Our way out eye (And why we really shouldn’t listen to ‘Karen’ on Facebook) The majority have been vaccinated As we go to with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine which was approved in early December. print, the NHS has The second, developed by OxfordAstraZeneca is now also approved begun the biggest and being rolled out across the country with the Moderna vaccine following closely behind. mass vaccination campaign in its history SO WHO IS GETTING THE VACCINE FIRST? to protect people As expected, the most vulnerable in society are receiving their vaccines against Covid-19. first as set out by the Government’s priority groups list. The “majority” So far, around of vulnerable people in the UK will be vaccinated throughout 3 million people January and February. (and counting) in Categorised into 9 separate groups, they are thought to represent 90-99% the UK have been of those at risk of dying from Covid-19. vaccinated with one By the end of February, it is expected that around 25 million people in the will have received at least the first of the three vaccines UK of their two doses of vaccine. This will mean that the majority of people which have now in the first 4 groups will have been It is hoped that the rest have been approved immunised. of the priority groups will then be vaccinated, possibly by May. for use in the UK. The next phase will see the focus shift to the rest of the population over the age of 18, mainly the under-50s, who are much less likely to be ill with Covid-19. These include teaching staff, people who work in transport and also the military who could be prioritised at that point too.
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Editors Special Feature
WILL EVERYONE BE OFFERED A VACCINE?
What if you’re not in the first nine groups? Will you be offered a vaccine? In short, yes. So far, the government has ordered seven different types of vaccine and expects to receive 367 million doses. That means if everyone needs two doses, that would almost certainly be enough for every adult living in the UK. It is the Government’s eventual aim to be able to offer a vaccine to everyone over the age of 18.
DO I HAVE TO HAVE THE VACCINE?
In the same way that all other vaccines are optional, this is no different and it won’t be compulsory to have it. However, there is a reason that little or no cases of polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps and other nasties make the headlines these days - and that is because the majority of people in the UK are immunised against them. Modern medicine is a wonderful thing, and we are so very lucky in this country to have some of the world’s most proficient and talented teams of dedicated, educated scientists leading the way to provide us with a safe and effective exit from what is, without doubt, the most troubling health crisis in our lifetime. We are also blessed to have one of the world’s most amazing FREE healthcare systems with our NHS. A service which is all too often taken for granted.
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