A no-deal Brexit at the end of December will not disrupt supplies of coronavirus vaccine around Britain, the head of the UK’s medicines regulator has said.
Fears over continuity of supply were heightened by the failure of Boris Johnson to achieve a breakthrough in trade talks with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Saturday, with just 25 days to go to the deadline of 31 December to avoid a no-deal crash-out.
Reports suggest that military planes have been put on stand-by to fly millions of doses of the vaccine from Belgium if sea routes are disrupted.
Mr Eustice told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “There won’t be any effect on the deployment of this vaccine from a no-deal Brexit.
“A huge amount of work has gone on to maintain the flow of goods at the border in the event of there being a no-deal Brexit and we’ve also got contingency plans in place, including a government procured ferry that’s on standby, and of course the option, should it be needed, to use air freight too.”
And Dr Raine told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show: “Our goal at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is to make sure that whatever the outcome, whatever the deal, medicines and medical devices and vaccines reach anyone in all parts of the country in the same way without any interruption at all.
“We’ve rehearsed, we’re ready, and we know that whatever the deal, we will be able to ensure that people have access.
“We are fully prepared for any possible outcome. And our goal is very clear to make sure that medicines and medical devices and vaccines get to those who need them, patients, and the healthcare system without any interruption whatever.”
Some 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab were due to arrive in the UK this week, and NHS Providers said it expected 4 million by the end of December. The government has ordered a total of 40m doses of the product, which is the only vaccine so far authorised for use in the UK.
Following reports that the Queen will have the jab within weeks, Dr Raine said that the MHRA’s goal was “totally to protect every member of the population, Her Majesty of course, as well”.
But Mr Eustice said it would be a “personal decision” for the 94-year-old monarch whether to receive the two injections of vaccine needed for protection from Covid-19.
And Buckingham Palace refused to discuss her plans, saying: “Medical decisions are personal and this is not something we will comment on.”
NHS staff have been working through the weekend to prepare for the rollout of the Covid vaccine, which will be the largest immunisation programme in the UK’s history.
Vaccinations will be administered at dozens of hospital hubs from Tuesday – with people aged 80 and over, care home workers and NHS workers who are at higher risk the first to receive the jab.
But surveys have suggested that as many as one-third of Britons may refuse to roll their sleeves up for the jab, because of uncertainty over safety.
Declaring it was “vitally important” that as many people as possible receive the inoculation, Dr Raine said the public could have “real confidence” that it is safe.
“I would really like to emphasise that the highest standards of scrutiny, of safety and of effectiveness and quality have been met, international standards,” she told Marr.
“And so there should be real confidence in the rigour of our approval.
“More than that, our Commission on Human Medicines has scrutinised every piece of data too, so there should be no doubt whatever that this is a very safe and highly effective vaccine.
“It will help us turn the corner. There’s really not one of us who hasn’t been affected by this pandemic, and our organisation, like every other, has been completely focused on doing our job to be able to help defeat this terrible disease.”
Latest pandemic figures showed further 397 deaths reported in the UK on Saturday, with 15,539 daily cases of the disease.
