Vic medics slip down vaccine queue behind care home staff and hospital patients after change in strategy

Dr Jim Gardner, the Vic’s medical director, said during a weekly coronavirus briefing: “We think that we will begin by immunising our own staff first, and then as the other vaccines come online that will be spreading out across the community.”

But a new strategy has now emerged, despite fears over the impact of Christmas on hospitals across the nation.

While Dr Gardner voiced his own worries, saying medics were “anxious” about the possibility of the virus running rampant when Covid restrictions are relaxed, with three households allowed to mix from December 23 to 27, Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, also said: “If we get a prolonged cold snap in January, the NHS risks being overwhelmed.

“Trust leaders are worried about the impact of looser regulations over Christmas.”

NHS England would not commit to a date to roll the vaccine out in English care homes, though it is expected later this month.

Prof Azra Ghani, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Imperial College London, said priority for which groups should be in line for a vaccine could change during the rollout.

She said giving jabs first to the “most vulnerable” was a way of reducing illness as clinical trials had shown the vaccines currently developed “reduce illness and particularly severe illness and hospitalisation”.

But how the priority ranking works further down the line will depend on the stage of the epidemic, she added.

Meanwhile, the medicines regulator said the UK approved the vaccine without compromising safety after America’s top infectious disease expert questioned the level of scrutiny.

Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned the speed at which the UK approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine could undermine confidence in the jab.

But the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said: “We have rigorously assessed the data in the shortest time possible, without compromising the thoroughness of our review.”

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