“We will have to prioritise who we give the vaccine to”

Thursday 18 June 2020

The Health Department is drawing up plans for which islanders should be prioritised to receive a covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available, as it is likely to arrive in “dribs and drabs”.

Although it is currently unknown when a vaccine for the virus will become available, the Deputy Medical Officer for Health, Dr Ivan Muscat, said several candidates are showing “promise”.

His comments came during a Q&A with journalists following the publication of new guidance for ‘high-risk’ islanders.

Under the guidance, the roughly 3,000 people who have been shielding at home since the beginning of the virus outbreak have now been told they can “carefully” consider spending time outdoors to exercise or meet family and friends.

Pictured: Dr Ivan Muscat said vulnerable islanders "have probably made the greatest sacrifice of all of us staying inside for three months".

“Now it feels safe for those 3,000 people, who have probably made the greatest sacrifice of all of us staying inside for three months, to go out because, although the behaviour of the whole population has changed, we have not seen an upswing in covid,” Dr Muscat said.

He then went on to say that a “good vaccine given to as many people as possible” is the only thing that will bring covid-19 to a halt.

“I can’t say when we will have such a vaccine, but I do know there are a large number of candidate vaccines - some 10 to 12 are showing promise and a couple are showing more promise than others,” he explained.

While there is no date for the release of such a vaccine, the Health Department has already contacted suppliers as well as the NHS to make sure that as soon as a vaccine is available it can be deployed in Jersey.

However, Dr Muscat warned it is unlikely the island will receive enough vaccines to immunise the whole island in one go. Instead, he said it would probably be available in “dribs and drabs”, which means the Health Department will have to decide who gets it first.

Pictured: There is no information as to when a vaccine for covid-19 will become available. 

“It’s going to arrive in batches so we will have to prioritise who we will initially give the vaccine to, and we are working on that,” Dr Muscat said.

The Deputy Medical Officer for Health also said 'high risk' individuals would likely be asked to shield again if there was a second wave of the virus in the autumn.

Meanwhile, people considered at ‘moderate risk’ would be asked to undertake “increased precaution”.

Dr Muscat said a resurgence of covid would also see the return of some of the other mitigation steps the Health Department took at the beginning of the outbreak. 

This might include giving rescue packs of medicine to some islanders with pre-existing conditions, although Dr Muscat said it might not be necessary if islanders have not used the packs they have already been issued.