UK’s vaccination policy prioritises those at high risk of infection

LONDON: The government of United Kingdom (UK) cleared up its citizens’ “misguided” perception of the vaccine programme by stating that less than half the population of UK can expect to be vaccinated against coronavirus. David Nabarro, a special envoy from the UK to the World Health Organisation (WHO) told Financial Times that the coronavirus crisis was “not going to be a case of everyone getting vaccinated.” He added, “There will be a definite analysis of who is the priority for the vaccine, based on where they live, their occupation and their age bracket.”

Kate Bingham, Chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, commented that they will be vaccinating only the ones at risk. She said, “It’s an adult only vaccine for people above 50, focusing on healthcare workers or those vulnerable to the disease spread.” Elucidating the policy, Ms Kate said that vaccinating people who are less likely to have severe outcomes from COVID-19 could cause some freak harm and might tip the scales in terms of risk-benefit analysis.

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in the UK has also advised that simple age-based vaccination programme are easier to deliver and therefore achieve higher vaccine intake in the population. The strategy aims at changing the likelihood of people getting harmed or hurt rather than using the vaccine to create population immunity.