Pfizer vaccine to be stored by Medway School of Pharmacy which is run by Uni of Kent and Uni of Greenwich in Chatham
15:43, 02 December 2020
updated: 17:39, 02 December 2020
Pharmacy experts in Kent will be at the heart of the roll out of the first approved coronavirus vaccine.
Doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will be stored by the Medway School of Pharmacy as part of the massive programme to get the jab out to the public.
The location of the storage site has not been disclosed but specialist equipment owned by the school - which runs in partnership between the University of Kent and University of Greenwich - is being used.
The vaccine has to be stored at -80C to ensure it is ready for use.
It was given approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) - the independent regulator for new medicines - this morning.
Health secretary Matt Hancock says the country has 800,000 doses making its way to the UK and will start to be administered "early next week".
Patients receive two jabs 21 days apart meaning 400,000 people can be immunised initially. The government has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine - enough for 20 million people.
The vaccine offers 95% protection against the virus and is expected to be given to elderly people in care homes, care home staff, over 80s and health and care staff first.
Three mass vaccination centres are being prepared by the NHS in Kent and Medway which has not yet disclosed where the sites will be.
A letter from senior NHS England directors behind the national vaccination programme reveals three of Kent's main hospital trusts - Medway, East Kent and Dartford and Gravesham - will be NHS Trust Vaccine Hubs.
Emily Lawson, chief commercial officer for NHS England and the senior responsible officer in the NHS for issuing the vaccine, and Sue Harriman the chief operating officer for the vaccination programme, wrote to trusts last month.
They said trusts set to become hubs for mass vaccination sites must plan to vaccinate their own workforce and neighbouring trusts.
Trust bosses were told to have their plans ready "for the beginning of December" and those running large vaccination centres will also need to have them ready.
KentOnline contacted NHS Kent and Medway today for an update on preparations but an announcement is yet to be made.
Meanwhile, guidance has been issued to GPs about how vaccinations will be issued at surgeries across England.
