UK Government Approves 2 Vaccines For Use Against Covid-19

Since late March 2020 (the time of the first imposition of a formal lockdown by the UK government) we have been praying for the development of a vaccine to slow the spread of Covid-19. And finally with many still on the verge of their trials ending, two have been approved.

On the 2nd of December the UK became the first country worldwide to approve a vaccine. This vaccine was developed by a partnership between Pfizer and BioNTech. The decision was taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) was supported by advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CMH). They were able to approve it quickly under Regulation 174 of the Human Medicines Regulation 2012- which enables rapid temporary regulatory approvals to address significant public health issues, such as pandemics.

And now on the morning of the 30th of December we see another vaccine approved, this time developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca. This vaccine has differing requirements in terms of storage and other areas.

On the 30th of December the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) released their updated advising report on the priority groups of the population for Covid-19 vaccination.

1. Residents of care homes and their carers.

2. All those 80 years of age and over along with frontline health and social care workers.

3. Everyone who is aged 75 and over.

4. All those 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.

5. All those aged over 65 and over.

6. All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk.

If you would like more to read more about the JCVI’s report I would recommend looking here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/priority-groups-for-coronavirus-covid-19-vaccination-advice-from-the-jcvi-30-december-2020

Before any vaccines had been approved, the UK government had signed agreements with various organizations and companies at the time developing vaccines to ensure their supply. The UK government had secured 100 million doses of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine and 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

In terms of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, it is distributed from Pfizer’s centres in Germany, the USA and Belgium. A unique part of this vaccine is that it needs to be kept at a temperature of -70C, although when arrived at the vaccination facility it can be stored in a fridge between the temperatures of 2C and 8C for a maximum of 5 days. The vaccine also requires two doses to be taken in order for full immunity (the 2nd dose to be received 21-28 days after the first). Before the end of 2020 the UK government hoped to have their hands on 10 million doses, but currently, due to certain problems Pfizer has encountered, it is expected that they are likely to receive 4 million doses.

And now talking about the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, it can be produced in the UK which will probably mean this vaccine becomes the UK’s predominant vaccine. Differently to the above mentioned storage conditions, this vaccine only requires to be kept at fridge level temperatures, allowing for easier accessibility. This vaccine also requires two doses, however the second dose can be given 4-12 weeks after the first. The longer time period for receiving a second dose will consequently result in ministers not putting aside vaccines for those second doses but set their focus on getting as many people vaccinated with a first dose. It has been said by the Chief Executive of AstraZeneca (Pascal Soriot) that they will soon be able to produce 2 million doses a week.

A few things I would like to note is that all vaccines do come with a monetary cost (this cost will be covered by the government for all NHS patients), these amounts vary because of how they’re made. Also, that the government’s vaccination policy rests on the ethics question of should we give more protection to fewer people or less protection to more people? But something else to know is that during trials for the OU/AZ vaccine, a full dose followed by another full dose meant 62.1% efficiency, however when a half dose was followed by a full dose at least a month later the efficiency rose to 90%. But ultimately we will have to wait in order to see the real impact of the developed vaccines.