Health bosses for the Harrogate district have welcomed news of a coronavirus vaccine and say they are ready to roll it out locally.

The UK is the first western nation to approve a vaccine, which was developed by Pfizer-Biontech and is up to 95% effective.

It poses a major logistical challenge, not only because of the sheer numbers that need the vaccine but also as it needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Centigrade.

Amanda Bloor, accountable officer for the three North Yorkshire clinical commissioning groups, which commission health products, said at a coronavirus press briefing this morning:

“We are working across the system and planning in real time to take stock of the vaccine as it become available next week.

“I think we should be optimistic and are right to be delighted. We will work through the plans that we have put in place over the last few weeks.

“There are a lot of logistics around it in terms of moving the vaccine around, getting it where it needs to be and then getting people in the right place.”

The briefing did not provide details of how the programme would be administered in the district but the first vaccines are likely to be injected in the main hospitals before Nightingale hospitals and GPs also get involved.

Care homes residents and care home staff are top of the list, followed by people aged over 80 and other healthcare staff.

A total of 800,000 doses are expected to be distributed next week but it is unclear how many will be awarded to each local area.

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Ms Bloor spoke at a weekly media briefing of the North Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum, which is a partnership of organisations that tackle emergencies in the county.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine after a process known as a “rolling review”.

Scientists reviewed the data as it became available in order to approve it as soon as possible.

Dr June Raine, chief executive at the MHRA, said:

“Vaccines are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. They save millions of lives worldwide.”