Dorsetcupcake. I share your sadness and anger, although apparently I'm not allowed to comment on what's going on because I don't have a PhD in science and I'm not being "positive".
The JCVI has had the same policy since the beginning of September. The list of priorities was based on the number of lives which could be saved - nothing else. It explicitly said it didn't want to get into arguments about whose job is most important, etc. The government has known for some time about the problems with transport and storage of the Pfizer vaccine. Yet it allowed people to hope and to have unrealistic expectations.
It is a lie that Brexit made it any easier for the UK to take delivery of vaccines. The country is still using EU legislation until 31 December. The government was trying to take a leaf out of Trump's rule book and claim to be the first.
Gavin Williamson's statement has made the UK a laughing stock (at a time when our international reputation is already very fragile and we're supposed the be "selling ourselves" to the world as an individual country).
"Williamson said he was not surprised the UK was the first to roll out the immunisation because “we’re a much better country than every single one of them.
Much better than the French have, much better than the Belgians have, much better than the Americans have. That doesn’t surprise me at all because we’re a much better country than every single one of them, aren’t we.”
Asked whether Brexit was to credit for the world-first, Williamson told LBC radio station on Thursday: “Well I just reckon we’ve got the very best people in this country and we’ve obviously got the best medical regulators."
He's offended so many people about something which isn't even true.
Other countries are hanging back a few days because they want to sort out the logistics problems of storage and distribution - not because they have worse regulators. They want to ensure that the public is confident about having the vaccine. Sensible stuff!
It now appears that Pfizer was allowed to deliver a maximum of 800,000 doses to the UK under EU law, but there won't be any more until the vaccine receives EMA approval. Meanwhile, people in care homes would have been at greater risk, if they had been taken off the top spot in the priority list. People are being encouraged to visit them over Christmas.
This is from the government website:
"Care home residents in all tiers will be able to see their families again this Christmas period as over a million tests are to be sent out providers over the next month, with visits to begin in the first homes tomorrow (Wednesday 2 December)."
Unfortunately, the lateral flow tests issued to care homes have been deemed unreliable.
People in care homes really might not be around next Christmas. They've been denied visits for months. Yet they were allowed to have hope, only to have it dashed. That's cruel.
Meanwhile, Pfizer has now announced that it can only deliver on half its original promise for the time being.