With the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine approved by the UK medicines regulator this week, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign is ready to launch and pharmacists are expected to play a significant role in delivering it.
We asked our readers to submit their questions on social media and via The Pharmaceutical Journal website regarding the different COVID-19 vaccines being developed around the world, the phase III trial results and the practicalities of how these vaccines will be administered.
In this podcast, Dawn Connelly, features editor, and Julia Robinson, clinical and science editor, will try to answer these questions using the latest available information and the help of some external experts: Charles Bangham, chair in immunology and co-director of the Institute of Infection at Imperial College London and Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
A link to the infographic referred to in the podcast is here: The race to stop COVID-19.
Please do let us know in the comments below if you have any outstanding questions regarding the COVID vaccines after listening to this podcast or email us at dawn.connelly@rpharms.com— if there are enough, we may do another podcast!
This podcast is presented by Nigel Praities, Dawn Connelly and Julia Robinson, and produced by Geoff Marsh.
In this podcast, we say that the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna have only been studied in adults over the age of 18 years. In fact, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine trial did include participants who were 12 years of age and older, although it is currently licensed only for use for individuals 16 years of age and older. The Moderna vaccine trial did indeed only include participants over 18 years old.
Related links
Ten things pharmacists should know about COVID-19 vaccines
The COVID-19 vaccines being backed by the UK and when we might get them
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