Yesterday, the citizens of the United Kingdom got to hear something that they¡¯ve been desperately wanting to hear this entire pandemic year -- the government has authorised the use of Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in the nation and the vaccinations can commence starting next week.
This surely is happy news, not just for the nation, but for the world as this made the U.K. the first nation to approve the use of the aforementioned vaccine. Moreover, it also became the first nation outside of Russia and China to approve use of COVID-19 vaccines.?
However, amidst all this happiness, U.K prime minister, Boris Johnson has warned citizens that the troubles aren¡¯t over yet and that this isn¡¯t the time to be careless. The nation is going to experience extreme cold in the coming months before it takes for the vaccine administration process to be at its full capacity, which is sometime early next year.?
He said, ¡°We have been waiting and hoping for the day when the searchlights of science would pick out our invisible enemy and give us the power to stop that enemy from making us ill ¡ª and now the scientists have done it.¡±
He added, ¡°It is all the more vital that as we celebrate this scientific achievement we are not carried away with over-optimism, or fall into the naive belief that the struggle is over. It¡¯s not, we¡¯ve got to stick to our Winter Plan.¡±
The Prime Minister also confirmed that in line with the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the priority for the first phase of the vaccine will be given to care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and those who are clinically vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.?
He also urged that due to logistical challenges not everyone will be able to get the vaccines on day one. So it is imperative that social distancing and other preventative measures must still be in practice, ¡°There are immense logistical challenges: the vaccine must be stored at minus 70 degrees and each person needs two injections, three weeks apart. So it will inevitably take some months before all the most vulnerable are protected.¡±?
While we all wait for the COVID-19 vaccine here in India or anywhere in the world, it's important to keep your mask on, wash hands and social distance as much as possible.