Scientists have achieved something remarkable this year.
In fact, it’s nothing short of a miracle, except there are no supernatural forces involved.
Developing a vaccine is a long and complex process that typically takes 10 to 15 years of research.
Once it’s developed, it has to be tested in clinical trials and then approved for public use.
You can read more about it here.
Somehow, these magicians in the laboratory have cut that time down to under a year.
Two firms – Pfizer and Moderna – recently announced that their vaccines have an efficacy rate of around 95%.
People all over the world cheered, but the question of when it would actually be administered lingered in the air.
Well, now we have an answer.
From Tomorrow (8 Dec), Britain Will Start Vaccinating Their Residents Against COVID-19
Britain will become the first country to vaccinate its residents against Covid-19, as there are plans to begin immunisations tomorrow (8 Dec).
Last Wednesday (2 Dec), a British health authority approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use, making it the first country to do so.
According to Reuters, the first doses will be given tomorrow to those over the age of 80, frontline healthcare workers, and care home staff and residents.
Britain has ordered a total of 40 million doses. Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine requires two doses, which means 20 million residents in Britain could potentially be inoculated.
That’s nearly 30% of the country’s population.
About 800,000 doses are expected to be available within the first week alone. They will first be stored at hospitals before being distributed to doctors’ clinics.
Even Queen Elizabeth Will Be Immunised
The coronavirus doesn’t care if you’re royalty, of course. It doesn’t discriminate.
Local British media reported that Queen Elizabeth, now 94, and her husband Prince Philip, 99, would be getting the vaccine.
This could quash the anti-vaccination misinformation movement online, as the queen is highly admired in her country.
95% Effective & Safe, But Requires Extremely Low Temperatures for Storage
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been found to be 95% effective, which is beyond most experts’ wildest dreams.
The vaccine is also safe and its immune response is “consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics”.
Best of all, it had over 94% efficacy in those aged over 65, which is incredible, because many vaccines do not work well in older people, as their immune systems have weakened over time.
The only hitch is that this vaccine requires extremely low temperatures for storage.
Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine must be stored at about -70° C (-94° F) which is cold enough to make ice cream as hard as a block of wood.
Urban areas may have no issue with these storage requirements, but those living in rural areas may have to wait for another vaccine, simply because they don’t have access to these facilities.
Still, the fact that people are getting vaccinated from a disease that only emerged a year ago is astounding.
As for Singapore, Moderna previously said it was seeking approval from the Health Sciences Authority for use of its Covid-19 vaccine in Singapore.
If everything goes well, the first batch of vaccines could be shipped as early as this month.
Featured Image: angellodeco / Shutterstock.com
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