The NHS was instructed to prepare for the possible deployment of a Covid-19 vaccine at the start of December, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News.
“I’ve asked the NHS – who are supported by the armed services in this, but the NHS are very much leading this effort for deploying the vaccine – I’ve asked them to be ready from the start of December,” the secretary said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tells @skynewsniall he has asked the NHS to be ready to deploy a vaccine “from the start of December”, but adds that there are “many hurdles that still need to be gone over”.#KayBurleyLatest on the search for a vaccine: https://t.co/JHUWRFz86zpic.twitter.com/yK8pFH7ih1
He said the hopeful stand-by order comes with all the caveats, since the formula is yet to be fully tested and licensed, but the country should be ready to roll it out, if those hurdles are overcome quickly.
“This is not for children”Health Secretary Matt Hancock tells #BBCBreakfast the potential breakthrough #coronavirus vaccination is “an adult vaccine”.https://t.co/j2DeEZYO9Kpic.twitter.com/A8UOAVjUoB
Speaking later with the BBC, Hancock said the vaccine was meant for adults, and not children and that vaccination will start with elderly people and go down the age groups.
The British government has no plans to make vaccination mandatory or to prioritize ethnic minorities, according to the secretary.
Earlier a report by Pfizer and BioNTech said their Covid-19 vaccine had proven to be 90 percent effective during clinical trials.
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