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

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

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

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Laws to bypass EU approval process 

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

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

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