One of the most promising Covid-19 vaccines has been given the green light in the UK, with 1 NEWS Europe correspondent Daniel Faitaua — who lives in London with his wife and children — describing it as a "light at the end of the tunnel" for Brits.
The nation has been suffering during the pandemic with almost 60,000 deaths and nearly 1.5 million confirmed cases — around 16,000 a day.
However, the American Pfizer vaccine, which has been shown to be up to 95 per cent effective against the coronavirus, could be rolled out as soon as early next week after the first batch arrives from Belgium.
"This is so good. This is exciting. This is historic. I mean, the UK is the first country in the world to vet and also approve the Pfizer vaccine," Faitaua told TVNZ1's Breakfast today.
"We kind of need this light at the end of the tunnel and this is what we've been hoping for, especially heading into the dark and dangerous winter."
The vaccine rollout plan will follow a similar plan to what the New Zealand Government has said — prioritising the most vulnerable, including elderly, then care homes and care workers, then National Health Service staff across the UK.
The challenge is transporting the vaccine, which needs to be stored at a very cold temperature of about minus 70 degrees Celsius, with three modes currently being talked about to get it to all areas of the UK.
The UK has put in orders for 40 million doses, which can inoculate 20 million people, since each person gets two doses of the vaccine 21 days apart.
Because the UK will only immunise people over age 16, it means that it will have to find other vaccines for all 53 million or so people who are eligible for shots.
Professor Graham Le Gros doubts New Zealanders will be offered a jab before March. Social distancing will still be in the cards for six to nine months, he said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand has also ordered 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine which should be ready for Kiwis in early 2021.
However, Faitaua told Breakfast: "You guys won't be as desperate as we are for the vaccine because you don't have as many deaths or as many cases as we do, so you can kind of just leisurely take your time and make sure the T's are lined and the I's are dotted before you start ordering them in.
"For us, it's desperate mode here, you know, 59,000 people have passed away."
The vaccine will be voluntary but the UK government and public health bodies have been strongly urging everyone to take it.
There will be no specific precautions required for anyone who has already had Covid-19 and there will no testing for the virus before anyone receives the vaccine.
Immunity is expected to kick in within a month after the two shots have been administered.
Data from the vaccine trials, which involved more than 40,000 people around the world, shows a similar immune response, irrespective of age, race or country the volunteers lived in.
Partial immunity does occur after the first dose, but British regulators expect people to become immune about seven days after the second dose. It is not yet exactly clear how long that immunity lasts.
"This vaccine could bring that light, we could finally see that light at the end of the tunnel and the government even think by spring next year we could be returning to some normality, a normality that we have been used to and a normality that we haven't seen for ages," Faitaua said.
"This could be the best summer yet for many Brits and, boy-oh-boy, we just can't wait."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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