The first people in the UK have received a coronavirus jab as a mass vaccination programme began this week. About 70 hospital hubs across the UK are giving the Pfizer/BioNTech jab to the most vulnerable. 800,000 doses of the vaccine will be dispensed in the coming weeks, with up to four million more expected by the end of the month. The UK is the first country in the world to start using the Pfizer vaccine, which is 95% effective, after regulators approved its use last week.
The need to quickly roll out the vaccination programme while also keeping other medical services operational means more flexible, paid roles within the NHS. Contractors are encouraged to think outside the box when it comes to applying their skills to healthcare and its wider support services – such as IT, finance and administration.
Clinical locums and qualified agency carers will be able to carry out the first phase of the vaccination programme. However, recent changes to the law now allow a wider group of staff to undertake training to deliver vaccines. This includes many allied health professionals, healthcare scientists and dental staff, as well as other individuals with first aid training.
There are currently in the region of 112,149 active job postings for nurses alone – an increase of 39% since March. The NHS is also looking to expand on its 100,000 healthcare support workers, who work across a range of settings. Support workers roles are varied, and may suit those looking to begin a career in healthcare, or people with transferrable skills who want to switch roles.
The logistics of rolling out the vaccination programme will also create mass production, distribution and deployment opportunities. The Pfizer vaccine needs to be kept at -70°C, and will require cold chain distribution and storage. Refrigerated containers holding the vaccine doses have been arriving in the UK from Belgium, and sent to a network of hospitals that will carry out the vaccinations.
The PM warned that there were still significant challenges ahead in getting the vaccine into the general population. Hopes are also pinned on a second vaccine developed by Oxford University, which can be kept in fridges and is therefore easier to distribute. If this vaccine gets the green light from regulators, there will be genuine hope that first few months of 2021 will see rapid progress in eliminating the virus.
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