138,000 people in the UK get the Covid vaccine in the first week | Coronavirus

The government has announced that approximately 138,000 people have been vaccinated against Covid-19 across the UK since its launch last week.

Deployment oversight minister Nadhim Zahawi said the numbers are a “really good start” to the vaccination program.

program Started last TuesdayOn December 8th, when 70 hospital hubs began immunizing people in their 80s and above, they cared for teleworkers and some NHS staff.

A week later, 108,000 people in the UK received their first Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. There are 18,000 in Scotland, 7,897 in Wales and 4,000 in Northern Ireland.

A total of 137,897 people were vaccinated, Zahavi Tweet..

The government has ordered 40 million doses of Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine with the advice of the Vaccine Task Force. Led by Kate Bingham.. Five million of them are expected to arrive by the end of the month. The first 800,000 doses arrived in the UK on the weekend of December 5-6 from a Belgian manufacturing plant and began administration on December 8.

The numbers released by Zahavi are the first statistics to reveal the number of people vaccinated. In the trial, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective.

But the government too NHSThe person responsible for deploying the largest vaccine in the history of the service has released figures that indicate the number of people expected to receive jabs or the number of vaccinations that need to be given at each site.

Health Minister Matt Hancock said: “Thanks to the NHS efforts across the UK, more than 137,000 people have already received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

“This is just the beginning, steadily expanding our vaccination program and ultimately helping everyone return to normal life.”

Vaccinations will be received at other venues this week, including hundreds of GP-run vaccination centers, including surgery by family doctors and pop-up outdoor venues set up to speed up deployment. It was planned to increase. In addition, 10 more hospital trusts have begun dispensing vaccines in the UK, bringing the total to about 60 in the UK.

It is unknown if more supplies have arrived or when the next shipment will arrive in the UK.

This development was accompanied by intense debate and tension between the Boris Johnson administration and the NHS England on whether NHS staff or people over the age of 80 should get it first. The UK NHS Trust was said to prioritize frontline personnel.

The nature of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine means that it must remain in the “hub” of the hospital, from which it can be brought into GP surgery and care facilities under license conditions from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). You can not. For example, moving more than four times can be unstable and ineffective.

However, after reiterating that the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization, which advises the government, should be at the forefront of the line, care workers over the age of 80 were prioritized instead.

Some NHS staff who are considered medically vulnerable because of their underlying health condition also have it.

The Royal College of General Practical Medicine welcomed the jab being given to some of those who were considered top priorities. “It’s great to see the Covid-19 vaccination program start this positively and many of the most vulnerable patients are beginning to be protected from the virus,” said its chair, Professor Martin Marshall. I am.

“Vaccines are our best protection against many serious and sometimes fatal illnesses. This has gone through a rigorous process to make them safe and effective. We are all It is advisable to come forward for vaccination when a patient is invited to ensure that they receive a second vaccination for maximum protection. ”

One NHS Trust CEO involved in the deployment said he was given a lower dose than they had hoped for and did not know when they would be entrusted for the second time.

“We have received one dose of 975 doses, primarily to staff in nursing homes over the age of 80, but given twice that number, we are in demand. I should have been able to get twice as many vaccines as I did. It is still unclear when and when I will receive the next shipment. No one has told me yet, “said the CEO. Said.