Speaking to business leaders on the day it was announced that the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca jab was highly effective – preventing Covid in between 70% and 90% of recipients – Senator John Le Fondré said that the Island would get a guaranteed share of any vaccines procured by the UK ‘in very short order’.
Jersey will receive its supply through the NHS, which has ordered 100 million doses of the University of Oxford vaccine, as well as 90 million of the Pfizer jab, which trials have shown to be 90% effective.
The Island is aiming to be ready to roll out a vaccine within days, so will be well positioned once one becomes available. It is planning for a possible start date in January.
Senator Le Fondré said he believed most Islanders could be vaccinated within the next five months.
Speaking at the Institute of Directors leadership lunch yesterday, the Senator said that Jersey could have access to a number of the vaccines that had recently proved successful in trials, possibly within a few weeks.
‘I think publicly the UK are saying that they’re hoping to start to do some form of vaccination before Christmas,’ he said.
‘We were told to make sure we’ve got the ability to distribute anytime from the end of November and those plans are in place.’
He added: ‘Essentially we will get the supply from the NHS with the UK supply line. And essentially we get a fraction of that, I think it’s something like one in 1,750th. Each time the UK get a batch, we will get an element of that batch.
‘Then that is what we’ve got to then distribute.’
Both the Oxford and Pfizer vaccines have produced unexpectedly strong results during trials. The Oxford vaccine is cheaper and only needs to be stored at normal fridge temperature.
Senator Le Fondré said that officials were ‘working through the logistics’ of how the Island would use the Pfizer vaccine, which needs to be kept at minus 70°C.
‘Basically, as soon as the UK gets it [a vaccine], we will.
‘What I’m not going to do is give false hope. But what we’ve worked on is we’ll get it the first quarter of next year. I think that would be January. If we get it earlier, we’ll be distributing as soon as we get it.’
He added: ‘I think you’re looking at probably April time to get most people vaccinated. I think that’s your start of when things will start going back to normal.
‘There are all the unknowns but one would hope for at that point that we will start to be coming out of it. And we know we’re in a good place with testing and tracing.’
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told BBC Breakfast that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency would now assess the Oxford vaccine.
He said: ‘I’m really very pleased. I really welcome these figures – this data that shows that the vaccine in the right dosage can be up to 90% effective.
‘Of course, it’s vital that the independent regulator, the MHRA, will need to look at the data, will need to check to make sure that it’s effective and safe of course.
‘But we’ve got 100 million doses on order and, should all that go well, the bulk of the roll-out will be in the new year.’
