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Covid-19: D-day for the vaccination campaign in the United Kingdom

 

It is a historic moment which will begin in the United Kingdom. The country most bereaved in Europe by the Covid-19 disease with more than 61,000 dead, begins this Tuesday to administer to the most vulnerable people the first doses of a vaccine. The country hopes with this historic campaign, to achieve “a huge step forward” in its fight against the pandemic. The United Kingdom is the first in the world to have authorized the deployment of the vaccine of the American-German alliance Pfizer / BioNTech, a speed criticized by some scientists. In the European Union, a decision is expected by the end of December while Russia has started distributing its own vaccine, Sputnik V.

“This day marks a huge step forward in the UK’s fight against the coronavirus,” said Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “But mass vaccination will take time,” he warned, calling for continued compliance with the restrictions in place. In England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, priority is given to residents and employees of nursing homes, a task complicated by the logistical challenges of the need to keep the vaccine at -70 degrees. Caregivers and those over 80 will follow, and so on by decreasing age.

Authorities hope to vaccinate the nine priority categories by spring, which include those over 50, caregivers and people at risk. They represent 99% of deaths. The campaign that opens, the largest ever led by the public health service, is more like “a marathon” than “a sprint” in this country of 66 million inhabitants, warned the medical director of the Public Health Service (NHS), Stephen Powis. The majority of the British population will have to wait until 2021. “The coming week is a historic moment”, nevertheless estimated the Minister of Health Matt Hancock, who designated the first day of the vaccination campaign as the “V day”, victory day.

Very relative confidence

The success of the vaccination promises to be crucial for the government of Boris Johnson, much criticized for its management of the pandemic and facing the anger of some elected officials at the restrictions imposed in much of the country, with an enormous economic and social cost . In addition to the technical challenges, the authorities have embarked on a pedagogical exercise to convince the British of the importance of being vaccinated, fearing to meet with skepticism from some. According to a YouGov poll released on Monday, 28% of Britons are “very confident” of the safety of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and 40% “somewhat confident”, 23% say they are “not very confident” or “not at all confident”.

In total, 50 hospital “hubs” set up in England began to receive the first of the 800,000 initial doses of vaccine from Belgium over the weekend. According to the Ministry of Health, 1,000 vaccination centers will also be created. The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, protecting 20 million people, with two injections required three weeks apart. All vaccines combined, the government has provided access to some 357 million doses from seven manufacturers. He relies on that of AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, awaiting authorization, easier to transport and of which he has ordered 100 million doses, to vaccinate more widely.

Queen and rockstars

According to British newspapers, Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her husband Prince Philip, 99, will be vaccinated soon. They could even do it in public in order to encourage as many people as possible to be vaccinated and to counter the anti-vaccines. Other celebrities or influencers on social networks could be involved, the tabloid The Mirror citing the singer Bob Geldof or the guitarist of the Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood. The Minister of Health said he was ready to be vaccinated live on television.

In order to avoid any Brexit-related complications at the end of the transition period on December 31, London is considering using army planes to deliver the doses.

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