Filenews 6 December 2020
Conversely, Great Britain is counting on the start of the first vaccinations against the crown, with Brexit creating an additional barrier.
The authorities' preparations are feverish to run smoothly, with the UK National Health Service (NHS) giving a key priority to vaccinating people over 80, healthcare workers and care homes.
In total, Britain has ordered 40 million instalments, with around 800,000 of them available within the next week.
According to the health ministry, initial doses arriving from Belgium are stored in safe locations across the country. As envisaged in the plan, the vaccine will be given first to 50 hospitals, and it will take a few hours to defrost each vaccine and prepare it for use.
Military aircraft are being recruited
However, while the Brexit negotiations thriller is underway, London is considering special measures to overcome delays in delivering vaccines.
As Sam Lowe, a senior researcher at the Centre for European Reform, says, there is a possibility that the two issues will clash. "There will be delays at the border and it will take some time for the EU and the UK to get used to trading under the new system, and it is likely that the imported equipment necessary to tackle the pandemic will be 'trapped'."
"There are two huge challenges going on at the same time," he points out.
For this reason, according to a Guardian report, tens of millions of doses of the vaccine produced in Brussels are also planned to be transported by military aircraft in order to avoid port delays as a result of the UK's exit from the European Union at the end of the year.
Top health and defence officials have confirmed to the Observer that large quantities will be airborne from January 1 if road, rail and sea routes are subject to delays after New Year's Day.
According to the report, officials from the health ministry and the military planners' ranks held meetings with the government's task force on the issue of vaccination to discuss the details of the plan.
"We will do so if necessary. The case of the aircraft has been discussed," said a source with knowledge of the situation.
The move shows that ministers are ready for major transport turmoil at ports and political airports, regardless of whether there will eventually be a Brexit deal. The government, however, is not prepared to allow these conditions to delay vaccinations.
Shortage of doctors
At the same time, in the National Health System (NHS) there is concern about workload, referring to insufficient labour.
Even before the pandemic, the NHS had denounced the shortage of doctors and nurses, pointing out that in the coming weeks they would be asked to manage patients without covid-19 who are on waiting lists for other procedures.
Chris Hopson, chief executive of the NHS, told the Observer: "We will do everything we can to vaccinate in January, February and March while we are exhausted. Obviously we are looking for volunteers beyond the NHS but, if we have to use a significant number of our staff for vaccination, that means they won't be able to do any more work.'
"There is no magic wand that can find nurses overnight," he said.
Source: in.gr
