immediately took the lead on the vaccine issue, organizing – naturally online – the Global Vaccine Summit last June, and the UK is the country that has invested most in the world in anti-Covid vaccination programs. Johnson announced in September at the United Nations how the country had invested 500 million pounds so that the vaccine would be distributed "fairly, in all States of the world". Furthermore, through collaboration with the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation and the Welcome Trust, the UK has already set in motion to prevent future pandemics.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/come-la-gran-bretagna-parte-col-vaccino-pfizer-biontech-senza-silurare-ema/ on Tue, 08 Dec 2020 09:39:37 +0000.