The chief executive of NHS Providers Chris Hopson has said he expects the Pfizer vaccine to reach regulatory approval by “early to mid December”.
“They are in batches of 975 that you can’t break up, you’ve got to store them at (temperatures of) minus 70 or minus 80 in a very large cold-chain fridge, and then because they only last five days when they come out of the fridge, you’ve also got to ensure you’ve got all those 975 people lined up and ready to go,” Mr Hopson told BBC Breakfast.
“So whereas the other vaccines are probably likely to be done through primary care, through GP surgeries like they do flu vaccination, for the Pfizer one it’s going to be our trusts who are going to have to do that…
“This a huge logistical task that we’re doing at real pace, so I can’t believe there won’t be some bumps in the road…
“But look how brilliant the NHS is in terms of being innovative and adapting to ensure it can fight this coronavirus, that’s exactly what we’ll be doing to ensure that we can deliver the vaccine.”
