LONDON (AP) – British Health Secretary Matt Hancock arrived at a London doctor’s office this week to highlight the onset of coronavirus vaccinations by local GPs.
There was only one problem: there was no vaccine. It did not show up in time for Hancock’s press event.
It was an embarrassment to the UK’s biggest health official and a reminder of the challenges facing Britain to vaccinate around 15 million people by mid-February.
GPs like dr. Ammara Hughes is vital to the National Health Service’s plan to expand vaccinations from hospitals and clinics to doctor’s offices across the country.
“It’s just more frustrating than a worry,” said Dr. Hughes told Sky News. ‘If we have regular supplies, we have the capacity to vaccinate 3000-4000 patients a week … which will ease the pressure on the health service and we can get more and more people vaccinated quickly and hopefully get out of the pandemic. ”
The government has called on the military to ensure that vaccines arrive at the right time at the right time, along with the syringes, alcohol swabs and protective equipment needed.
Brigadier Phil Prosser leads the Army’s response. He is commander of 101st Logistics Brigade, which normally delivers supplies to British forces in war zones.
“My team is used to the complexity and supply chain supply in the toughest and most difficult circumstances,” Prosser said during a briefing on Thursday. “In this case, the mission is to support the NHS in delivering the maximum amount of vaccine to reduce the number of infections and deaths as quickly and as safely as possible.”
The interests cannot be higher for the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as it fights a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has spread across Britain, forcing it to a third national exclusion.
The number of COVID-19 patients in UK hospitals is already 50% higher than during the first peak of infections, and deaths reported on Friday reached 1,325 – the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
The rise in infection threatens to overwhelm hospitals, putting more strain on doctors and nurses who are already almost tired after almost a year of the pandemic.
“We hear of people being treated in ambulances and car parks outside the hospital because there is no space inside to bring people in,” said Dr. Tom Dolphin, an anesthetist and spokesman for the British Medical Association Council, said. “It’s to the point that we’re struggling to maintain basic standards in some hospitals.”
The government’s goal is to deliver the first doses of vaccine to everyone over the age of 70 by mid – next month, as well as health care workers, care providers and anyone whose health they are particularly vulnerable to the virus. That is more than 15 million people.
Since Britain became the first country to launch a mass vaccination program on December 8, the NHS has put shots in nearly 1.5 million arms.
It plans to offer vaccinations at hundreds of GPs’ offices and community pharmacies. There will also be seven mass vaccination centers at conference centers and sports stadiums, as well as 223 hospital premises.
“This is a national challenge on a scale we have never seen before, and it will require an unprecedented national effort,” Johnson said.
But can the NHS deliver an average of more than 2 million shots a week over the next six weeks?
“My opinion is that the comforter is realistic, but not easy,” England chief medical officer Chris Whitty said on Tuesday.
The UK has recorded nearly 80,000 deaths related to COVID-19, the deadliest outbreak in Europe and the fifth highest in the world. The pandemic prevented families from gathering, leaving 819,000 people out of work and businesses forced to close, forced by restrictions designed to control the spread.
While the government has agreed to procure vaccines from seven different producers, British regulators have so far only allowed the use of Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna.
Britain has the right to buy up to 140 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots, barely enough to give its 67 million inhabitants the necessary two doses. Moderna’s 17 million doses only come in the spring.
Stock is not guaranteed due to global demand as well as the challenges of producing, testing and delivering the vaccines.
To stretch limited supplies, Britain has already taken the controversial step of postponing the second dose of vaccine to three months so that it can give as many people as possible the first dose.
Although the vaccination of the vaccination program will be complicated, the structure of the NHS is likely to help be successful, Siva Anandaciva, chief policy analyst at the King’s Fund, brainstormed on improving medical care in England.
“Primary care is the cavalry to help deliver the vaccine,” Anandaciva said. “The primary care staff is the key to this next phase of throughput.”
But the forces have already been stretched by the pandemic and everyone in the NHS is tired. Nevertheless, GPs will be asked to work more.
“They are extending the hours to ensure that as many people as possible can get the vaccine,” Anandaciva said. “So it’s going to be a long battle for the next few months.”
But it is a bright spot in a dark time. David Halley, 83, was delighted to receive his vaccination from his local GP this week.
“I do not want to get sick, and I have family and grandchildren, and so on, so that’s important,” he said. ‘I did think … Is it fair that I go? And then I thought, if I do not, then I will take up a bed in the intensive care unit that someone else can use and it will waste time and oxygen. So it is best to do it. ”
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