the first doses of the newly approved
pfizer coronavirus vaccine have arrived
in the uk
they've been taken to a secret location
from where they'll be distributed to
hospitals
all over the uk over the next few days
the first phase of the rollout program
is expected to begin
on tuesday england's deputy chief
medical officer professor jonathan van
tam
says 99 percent of kovitt 19 deaths
could be prevented
if there's a very high uptake of jabs in
the most
vulnerable groups it comes on the day
that the uk recorded the deaths of more
than 60 000 people with coronavirus
one of the highest death tolls in the
world here's our health editor
hugh pim he was the soul mate to my
grandmother that he was my best friend
he put a smile on anyone's faces he met
and he brought sunshine on the rainy
days olivia remembers happier times with
her grandad gary
he died in hospital with covid he did
have underlying health issues but he was
just 61.
his funeral was on tuesday before he
passed away we were able to say goodbye
on facetime and as much as his lovely we
were able to say goodbye that way i just
wish he were able to hold his hand and
let him know it was okay
mickey died last month after being
diagnosed with covid
his family say he'll be much missed in
the community
he wasn't in bad health leading up
leading up to uh contracting covid
his daughter-in-law anna said he was a
local bristol legend
the speed of it shock of it has left us
all absolutely devastated
um we're reeling from it um we can't
believe it
it's happened he was he was larger than
life
and i you know i always say i thought he
would outlive all of us
all this a reminder of the cruel reality
of covid
and why vaccine doses like these are so
important some have been brought into
the uk
on euro tunnel from the manufacturer
pfizer's plant in belgium
phase one of the rollout will start next
week and health leaders are encouraged
if we can get through the phase one um
and
it's a highly effective vaccine and
there is very very
high uptake then we could in theory
take out 99 of hospitalizations and
deaths
some major hospitals like this one have
been designated as vaccine centers
it's understood that the policy in
england will require them to prioritize
patients who are 80 or over for example
those coming in for appointments
nhs staff and care home workers
will be invited in for their jobs the
first minister said scotland's
vaccinations would start on tuesday
that will be a significant landmark in
our collective struggle
against the virus and although we still
have difficult months ahead the
awareness that vaccination is starting
will i'm sure
make many of us feel more hopeful as we
enter the christmas
period for the families of mickey and
gary there are mixed feelings after news
that the vaccine is about to become
a reality when he was only 61
maybe he could have had longer and i
can't look at the vaccine knowing
we couldn't see them it's too late for
him i
i you know i could only implore
everybody that is offered a vaccine to
take take it um because you do not want
to find yourself
or a precious loved family member like
mickey
in a similar situation the vaccine is on
its way
military and nhs staff have been setting
up specialist hubs like this one at
ashton gate stadium in bristol
but the wider population may have to
wait a little while to get their chance
to have it
hugh pim bbc news so the first doses of
vaccine
are here but it may well be many months
yet before any
resemblance of normal life returns
scientists say we will be living with
these restrictions on our lives for some
time
to come our science editor david shukman
looks at the new vaccines
and the way ahead
[Applause]
a gloomy afternoon though at least
there's now a pathway
out of the pandemic with the prospect of
the first vaccine
to keep people safe so what questions
remain unanswered
well the first is how long will immunity
last
after you've been vaccinated well that's
still not clear
studies show that the injections three
weeks apart
massively reduce the severity of the
disease but scientists don't know
if that protection keeps going we have
no clear
idea at the moment about how long
natural immunity so immunity following
the
infection with the virus or indeed
immunity that's been
generated through vaccination how long
it will last
we would certainly hope it will last
several months if not years
so it's possible we'll need an annual
vaccination
as with the winter flu all this has to
be worked out
next will the vaccine stop the spread of
the virus
if you've had the vaccine you could
still carry the virus without knowing
and maybe pass it to people around you
if they've yet to have their jabs
that's because the vaccine will be
injected into the arm
to create antibodies to fight the
effects of the disease
but the virus itself may still be
present in the nose and throat
so it's possible that someone vaccinated
may be able to infect others
no one can yet be sure could be that
vaccination
could allow the virus to carry on
replicating in the nose but not actually
causing symptoms
and that could mean that actually you
can still be a vector
despite having been vaccinated and
despite being personally protected
then there's the question of how many
people need to have the vaccine
the more infectious the virus the more
it matters
to get a high proportion of the
population vaccinated
at least 90 percent for measles more
like
66 for covid the more
people who can receive the vaccine and
get it the less
the virus has a chance to spread in the
community and therefore we minimize the
risk to those vulnerable people in whom
the vaccine doesn't really work as well
as it might um so getting the vaccine
once it's available is something you can
really do
to help protect other people as well as
protecting yourself
so everything hinges on making sure as
many people as possible
say yes to the vaccine and until they've
had it
to keep following the guidance about
staying safe
david shukman bbc news so the uk is the
first in the world to approve the fisa
vaccine confidence in its safety is
critical yet the speed of it all has
been criticized by some including the
top infectious disease expert in the u.s
anthony fauci our health editor hugh
pimp is with me and tonight he has
rather changed his tune
yes sophie there's been a bit of sniping
both from european health officials
and politicians and those in the u.s
about the mhra's decision
to approve the fisa vaccine yesterday
ahead of other leading regulators and dr
anthony
fauci member of the white house
coronavirus task force said in media
interviews
quotes the uk didn't do it carefully it
rushed through
the approval but in a bbc interview
tonight he's rather road back here's
what he had to say
by way of explanation our process
is one that takes more time than was
taken
with the uk and that just is the reality
i did not mean to apply
any sloppiness even though it came out
that way so if it did
i just want to set the record straight i
have a great deal of confidence
in what the uk does both scientifically
and from a regulatory standpoint
if i somehow came across differently i
apologize for that
well there was a hint there and he went
on to explain that in the us
they felt that it was necessary not to
be seen to be rushing things
through because of sensitivities around
the vaccine debate and the politics of
it
and it just shows how keen regulators
are to show that they've gone
to every possible length to make sure
these vaccines are safe
and not allow the anti-vaxx campaigners
to exploit the situation
shubham thank you