The US firm Pfizer and German company BioNtech are the first consortium to announce the development of a vaccine against Coronavirus. Preliminary trials indicate that it is effective for 90% of the population and no serious adverse effects have been observed amongst the thousands of volunteers who were injected.
Who has Priority?
The UK government has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine. It is given in 2 doses – 3 weeks apart. The vaccines will not be distributed to GPs and other healthcare workers until they have been approved by the regulator. Older care home residents and care home staff will receive the vaccine first, followed by health workers and the over 80s. The first jabs may take place before Christmas if everything goes smoothly.