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UK Begins Coronavirus Vaccine Program

Coventry, England —(Map)

Yesterday, Margaret Keenan became the first person to get the Pfizer coronavirus  vaccine. It was the first step in a massive project to vaccinate tens of millions of people in the United Kingdom (UK) in just a few months.

Coronavirus Vaccines
     COVID-19 is caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. The virus has changed life around the world, making over 67 million people sick, and killing more than 1.5 million people.
     Normally, vaccines take years to develop, but because the coronavirus is so serious, people everywhere are trying to speed up the process.
     Currently, hundreds of different vaccines are being studied. Before vaccines are used widely, they normally go through several steps of testing, called phases. Phase 3 is the last, and most important phase.
     Right now, 17 vaccines are in Phase 2/Phase 3 trials. Once a vaccine has passed all of the needed tests, it can be approved.

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Yesterday, Margaret Keenan became the first person to get the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine – the first step in a massive project to vaccinate tens of millions of people in the UK. Above, health care workers applaud Ms. Keenan after she got the vaccine.

Ms. Keenan, who will turn 91 next week, described the shot as “the best early birthday present I could wish for”. She said getting the vaccine would allow her to see family and friends again without worrying about getting the coronavirus.

“My advice to anyone offered the vaccine is to take it,” she said. “If I can have it at 90 then you can have it too.”

Ms. Keenan was the first of around 800,000 people who are expected to get the vaccine over the coming days. The program will first target patients over the age of 80 at about 70 UK hospitals.

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Sir Simon Stevens (above), the leader of England’s National Health Service said, “Today is just the first step in the largest vaccination program this country has ever seen.”

Sir Simon Stevens, the leader of England’s National Health Service said, “Today is just the first step in the largest vaccination program this country has ever seen.”

It’s a very quick start to the vaccination program. The vaccine, which is made by Pfizer and BioNTech was just given emergency approval in the UK last week. The Pfizer vaccine is believed to be about 95% successful at preventing people from getting Covid-19.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – enough for 20 million people.

Syringe in front of a Pfizer box.
The Pfizer vaccine is believed to be about 95% successful at preventing people from getting Covid-19. The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – enough for 20 million people. The syringe above isn’t the coronavirus vaccine.
(Source: Kojach, via Flickr.com.)

To tackle the problem of delivering the vaccine, the country has created temporary clinics around the country in places like stadiums, racecourses, libraries, and parking lots. Tens of thousands of people, including retired health workers, are being trained to give the shots.

But safely delivering the vaccine will be difficult. That’s because at every step of the way, the vaccine needs to be kept extremely cold: -94º Fahrenheit (-70º Celsius).

For things to go smoothly, the government will need to manage the project better than it handled things during the early months of the coronavirus crisis. At that time, hospitals often ran short on basic supplies like masks and gloves.

Boris Johnson visits Covid-19 Vaccine Centre. The Prime Minister watching Lyn Wheeler have her Covid-19 Vaccine injection at Guy's Hospital in central London, on the day the vaccine is rolled out across the country. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street 08/12/2020. London, United Kingdom.
The government will need to manage the vaccination project better than it handled the early months of the coronavirus crisis, when hospitals often ran short on basic supplies like masks and gloves. Above, Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a vaccination center.
(Source: Andrew Parsons, Number 10, via Flickr.com.)

The UK was able to move ahead with its vaccination program so fast because it gave emergency approval based mainly on the reports of the drug companies.

In the US, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is still considering whether to give the Pfizer vaccine emergency approval. On Tuesday, the FDA said it believed the vaccine worked well and was safe. A special meeting of experts is planned for Thursday to discuss the vaccine further.

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In the US, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is still considering whether to give the Pfizer vaccine emergency approval. On Tuesday, the FDA said it believed the vaccine worked well and was safe. Above, the main offices of the FDA.

It seems likely that the vaccine will be given emergency approval in the next few days. If so, the first vaccines in the US will probably start in the third or fourth week of December. The US will face even greater challenges in delivering the vaccine to huge numbers of people.

Two other vaccines may also soon get emergency approval. One by the company Moderna also has a 95% success rate. Another, by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has a success rate of about 70%. Neither one of these vaccines needs to be kept as cold as the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.


Did You Know…?
The second person to get the vaccine in the UK was an 87-year-old man named William Shakespeare.

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