By GP’s given date to prepare for rolling out Covid-19 vaccine
GP surgeries have been told to prepare to start staffing Covid-19 vaccination centres by the 14th December.
In a letter sent out across England’s primary care networks, NHS England and NHS Improvement warned the “scale and complexity” of the immunisation programme would make it “one of the greatest challenges the NHS has ever faced”.
Each designated site that is to be staffed by GPs must be ready to deliver 975 doses of the vaccine in the week beginning the 14th of December, the number of doses that are in each pack of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine.
Not only is the size of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine packs a logistical problem, the vaccine must also be stored at between -70C and -80C and can also only be moved up to four times, proving what Boris Johnson has stated is a “huge logistical challenge”.
In addition to the above challenges that come with the Pfizer/BioNTech, speed is also a huge factor with this vaccine, as doses will only remain stable at fridge temperatures of between 2C-8C for a limited period of time.
It means that doses at the vaccination sites must be given to priority patients within three-and-a-half days of delivery from the 14th of December.
The first people to receive the vaccine in the centres will be care home residents those aged 80 and over.
Healthcare professionals will then work their way down the priority list as more doses of the jab become available.
