December 8, 2020 a member of staff draws the Pfizer-BioNTech
COVID-19 vaccine out of a phial at the Southmead Hospital,
Briston. Graeme Robertson / AFP / POOL
The United States kicked off a mass vaccination drive
Monday hoping to turn the tide on the world’s biggest coronavirus
outbreak, as the nation’s death toll passed a staggering
300,000.
The start of the desperately awaited vaccine program coincided
with several European countries announcing new lockdowns amid
spiraling infections, highlighting how the road to ending the
global pandemic is still long.
New York nurse Sandra Lindsay became the first person in America
to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, live on television, six days
after Britain launched the West’s vaccine campaign against
Covid-19.
“It didn’t feel any different from taking any other vaccine,”
said Lindsay, a critical care nurse at the Long Island Jewish
Medical Center, imploring all Americans to “to do our part” by
getting vaccinated.
“I hope this marks the beginning of the end of the very painful
time in our history,” she added.
The vaccinations come at one of the darkest phases of the
pandemic, with cases in the US and many other countries soaring,
and health experts still struggling against vaccine skepticism,
lockdown fatigue and uneven adherence to safety rules.
On Monday, the Netherlands was preparing to enter its strictest
lockdown since the pandemic began, Britain announced new
restrictions on London, and Turkey said it would go into a four-day
lockdown over the New Year holidays.
The US — which has the globe’s highest death toll, and the
largest number of reported cases at 16.3 million — passed 300,000
deaths just hours after the vaccinations began, according to the
Johns Hopkins University tally.
vials with Covid-19 Vaccine stickers attached, with the logo of US
pharmaceutical company Pfizer, on November 17, 2020. JUSTIN TALLIS
/ AFP
“First Vaccine Administered. Congratulations USA!
Congratulations WORLD!” President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter
earlier in the day, while President-elect Joe Biden tweeted “Stay
hopeful – brighter days ahead.”
Vaccinations also took place in Pennsylvania and Ohio, while
Canada administered its first dose to a caregiver in Montreal.
Delivery trucks with special refrigeration equipment are rolling
out across America, as part of a public-private plan to ship
millions of doses of the newly approved Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine to
vulnerable Americans.
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Courier services FedEx and UPS have deployed fleets of trucks
and planes to carry their precious cargo — sometimes under armed
guard — to all 50 states, where health care workers and
nursing-home residents are first in line.
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– London lockdown – An initial 2.9 million
doses are set to be delivered to 636 sites around the country by
Wednesday, with officials saying 20 million Americans could receive
the two-shot regimen by year end, and 100 million by March.
Doses are being shipped in boxes containing dry ice that can
keep supplies at -70 degrees Celsius (-94 degrees Fahrenheit), the
frigid temperature needed to preserve the drug.
Trials have shown the vaccine to be 95 percent effective, and
Americans are being told it is safe unless they have an allergy to
any of the drug’s components.
But experts face a battle to convince enough Americas to take
the vaccine to make it effective in a country where the
anti-vaccine movement is strong.
“My biggest concern is the level of hesitancy in the country. I
really hope we are going to be able to change that,” Moncef Slaoui,
head of the government’s vaccine rollout program Operation Warp
Speed, told CBS.
Worldwide, there have been at least 1.6 million deaths since the
outbreak emerged in China last December, and 71.6 million cases
overall.
Also launching vaccinations Monday was the United Arab Emirates
which began administering shots by Chinese drugs giant Sinopharm in
Abu Dhabi.
– New strain – Britain’s health minister
announced that London will move into the highest level of
restrictions from Wednesday with theatres, pubs, restaurants, and
other hospitality venues forced to close except for takeaway
food.
Matt Hancock said scientists had identified a “new variant” of
the virus in the south of England that may be causing infections to
spread faster, though he added it was “highly unlikely to fail to
respond to a vaccine.”
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said schools and all
non-essential shops would shut from Tuesday for five weeks over the
Christmas period, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
announced a nationwide curfew from December 31 to January 4.
The Czech government said it would re-impose an overnight curfew
and shut restaurants and bars for Christmas, while Germany will
enter a partial lockdown from Wednesday, with non-essential shops
and schools to close.
Even as US officials welcomed the unprecedented vaccine effort,
they cautioned people not to grow lax in observing precautions.
“It’s going to take months before the vaccine hits critical
mass. So, this is the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a
long tunnel,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York state, where
35,000 people have succumbed to Covid-19.
AFP