Coronavirus vaccine for UK's NHS staff may be available before Christmas: Report

The National Health Service (NHS) may roll-out a potential COVID-19 vaccination drive for its staff in the next couple of weeks as the British government is reportedly preparing for a national vaccination programme before the end of this year. According to The Daily Mail, NHS Trust chief sent an email to his staff revealing the health service has been asked to plan for a national vaccination programme before Christmas and that the frontline medical workers are expected to be prioritised.  

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The internal memo sent by Glen Burley, chief executive of George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust in Warwickshire, states that the vaccine is expected to be given in two doses, maintaining a gap of 28 days. According to the report, Diane Wake, chief executive of the Dudley Group NHS Trust has also told his staff that a potential COVID-19 vaccine in the United Kingdom is expected to be available sometime in December. 

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Laws to bypass EU approval process 

As per the report, the British government has introduced new laws that would allow the country to bypass the European Union approval process in order to start early vaccination programme if a safe drug is available before the end of this year before post-Brexit transition ends. A government source told the newspaper that if a safe and effective vaccine is available before December 31, the laws would help them deploy the programme without the need for approval from Brussels. 

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The COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom are on a rise since earlier last month. The country recorded just over 23,000 cases on October 24, reporting one of the highest daily numbers in all of Europe. According to Johns Hopkins University, the UK has registered over 8,54,000 confirmed cases to date with 44,745 deaths. 

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