AstraZeneca failed to deliver COVID-19 vaccine doses to UK on promised date: British Govt

AstraZeneca has failed to deliver the 30 million doses of vaccine to the United Kingdom that it had promised to do by the end of September. Kate Bingham, the UK government's head of COVID-19 taskforce informed a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that the company is now expected to hand over only 4 million doses of vaccine and that too by the end of 2020. Bingham said that the target was missed due to some unexpected obstruction that was not because of a lack of intention or availability. 

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This comes after the United Kingdom government had recently notified the National Health Service (NHS) to prepare for the arrival of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to a Daily Mail report, the British government had asked a major NHS Trust hospital to prepare for a national vaccination programme and had also asked to prioritise medical health care professionals. However, with the latest revelation by Bingham, it now seems that the vaccine for UK citizens won't be available before the end of 2020, as predicted by several health experts earlier. 

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Second wave of COVID in UK

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on November 2 had announced a new set of restrictions with the arrival of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown has taken effect in the country from today and will last for nearly a month. The lockdown was announced keeping in mind the rising cases in the country and fear of medical facilities getting overwhelmed. The latest lockdown bars people from gathering, leaving home for non-essential purposes, which excludes jobs and recreational activities.  

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COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom have been rising since the start of September and just yesterday the country recorded more than 25,000. So far, the United Kingdom government has reported over 47,000 deaths, which is one of the highest when compared to other countries. 

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(With inputs from ANI)