A 90-year-old woman in central England became the first person ever to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine outside clinical trials Tuesday, kicking off a nationwide rollout of inoculations that’s being watched around the world.
Margaret Keenan received the first of two planned jabs of the vaccine at Coventry Hospital outside Birmingham, with television cameras capturing the moment live.
“I feel so privileged to be the first person vaccinated against COVID-19,” she said after receiving the shot from nurse May Parsons just after 6:30 a.m. local time.
“It’s the best early birthday present I could wish for because it means I can finally look forward to spending time with my family and friends in the New Year after being on my own for most of the year.”
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Stephen Powis, medical director for England’s National Health Service (NHS), both told national media they found it emotional watching footage of Keenan receiving her initial dose.
“It seems so simple, having a jab in your arm,” Hancock told Sky News shortly afterwards.
“That will protect Margaret, it will protect the people around her, and if we manage to do that … for everyone who is vulnerable to this disease, then we can move on and we can get back to normal.”
Powis said the start of inoculations felt like “the beginning of the end.”
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“It’s been really dreadful year, 2020 — all those things that we are so used to, meeting friends and family, going to the cinema, have been disrupted. We can get those back. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not next month. But in the months to come.”
“I’m feeling quite emotional watching those pictures.”
Health Secretary @MattHancock says there is an enormous amount of work still to do but is “really grateful to everybody who has brought us to this moment”.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson — who narrowly beat his own serious bout with the virus in the spring — thanked health workers as the vaccine rollout got underway.
“We will beat this together,” Johnson said on Twitter, while urging the public to continue to follow guidance aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19.
Today the first vaccinations in the UK against COVID-19 begin. Thank you to our NHS, to all of the scientists who worked so hard to develop this vaccine, to all the volunteers – and to everyone who has been following the rules to protect others. We will beat this together. https://t.co/poOYG1vHQe
The U.K. began vaccinating members of its general population through the NHS less than a week after becoming the first country to approve the shot developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Other nations that are set to approve the vaccine in the coming days, including Canada and the United States, are closely watching the rollout in anticipation of their own mass inoculations, which are set to ramp up this month and into January.
Around 800,000 doses were put in place for the start of the immunization program in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Tuesday, a day that has been dubbed “V-Day” — a nod to triumphs in the Second World War.
1:23 Coronavirus: Promise of COVID vaccines is ‘phenomenal,’ WHO says
Coronavirus: Promise of COVID vaccines is ‘phenomenal,’ WHO says
The vaccine can’t arrive soon enough for the U.K., which has more than 61,000 COVID-19 related deaths — more than any other country has reported in Europe. The U.K. has more than 1.7 million cases to date.
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“I think there’s every chance that we will look back on … (Tuesday) as marking a decisive turning point in the battle against coronavirus,” NHS CEO Simon Stevens said Monday.
The 800,000 doses are only a fraction of what is needed. The government is targeting more than 25 million people, or about 40% of the population, in the first phase of its vaccination program, which gives first priority to those who are highest risk from the disease.
After those over 80 and nursing home workers, the program will be expanded as the supply increases, with the vaccine offered roughly on the basis of age groups, starting with the oldest people.
In England, the vaccine was delivered to 50 hospital hubs for the first wave of the program, with more hospitals expected to offer it as the rollout ramps up. Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are making their own plans under the U.K.’s system of devolved administration.
While the U.K. has a well-developed infrastructure for delivering vaccines, it is geared to administer them to groups such as school children or pregnant women, not the whole population. Both of those groups are being told not to apply for the vaccine, as there’s not enough data to ensure their safety.
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The rollout also provides a test case for Pfizer and BioNTech’s distribution networks. The shot must be stored at -70C (-94F) and only lasts five days in a regular fridge.
4:13 Canada to receive 249,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses this month
Canada to receive 249,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses this month
Pfizer and BioNTech said their shot proved 95% effective in preventing illness in final-stage trials. In all, Britain has ordered 357 million doses of seven different COVID-19 vaccines.
Canada said Monday that it expects an initial batch of 249,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine to be delivered starting next week. Health Canada is expected to approve the vaccine soon after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration meets to discuss its own approval on Thursday.
Russia and China have both started giving vaccine candidates to their populations before final safety and efficacy trials have been completed.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
