New Year hope as vaccine rolled out – The Yorkshire Post says

HOPE is finally on the horizon, at the end of the most traumatic of years, after the Covid-19 vaccine pioneered by Oxford University and AstraZeneca was approved for use.
By YP Comment
Published 31st Dec 2020, 05:58 BST

Due to be rolled out from next Monday as part of the UK’s biggest ever mass immunisation programme, its importance was such that the announcement even eclipsed Parliament’s landmark vote on the EU trade deal ahead of the country leaving the European Union tonight.

And the fact that it is said to be more practical to distribute than the current Pfizer vaccine, which has to be stored at extremely cold temperatures, and requires recipients to be given two jabs three weeks apart, means there’s a greater likelihood of Britain returning to some semblance of normality in the first part of 2021.

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This depends on the logistical robustness of the vaccine plan – and the importance of prioritising the elderly, NHS staff, carers, teachers and other key workers. It’s also to be hoped that those fighting serious illness, and their families, can be among early recipients to allow them to spend some precious time together.

Undated handout file photo issued by the University of Oxford of a vial of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The vaccine, which has been described as a "game changer", has now been approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA.Undated handout file photo issued by the University of Oxford of a vial of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The vaccine, which has been described as a "game changer", has now been approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA.
Undated handout file photo issued by the University of Oxford of a vial of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University. The vaccine, which has been described as a "game changer", has now been approved for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA.

But it also requires wider society to comply with lockdown laws and public health protocols like the wearing of face masks for a little while longer as NHS staff battle the highly contagious new variant of Covid that is sweeping the country at such a perturbing rate.

Its virulence can be explained by the need for the further tightening of Tier restrictions, including in North Yorkshire, while hospitals in the South East are even having to contemplate transporting seriously ill patients to this region because of a shortage of beds.

A desperately difficult way to end a tortuous year of heartbreak and sacrifice, the only consolation is that a miracle of science means 2021 will be less painful – provided people obey the rules in the meantime.

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Related topics:Yorkshire PostAstraZenecaNorth YorkshireParliamentNHSPfizer

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