Developed and brought to market in record speed, efficiency was and remains key for the Covid-19 vaccine, as it moves from the development stages to a large-scale vaccination programme.Though launching in the UK in December 2020, the full vaccination programme is a long-term effort at an incredible scale. With a number of challenges to face, accuracy, transparency and efficiency are key - here we look at some of the technology being used to assist the country-wide programme, and the potential of existing tech.
Covid-19
Fewer challenges in healthcare this century have been completed as quickly, with as much at stake, as the global race for the Covid-19 vaccine. On 8 December 2020, the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine was authorised by UK regulators. Approval of a second vaccine from Oxford-AstraZeneca bolstered this further on 30 December 2020, with Moderna approved for use by EU authorities in January 2021.
During the months when much of the world begins to slow down and reflect on another year, December 2020 marked a landmark breakthrough in the ongoing effort to keep the public safe, return life back to normality and reduce the strain on our healthcare systems. With the average vaccine usually taking more than 10 years to develop, the Covid-19 programme is already a notable scientific achievement. Now attention turns to the logistics of vaccinating millions of people across the UK and Europe, with mass take-up required in order for it to be effective.