After recent news concerning our Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, I just wanted to take the opportunity to provide some further detail and context on these recent developments.
Vaccine supplies
Despite a confirmed delay in a delivery of 5 million Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses from India, our vaccine roll-out still remains well on track, and we are still very confident of offering a first dose to all adults by the end of July target we set earlier this year.
Furthermore, this will not affect our ability to offer a 2nd jab to all of those waiting to receive it within 12 weeks of their 1st vaccination. After administering a record number of vaccinations in a single day over the weekend, over 870,000 doses, we are also speeding towards our target of having offered every adult in the top 9 Priority Groups a jab before the 12th April. This group make up over 99% of all hospitalisations and high-risk individuals.
My colleague, the Secretary of State for Communities, Robert Jenrick MP, when asked about the UK’s supply of the vaccine on Thursday, said the UK had less "than we might have hoped for in the coming weeks, but we expect it to increase again through the course of April".
I was also fortunate enough to visit Brighton’s mass vaccination centre on Friday (19th March), with my colleague Tim Loughton MP, alongside the Chief Executive of Sussex CCG, Siobhan Melia, to see for ourselves the incredible, relentless operation taking place there day in, day out, proving why our roll-out is breaking records. I want to commend all the incredible staff and volunteers tirelessly working at the site, as well as everyone who’s come in to receive their jab – including the 2,500 who were vaccinated on the day we visited! It was wonderful to meet many new staff who normally work in the airline industry, who have stepped in using their skills to support the roll out. Over the last year, 1,400 new staff have joined the NHS across Sussex, alongside a host of terrific volunteers at the site, as well as at local hubs in Haywards Heath and East Grinstead.
Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine safety
Another recent issue that’s been raised in the news is the safety of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, after several countries across Europe temporarily suspended administering the vaccine. Following this, the European medicines regulator conducted some further trials, before once again confirming unequivocally the Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine IS ‘safe and effective’ in the past week, and the jab is NOT linked to an overall risk of blood clots.
Additionally, the UK Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency has assessed the data and considers that the vaccine provides a high level of protection, a stance which is echoed by the Head of Immunisations at Public Health England. Furthermore, the WHO is recommending the vaccine, while studies in the US have also shown the vaccine is 100% effective and is safe to administer.
Since the European medicines regulator’s study confirmed the safety of the vaccine, European countries who temporarily suspended administering the jab have now resumed vaccinating citizens with the Oxford vaccine.
EU Vaccine Threats
The European Commission has claimed the pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, was not fulfilling a contract for the supply of vaccines to the EU. The EU has its own supply chains for member states and this is a commercial issue for AstraZeneca and the European Commission to resolve. Representatives of Astrazeneca have said the EU’s delay in reaching an agreement with them has been a significant reason why there are now supply issues.
Following the EU’s threats to illegally suspend the exports of vaccine from the European continent to Britain, the Government are continuing to communicate with our European neighbours to find a solution, and have urged them not to break an international contract the UK agreed with AstraZeneca last summer. The world is watching.
I want to finish by including a quote from the Prime Minister on this matter, from his Downing Street press conference last week:
“We’ll continue to work with European partners to deliver the vaccine rollout.
“All I can say is we in this country don’t believe in blockades of any kind of vaccines or vaccine materials.
“It’s not something that this country would dream of engaging in and I’m encouraged in some of the things I’ve heard from the continent in the same sense.”
I hope this was a helpful update!