It has been confirmed that all parts of the UK have now received a supply of the COVID-19 vaccine in preparation for nationwide rollout tomorrow.
Vaccinations will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs across the country from tomorrow – reportedly dubbed “V-Day” by Health Secretary Matt Hancock – with people aged 80 and older, care home workers, and NHS workers who are at higher risk, among those at the front of the queue.
It comes after the UK last week became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use.
Pfizer and BioNTech reported final trial results on 18th November, showing its vaccine was 95% effective in preventing coronavirus (COVID-19), with no major safety concerns.
Studies have shown the jab works in all age groups.
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The UK government is confirmed to have ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine – which is enough to vaccinate 20 million people, as two doses are required – and there are 800,000 doses in the first tranche, meaning 400,000 people will be vaccinated initially.
There are 50 initial hubs in the first wave of the vaccination programme in England.
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Although it is not currently known when exactly all 50 hubs will receive vaccine doses – as they are starting to administer the jab at different times, with deliveries are expected throughout the week – more hospitals will begin to vaccinate in due course as the programme ramps up.
Saffron Cordery – Deputy Chief Executive of NHS Providers – said many hospital hubs had received their allocation of the initial 800,000 doses, and she expected there would be up to four million doses in the country by the end of December.
Staff at seven NHS hospitals across the North West – including two major Greater Manchester locations – are preparing to administer the vaccine tomorrow.
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These are:
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust
Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust
Liverpool University Hospitals
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
Wirral University Teaching Hospital
Countess of Chester Hospital
The UK’s leading medical professionals have been offering insight and reassurance to those who fall under JCVI’s priority list for vaccination rollout.
Professor Stephen Powis – National Medical Director at the NHS – said the distribution of the vaccine would be a “marathon not a sprint”, while Chris Hopson – Chief Executive of NHS Providers – said people need to “hang fire” and be assured they have not been forgotten if they have not received a letter or a phone call about the jab.
Mr Hopson added: “I don’t think people should expect anything over the next few days because the reality is, as I said, that for the vast, vast, vast majority of people this will be done in January, February, March.
“And the one thing that we don’t want people to get anxious about or concerned about is ‘Where’s my letter?’ in December.”
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JCVI’s priority list for the first phase of the vaccine rollout is as follows:
Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers
All those 80 years of age and over& frontline health and social care workers.
All those 75 years of age and over
All those 70 years of age and over&clinically extremely vulnerable individuals.
All those 65 years of age and over.
All individuals aged 16 years to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality.
All those 60 years of age and over.
All those 55 years of age and over.
All those 50 years of age and over.
The distribution of the vaccine across the UK is being undertaken by Public Health England and the NHS in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland through systems specially adapted from those used for the national immunisation programmes.
After going through final quality control checks, batches will be placed in freezers to ensure they are kept at the right temperature until being used.
While NHS staff and hospital hubs are gearing up to administer the vaccine from tomorrow, there has however been challenges identified to overcome with vaccinating care home residents, despite them being at the top of the priority list.
Logistical issues mean there are difficulties in delivering the Pfizer/BioNTech jab to residents, as it needs to be stored at minus 70°C before being thawed out, and can only be moved up to four times within that cold chain before being used.
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The vaccine boxes containing 975 doses will need to be split so they can be taken to care homes.
Mr Hopson has now said this rollout would begin in around a week’s time and would be led by primary care networks.
You can find more information regarding the UK’s approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine here.
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For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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Sunday Times Rich List – Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains richest man in North West despite losing £6bn
Daisy Jackson
The Sunday Times Rich List has today been released, revealing that Sir Jim Ratcliffe remains the richest man in the North West, and third-richest in the country.
The annual list names the richest of the rich across the UK, and the combined wealth of the 350 individuals and families listed in 2024 amounts to more than the GDP of Poland at £795.361 billion.
As well as Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who remains on the Sunday Times Rich List despite losing more than £6bn this year, other famous names include David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Elton John, and Lord Lloyd-Webber.
Representing the wealthiest in the North West are Michael Platt, The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family, and Home Bargains boss Tom Morris.
The billionaire Issa brothers who own Asda and founded EG Group complete the top five richest people regionally.
Local man Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who made his billions through chemical giant Ineos, has almost double the wealth of runner-up Michael Platt.
He recently ran the London Marathon at the age of 71 and secured a 25% stake of his childhood football club Manchester United.
The Duke of Westminster, who inherited his title and a huge land and property portfolio at the age of just 25, remains the richest person under 40 in the UK.
Now 33 years old and recently moved to Cheshire, his fortune now stands at £10.127 billion.
He’ll soon lose his title as the ‘UK’s most eligible bachelor’ though, with the Duke set to marry Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral next month.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.
“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.
“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.
“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.”
The minimum entry to get onto the mega-rich list this year is a whopping £350m.
Teens could be recruited as train drivers to help ‘improve’ Britain’s railways amid ongoing strikes
Emily Sergeant
Teenagers could soon be recruited as train drivers in a bid to help “improve” Britain’s railways, the Government has announced.
Amid what have been ongoing strikes for the past couple of years now, and following on from the announcement back in February that ASLEF train drivers at several train companies and operators had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ to continue taking industrial action for another six months, the Government has now proposed lowering the minimum age to become a train driver from 20 to 18.
A consultation on the somewhat-controversial move is to be launched as part of the Government’s efforts to open up more careers in the rail sector to young people.
Ultimately, transport ministers believe this could “improve the reliability of rail services” across the UK.
Teens could be recruited as train drivers to help ‘improve’ Britain’s railways amid ongoing strikes / Credit: National Rail
This surprising recruitment drive announcement comes after the Government has revealed that the train driver workforce is projected to shrink without opening up more opportunities for new recruits in the near future – especially given the fact the average age of a train driver in Britain is 48 years old, and many are set to retire within the next five years or so.
Under the new proposals set to go out to consultation, the Department for Transport (DfT) will create a new pathway for school leavers to take up apprenticeships and train to join the profession.
If agreed following the consultation, the new regulations to lower the minimum age for train drivers from 20 to 18 could be in place as early as this summer, according to the Government, which will apparently “help set thousands of young people on track to a career in transport” once they’ve bid farewell to their school days.
The Government says its proposal to lower the minimum age would “build resilience” across the railway.
The Government has launched a consultation of the lowering of the minimum train driver age / Credit: Northern
Not only is the proposal said to form part of wider Government plans to create more opportunities where young people can gain the skills they need to succeed, all while generating more jobs that lead to a “productive” and “high-skilled” economy, but transport ministers believe attracting more young train drivers would help the rail industry provide a “more reliable service” for customers when other staff are off sick or on annual leave.
By opening up the sector to young people, the Government claims this would be “a positive step” and one that directly benefits passengers.
“We want to open the door for young people considering transport as a career, and this proposal could give school-leavers a clear path into the sector,” commented Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, as the proposals were unveiled this week.
We're asking for views on lowering the minimum age requirement to become a train driver in Great Britain from 20 to 18.
This could open the door to thousands of new opportunities for young people in transport.
“By boosting age diversity in the sector and attracting more drivers, we can help support reliable services while creating opportunities for more young people.”
If the proposals are introduced, the Government says all prospective train drivers, regardless of their age, will continue to be held to the same stringent training requirements as before to ensure the safe use of our railways for everyone.
To become a licensed train driver in the UK, trainees must pass mandatory medical, psychological, fitness, and general professional competence examinations.