LONDON (AP) – British Health Secretary Matt Hancock came to a London doctor’s office this week to highlight the start of coronavirus vaccinations by local GPs.
There was only one problem: there was no vaccine. He didn’t arrive in time for Hancock’s press event.
It was an embarrassing moment for Britain’s top health official and recalled the challenges facing Britain as it struggles to vaccinate some 15 million people by mid-February.
Specialists such as Dr. Ammara Hughes are crucial to the National Health Service’s plan to expand vaccinations from hospitals and clinics to doctors’ offices across the country.
“It’s just more frustrating than a concern,” Dr. Hughes told Sky News. “If we had a regular supply, we would have the capacity to vaccinate 3,000-4,000 patients a week … which would ease the pressure on health services and we could vaccinate more and more people quickly and hopefully get out from the pandemic. “
To ensure that the vaccines arrive at the right place at the right time, along with the syringes, alcohol swabs and protective equipment needed for their administration, the government has called in the army.
Brigadier Phil Prosser leads the military response. He is the commander of the 101st Logistics Brigade, which normally delivers supplies to British forces in war zones.
“My team is used to complexing and building fast supply chains in the most difficult and difficult conditions,” Prosser said in a briefing Thursday. In this case, the mission is to support the NHS in delivering the maximum amount of vaccine to minimize the number of infections and deaths as quickly and safely as possible.
The stakes could not be higher for the government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he is fighting a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has swept across Britain, forcing it into a third national blockade.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in UK hospitals is already 50% higher than in the first peak of infections, and deaths reported on Friday reached 1,325 – the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic.
The increase in infection threatens to overwhelm hospitals, putting more strain on doctors and nurses who are already tired after almost a year of pandemic.
“We hear about 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, the hospital’s anesthetist and spokesman for the British Medical Association board. “It gets to the point where we strive to maintain basic standards in some hospitals.”
The government’s goal is to provide the first doses of the vaccine to all people over the age of 70, as well as health care workers, home care residents and anyone whose health makes them particularly vulnerable to the virus, by the middle of next month. . There are more than 15 million people.
Since the UK became the first country to start a mass vaccination program on December 8, the NHS has set fire to almost 1.5 million arms.
It plans to provide vaccinations to hundreds of medical offices and community pharmacies. There will also be seven mass vaccination centers at convention centers and sports stadiums, as well as 223 hospitalization places.
“This is a national challenge on a scale similar to the one we have seen so far and it will require an unprecedented national effort,” Johnson said.
But can the NHS deliver an average of more than 2 million photos a week in the next six weeks?
“My view is that the vaccine schedule is realistic, but not easy,” Chris Whitty, England’s medical director, said on Tuesday.
The UK has recorded almost 80,000 deaths related to COVID-19, the deadliest outbreak in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. The pandemic prevented families from meeting, took 819,000 people out of work and devastated businesses forced to close by restrictions aimed at controlling the spread.
While the government has agreed to buy vaccines from seven different manufacturers, UK regulators have so far only authorized the use of those produced by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna.
The UK has the right to buy up to 140 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca photos, just enough to give the 67 million people the two necessary doses. The 17 million doses of Modern will not arrive until spring.
But supply is not assured due to global demand, as well as challenges in producing, testing and delivering vaccines.
To expand the limited supply, the UK has already taken the controversial step of delaying the second dose of the vaccine by up to three months so that it can give the first dose to as many people as possible.
While stepping up the vaccination program will be complicated, the NHS structure is likely to help succeed, said Siva Anandaciva, chief policy analyst for King’s Fund, a think tank focused on improving healthcare in England.
“Primary care is the cavalry that helps deliver the vaccine,” Anandaciva said. “The primary care workforce is essential for the next phase.”
But those forces have already been stretched by the pandemic and everyone in the NHS is tired. Even so, family doctors will be asked to work harder.
“We are extending the hours to make sure that as many people as possible can get the vaccine,” Anandaciva said. “So it will be a long slog for the next few months.”
But it is a bright spot in a dark moment. David Halley, 83, was overjoyed to get the vaccine at his family doctor this week.
“I don’t want to get sick and I have family and grandchildren and so on, so it’s important,” he said. “I thought … Is it right to go? And then I thought, well, if not, then I’ll take a bed in the intensive care unit that someone else could use and that would be a waste of time and oxygen. So it’s best to do it. “
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