The first doses of the Moderna Covid vaccine will be given to patients in Wales from today.
Jabs will be given out at West Wales General Hospital in Carmarthen in what has been hailed as ‘another key milestone’ in the fight against coronavirus.
Five thousand doses of the vaccine were also sent to vaccination centres in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area on Tuesday.
The US-made vaccine is due to be rolled out in Scotland in the coming days with England giving its first shots before the end of April.
The UK has bought 17 million doses of the Moderna jab – enough for 8.5 million people. People will initially receive 100,000 jabs and the number of doses administered will increase significantly in May and June.
Phase three test results suggest efficacy against Covid-19 was 94.1%, and efficacy against severe Covid-19 was 100%. The jabs were manufactured in Switzerland and finished in Spain before being sent to the UK.
The news comes amid calls from government scientists to pause vaccinations for the under-50s while the regulator investigates the risk of blood clotting from the AstraZeneca jab.
Dr Maggie Wearmouth, a member of the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI), opened the possibility to ‘slowing things down’ until the MHRA determines Britain’s home-grown shot is completely safe.
Last night Oxford University halted trials of its vaccine in children until the MHRA probe publishes its conclusion, which is expected in the coming days.
More than 31million adults have now received their first dose, putting the Government on course to meet its target of vaccinating all over-50s by April 15.
The Moderna vaccine is to be rolled out in Wales from Wednesday, the Government there said
The UK has bought 17 million doses of the Moderna jab – enough for 8.5 million people
More than 31million Britons have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine in the UK
People are still being encouraged to have the AstraZeneca jab and yesterday Boris Johnson said it was ‘very very important’ the public go for their inoculations.
Scientists stress that cases of blood clotting remain extremely rare and have only been displayed in 30 recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine – out of a total 18million.
The new Moderna vaccine will be rolled out alongside the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was ‘delighted we can start the UK rollout of the Moderna vaccine in west Wales today’.
He added: ‘The UK government has secured vaccines on behalf of the entire nation and the vaccination programme has shown our country working together at its best.
‘Three out of every five people across the whole United Kingdom have received at least one dose, and today we start with the third approved vaccine. Wherever you live, when you get the call, get the jab.’
Wales Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the rollout is ‘another key milestone in our fight’ against coronavirus.
He said: ‘A third vaccine for use in Wales significantly adds to our defences in the face of coronavirus and will help to protect our most vulnerable.
‘Every vaccine given to someone in Wales is a small victory against the virus and we would encourage everyone to go for their vaccine when invited.’
Ros Jervis, director of public health for Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: ‘We’re delighted to be able to use the Moderna vaccine for deployment across west Wales.
‘We will be using this new vaccine, alongside Oxford AstraZeneca, to continue the vaccine rollout to our communities in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
‘We are incredibly lucky to have a third vaccine in Wales, with a long shelf life and the ability to be easily transported, to help deliver the vaccination programme to small clinics across our rural communities.’
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the first batch of Moderna vaccines had arrived in the country on Monday.
Scotland is due to receive more than a million of the doses ordered by the UK and Ms Sturgeon said they have already been factored into planning for the vaccination programme, and will be delivered over the coming months.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said the Moderna vaccine will be rolled out in England ‘as soon as possible this month’.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said on Tuesday morning that it would be deployed ‘around the third week of April’.
It has not been confirmed when the rollout of Moderna will begin in Northern Ireland.
More than 31 million first doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered in the UK, according to Government data up to April 5, while more than five million second doses have been given out.
The potential role of ‘Covid status certification’ – which has drawn criticism from some Tories as well as Labour – in certain settings to reduce social distancing restrictions hit a snag when a comedy club pulled out of a pilot after accusing the Government of failing to clarify whether it would involve vaccine passports.
The Hot Water Comedy Club in Liverpool said it had been the target of a ‘hate campaign’ online after reports suggested it was working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to trial such certification.
A Government spokesperson said they ‘strongly condemn’ the online abuse the club received and confirmed the initial pilot events would be based on proof of a negative test result rather than any requirement for people to have had a jab.
Meanwhile, a study has suggested contracting Covid-19 is ‘robustly associated’ with an increased risk of developing mental health and neurological conditions in the six months after a diagnosis.
Researchers at the University of Oxford estimated that one in three virus survivors (34%) were diagnosed with a neurological or psychiatric condition within six months of being infected.
It comes as a trial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in children has been paused while regulators investigate reports of a rare form of blood clot among adults.
The University of Oxford said no safety concerns have arisen from the children’s trial and Sage adviser Professor Calum Semple said the decision to pause had been made out of ‘exceptional caution’, as he urged people to continue accepting Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs.
Assessments are under way into a very rare and specific type of blood clot in the brain, known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), occurring together with low levels of platelets (thrombocytopenia) following vaccination in adults.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) are expected to announce findings of their assessments on Wednesday or Thursday.
The UK’s regulator – the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) – is also investigating reports but has not confirmed when it will present its findings.
Both the MHRA – which said it had identified 30 cases of rare blood clot events out of 18.1 million doses of the jab administered up to and including March 24 – and WHO have said that to date the benefits of the vaccine in preventing coronavirus outweigh any risks.
Dr Wearmouth, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), indicated that ‘perhaps slowing things down’ with the rollout ‘until we’re absolutely certain’ might be wise.
Speaking in a personal capacity, she told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The issue is about safety and public confidence. We don’t want to cover anything up that we feel that the public should be knowing.
People are still being encouraged to have the AstraZeneca jab and yesterday Boris Johnson (pictured) said it was ‘very very important’ the public go for their inoculations
‘We’re not here to blindly follow targets or due dates. We will do what is necessary.’
Fellow JCVI member Professor Adam Finn said the situation must be ‘addressed urgently’.
Speaking in a personal capacity, he told BBC Newsnight: ‘It’s clear that everyone is taking these cases enormously seriously, we do need to get to the bottom of this.
‘We are walking a tightrope here between the need for speed but also the need for clarity and scientific certainty about what’s going on and of course the public wants to know, so very important issues that need to be addressed urgently.’
Yesterday the Prime Minister, who has himself had the AstraZeneca vaccine, called on the nation to get their jab during a visit to the Anglo-Swedish plant in Macclesfield.
He said the ‘best thing’ people can do is ‘look at what the MHRA say’, adding: ‘Their advice to people is to keep going out there, get your jab, get your second jab.’
Sage adviser Professor Calum Semple echoed the PM’s clarion call and urged people to continue accepting the AstraZeneca jab.
He told Channel 4 News: ‘This has been done out of exceptional caution and the big story still is that for a middle-aged, slightly overweight man, such as myself, my risk of death is one in 13,000 – the risk of this rare clot, which might not even be associated with the vaccine, is probably one in a million.
‘So I’m still going to say it’s better to get the vaccine than not get the vaccine and we can pause and take time to carefully consider the value for children because they’re not at risk of death from Covid.’
He added: ‘If you’ve been called for the vaccine then you’re in an age group that is very likely to benefit from the vaccine. So the bottom line is if you’ve been called for the vaccine I would urge you to take the vaccine.’
Several European countries have limited the AstraZenca jab to older people or even suspended its use entirely following clotting in a tiny amount of cases.
One of the European drug regulator’s senior officials yesterday claimed there is now a ‘clear’ link between the jab and CVST — a brain blockage that can lead to a stroke.
Marco Cavaleri, head of vaccines at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), said that CVST — a brain blockage that can lead to a stroke — was occurring more often than expected in younger people.
Mr Cavaleri admitted that the body was still baffled about how the jab may trigger the rare complication.
Oxford University has today paused trials of its coronavirus vaccine in children while regulators probe the jab’s link to rare blood clots. Pictured: A 16-year-old getting the jab
The risk of dying from Covid-19 is significantly higher than the rate of CSVT blood clots, which haven’t even been definitively linked to the vaccines (Based on fatality estimates from Cambridge University and CSVT occurrences in Germany)
Marco Cavaleri, vaccines head at the European Medicines Agency, said there is a ‘link’ between AstraZeneca jab and clots
EMA officials are already probing the link between the vaccine and CVST, which is more common in young women. Watchdog bosses are expected to make a formal announcement tomorrow.
Despite his comments, Mr Cavaleri’s agency has repeatedly insisted AstraZeneca’s jab is safe and the benefits outweigh any risks.
Last week it slapped down Germany for suspending its use in under-60s, arguing there was ‘no evidence’ to support age-based restrictions.
But at the same time, the watchdog paved the way for a potential U-turn, warning that the rate of the complication did appear to be slightly higher than expected in vaccinated under-60s.
Experts across the board say the evidence is now ‘shifting’ and that the jab is likely – in extremely rare cases – to cause the brain blockage.
Britain’s medical regulator may also impose a German-style ban of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, it emerged last night.
Sources told Channel 4 it could stop under-30s getting the jab – which is the main one being deployed in Britain.
But Government insiders told the Telegraph that regulators were unlikely to impose any age-based ban.
It came amid reports that thousands of doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are being wasted in France following a ‘wave of panic’ triggered by its suspension.
And it was also claimed that EU officials are confident they will have enough doses to immunize the majority of their citizens by the end of June.
Britain is aiming to have offered a first dose to all adults by the end of July.
The World Health Organization still maintains there is ‘no link for the moment’ between the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots.
Rogerio Pinto de Sa Gaspar, director of regulation and prequalification at the WHO, told a briefing today: ‘The appraisal that we have for the moment, and this is under consideration by the experts, is that the benefit-risk assessment for the vaccine is still largely positive.’
He added: ‘For the time being there is no evidence that the benefit-risk assessment for the vaccine needs to be changed and we know from the data coming from countries like the UK and others that the benefits are really important in terms of reduction of the mortality of populations that are being vaccinated.’
Scientists insist the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh any risks for elderly people — who are most at risk of hospitalisation or death if they catch the virus.
But they warn that the picture is ‘more complicated’ for young people.
Experts estimate the risk of dying of Covid for 25 to 44-year-olds is 0.04 per cent – or one in 2,500.
For comparison, the rate of CVST cases seen in Germany — which originally banned the jab for over-60s over the same blood clot fears — is around one in 90,000.
It is not clear how many younger adults will suffer the blood clots naturally — but officials admit the risk is higher in women under the age of 50.
Officials are working round-the-clock to disentangle the statistical risk, analysing the background rate of CVST as well as the reported rate among people given AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
‘In the next few hours, we will say that there is a connection, but we still have to understand how this happens,’ Mr Cavaleri told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
‘Among the vaccinated, there are more cases of cerebral thrombosis… among young people than we would expect.’
Stella Kyriakides, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said the results of the EMA’s review of the AstraZeneca vaccine were expected Wednesday.