The first successful vaccine for the Covid-19 virus is to be rolled out from next week in Northern Ireland.
News broke just under a month ago that the first successful Covid-19 vaccine had passed a major trial milestone and was potentially ready for rollout to the general public. The vaccine was developed in the US by pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and BioNTech and had been tested on 43,500 people in six countries with no safety concerns raised.
Pfizer reported that the vaccine demonstrated 90% effectiveness in preventing Covid-19 in a placebo-controlled trial, and that those who did get the disease following the vaccine all suffered mild symptoms. The vaccine was followed by Moderna's similar candidate which also showed over 90% effectiveness in a similar large controlled study, and the Oxford vaccine with 60-90% effectiveness over parts of two smaller studies.
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Due to the immediate need, Pfizer applied for emergency approval to begin mass production of its vaccine for use in the general public. The UK ordered 30 million doses initially, and began planning to roll out vaccination programmes across the country when the treatment got approval.
The Pfizer vaccine has now been granted approval based on its results, and immunisation programmes should begin in Northern Ireland next week. Health officials had planned to be ready to begin immunisation from December 14th onward, but with the announcement of the vaccine's approval they have said that this time could be moved up to December 9th.
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The Pfizer vaccine is an mRNA-based treatment in which a person is injected with RNA that encodes for a protein the virus uses. The RNA enters some cells and instructs them to start producing the protein, which your immune system recognises as foreign and destroys. It then learns to produce antibodies against the protein that will be effective against a real Covid-19 infection.
The first rounds of innoculation will be reserved for the oldest and most vulnerable in our society, who are most likely to die if they get a real infection. Adults who are at risk due to underlying conditions and frontline workers who are exposed frequently will also be prioritised before healthy and young people. Mass rollouts to the general public are expected by next summer.
Source: BBC News
