Critical workers will be first in line for vaccines as Britain secures early access to 90 million potential doses

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CRITICAL workers will be the first in line for vaccines after Britain secured early access to 90 million potential doses.

The Education Secretary Gavin Williams today praised the new deal with pharmaceutical companies and promised Britain’s health professionals would get access to any vaccine first.

The Education Secretary confirmed healthcare workers would get any vaccine first

Appearing on Sky News, the senior minister claimed vaccines were the most important weapon against the pandemic.

He said: “There is not a single silver bullet but we do have to recognise the vaccine is the safest and best route of this crisis.

“It is right that the government is making the investment and placing these orders with these vaccines so we have a range of options.

“The first stage will obviously be those critical workers, and there will be a basis of assessment, but it’s about making sure we have vaccines for the whole population.”

It comes after UK secured early access to 90 million coronavirus vaccine doses currently undergoing Phase 2 trials with pharmaceutical companies.

A third of the Covid-19 treatments are being jointly developed by BioNTech and Pfizer – which is the first deal the two firms have signed with any government.

The second deal for 60 million vaccine doses is with French company Valneva and includes an option to acquire a further 40 million if the vaccine is proved to be safe and effective.

The clinical trials carried out by Valneva, which has a factory in Livingston, Scotland, are expected to be partly funded by the UK government.

Oxford University are among the centres running human trials for Covid-19 vaccines

Oxford University are among the centres running human trials for Covid-19 vaccines

Downing Street has penned a third deal with AstraZeneca which gives the UK access to potentially one million doses of a treatment with Covid-19 neutralising antibodies.

This jab could protect those who cannot be vaccinated such as people who with weakened immune systems.

The three deals mean priority groups across all regions of the UK will be able to be vaccinated.

There is currently no working vaccine against Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, and experts say one will be needed to control the pandemic that has killed over 600,000 around the world.