The Moderna Vaccine

 

The Business Secretary has confirmed that the UK has secured an additional 2 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, which trials suggest is 95 per cent effective, as we continue our preparations to rollout a vaccine that – should one be approved by the regulator – will ease pressure on the NHS, keep people safe and allow life to gradually return to normal.

The government has pre-ordered hundreds of millions of doses from those companies most advanced in their work developing a coronavirus vaccine.   This now includes an extra 2 million doses of Moderna’s promising vaccine, on top of the 5 million previously secured, taking the total number of vaccine doses the UK has access to to 357 million across seven different developers – one of the world’s largest and most diverse vaccine portfolios.   I understand that every possible step is being taken to ensure that, whenever a vaccine receives approval from the independent regulator, the NHS will be ready to roll it out, free at the point of delivery on the basis of need, and prioritised for those groups at the greatest risk, overseen by a new dedicated minister.   But as Britain edges closer to a vaccine being deployed it is vital people do not lose sight of the real and present danger the virus continues to pose, so we have to keep doing the things we know work, like following the ‘Hands, Face, Space’ guidance.