Much has been made of the speed at which UK regulators have approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for use in Britain. But will being first to approve the drug make much difference anyway, given the news this morning that Pfizer is having some difficulty rolling out the vaccine?
This morning the business secretary Alok Sharma confirmed that the NHS expects to receive 800,000 doses and is ready to begin the mass vaccination programme on Tuesday. The first batch was apparently imported from a Belgian plant through the Channel Tunnel yesterday. That is enough to vaccinate 400,000 people, with two doses, 21 days apart. To put this into context there are 1.1 million people in the highest priority group — care home residents and staff. NHS staff have already been told that they will not be receiving the first batch.
What about the other 65 million people in Britain? The government has pre-ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine — enough to inoculate 20 million people.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in