Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid: Army could be used to transport vaccine, says minister

The Army could be used to help transport further stocks of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine from Belgium to the UK, a Foreign Office minister says.

James Cleverly told BBC Breakfast the Covid-19 vaccine was a "top priority product" and the government was looking at non-commercial flight options.

It comes a day before vaccinations are due to begin.

Frontline health staff, those over 80, and care home workers will be first to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

In England, 50 hospitals have been initially chosen to serve as hubs for administering it.

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will also begin their vaccination programmes from hospitals on Tuesday.

Refrigerated containers holding the vaccine doses have been arriving in the UK from Belgium, where it is made, and are being prepared to be moved from secure locations to the hospitals.

Asked whether the armed forces would be used to help transport the vaccine to the UK, Mr Cleverly told BBC Breakfast: "Potentially - we are looking at non-commercial flight options."

In response to concerns a no-deal Brexit could cause delays in getting the vaccine into the UK, he said: "This is such an important product, it's probably perhaps the most important product, so we will look to ensure that those supplies are available in the UK in whatever circumstance."

Asked to confirm if this meant the armed forces would be used if needed, he said: "If we need to."

On Sunday, NHS England's medical director Prof Stephen Powis, said the vaccine was "the beginning of the end" of the epidemic in the UK - but warned its distribution would be a "marathon not a sprint".

Prof Powis said despite "huge complexities", the first doses would be ready to administer from Tuesday.

About 800,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to be available in the UK from next week.

So far the government has ordered a total of 40 million doses - enough to vaccinate 20 million people, with two shots each, 21 days apart.

With limited quantities initially available, elderly people who are already attending hospital as an outpatient, as well as those who are being discharged after a hospital stay, will be among the first to receive the jab.

Others over the age of 80 will be invited to attend the hospital to receive a jab, and care home providers will be able to book their staff into vaccination clinics.

Any appointments not used for these groups will be used for healthcare workers who are at highest risk of serious illness from the virus.

Graphic outlining how the Pfizer vaccine will be prioritised among different groups. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that people are given the vaccine in the following order, although there is likely to be some overlap between groups: 1. residents in a care home for older adults, and their carers 2. everyone aged 80 and over, and frontline health and social care workers 3. everyone aged 75 and over 4. everyone aged 70 and over, and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable 5. everyone aged 65 and over 6. people aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and death from Covid-19 7. everyone aged 60 and over 8. everyone aged 55 and over 9. everyone aged 50 and over

The Pfizer vaccine needs to be stored at around -70C and needs to be moved carefully. Each container is being inspected to ensure the vaccine vials have reached the UK in perfect condition.

Tracking data covering every box's journey from Belgium is being downloaded to check that the vials have been kept well below freezing.

The boxes each contain five packs of 975 doses, and will be split into smaller packs to be distributed around the country and defrosted.

Although care home residents and staff were placed at the top of the priority list agreed by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), they are not getting the very first vaccinations.

The government has explained this is because the chosen hospital hubs already have the facilities to store the vaccine at -70C - but Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was doing everything it could to overcome "significant challenges" to ensure care home residents were vaccinated as soon as possible.