Information on how long for the best immunity to arrive has also been revealed.
As Ireland waits for more information regarding the upcoming potential rollout of the COVID vaccine, the UK government have announced their plan, and with it, more information regarding the Pfizer vaccine has been announced.
The UK rollout will be watched closely by Ireland the rest of the EU, as the UK have 355 million orders of different vaccines in the works, while the EU has over 1.4 billion ordered, with nine million expected for Ireland.
As reported by The Independent, the Pfizer vaccine will shows evidence of “partial immunity” seven days after the first dose, but the best immunity arrives one week after the second dose. That second dose arrives three weeks after the first, so it will be a month from when you receive the first jab before you’ll be receiving the best immunity.
As for how long the vaccine will protect you from COVID, it still remains unclear, with some reporting that it may become a vaccine requiring administration every year.
As reported by The Daily Mail, the order in which the vaccine will be doled out in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, is as follows:
- Care home residents and workers
- Over 80s and health workers
- Over 75s
- Over 70s
- Over 65s
- High-risk under 65s
- Moderate-risk under 65s
- Over 60s
- Over 55s
- Over 50s
The UK are preparing “nightingale hospitals” and sports arenas to becoming mass vaccination centres, with Sky News reporting that “50 hospitals across the country are already set up and waiting to receive the vaccine as soon as it’s approved”.
Meanwhile, as for when we might expect a similar rollout decision to be made for Ireland, Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath has stated that the decision for the approval will be made within the next few weeks, as the European Medicines Agency “have signalled they have received the application from Pfizer / BioNTech. They’ll meet in late December – 29th December. They may make a decision as early as then, or possibly on 12th January.”
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