Covid-19: Moderna vaccine rollout begins in England

A total of 17 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have been secured for the UK

The Moderna jab, a third coronavirus vaccine, is being rolled out in England from Tuesday with officials urging people to come forward to be vaccinated.

Wales and Scotland began to use the Moderna vaccine from last week and it will now also be available in England at an initial 21 sites. These include the Madejski Stadium in Reading and the Sheffield Arena.

As well as the Pfizer jab, the vaccine offers an alternative for those under 30 who are no longer being offered the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, over concerns that it may be linked to very rare blood clots.

The medical director for NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis, called the move “another milestone” in the vaccination programme against Covid-19.

Mr Powis also urged people to come forward for vaccination when invited, calling the vaccines “our hope at the end of a year like no other.”

A total of 17 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have been secured for the UK by the Vaccines Taskforce, and it is thought they will soon be delivered to people in Northern Ireland too.

Last week, 24-year-old Elle Taylor from Ammanford in Wales became the first person to receive the jab in the UK.

The carer said she was “very excited and happy,” adding that being vaccinated meant she would be able to care for her grandmother “properly and safely,” reported the BBC.

In total, almost 40 million vaccines have been given across the UK, including over 32 million first doses and 7.6 million second doses.

As a result, in England around 94 per cent of those over 50 are thought to have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Everyone over the age of 50 has now been offered the jab, meeting the government targets of offering a first dose to the top nine priority groups by 15 April.

For those who have been offered the vaccine but have not taken it up, officials say that the offer is “evergreen” and people are being encouraged to book into their local vaccination site.

As well as this, around 92 per cent of those who have been identified as extremely clinically vulnerable have had their first inoculation.

Phase two of the programme will mean that the vaccine is offered to younger healthy adults, most likely starting with the age group of those aged between 40 to 49.

A trial of more than 30,000 people in the US, from a wide range of ethinic backgrounds and age groups, suggested the Moderna vaccine’s efficacy against the disease was 94.1 per cent. It also indicated that vaccine efficacy against severe Covid-19 was 100 per cent.

According to details released by Public Health England, the Moderna jab needs to be stored at between -25C and -15C and once it has been thawed it can be stored at between 2C and 8C for up to 30 days.

Meanwhile, the minimum interval between the first and second dose of the Moderna vaccine is 28 days.

Patients who have the Moderna jab will need to wait at the vaccination centre and be observed for a period of 15 minutes after they have received the vaccine.