Pfizer Covid vaccine is ALREADY on its way to UK as lorries seen leaving Belgian plant

REFRIGERATED HGVs loaded with the coronavirus vaccine have today been leaving Pfizer's plant in Belgium bound for the UK.

Video obtained by The Sun shows several trucks driving away from the plant at Puurs and heading towards the Eurotunnel depot at Calais, an hour's drive away.

A source at Pfizer said: "The key thing is to get the vaccine over to Britain as quickly as possible and given its location driving is the quickest way.

"The vaccine will be delivered to strategic hubs in Britain set up by the Government and then it will be forwarded on.

"Plans were already well advanced so as soon as the green light was obtained by the regulators the doses went out - they will be there in time for use next week in Britain."

The UK became the first country in the world to give the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, which is 95 per cent effective, the green light to be rolled out from next week.

Other front runners including the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Moderna jabs are still being assessed by the regulators, who said today they will work over Christmas in the hope of approving more vaccines.

Hours after the news Pfizer's jab was safe to be rolled out, experts confirmed who will get the first doses.

Mr Hancock said we can expect 800,000 doses in the UK by next week, and "several million" by the end of this year. But refused to give an exact figure.

The doses will be shipped over from Belgium in the coming days, and will be here by the weekend, Pfizer bosses confirmed today.

It has to be stored at at -70C, which has made the logistics of transporting the jab a logistical nightmare. It can't be kept at fridge temperatures, such as in GP surgeries, for more than five days.

In total the UK has ordered 40million doses, enough to give 20million Brits the required two doses, 21 days apart.

Care home residents, their carers and the over 80s will be front of the queue to get the first doses, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation confirmed today.

NHS staff will also get priority with 50 hospitals on standby to begin immunising staff.

Both experts and politicians have hailed the "historic moment", just ten months after Sars-CoV-2 emerged earlier this year, but warned that the country "can't lower our guard yet".

Matt Hancock, said Health Secretary said the approval marks a "new chapter in our fight against the virus", while Boris Johnson said it will help us "reclaim our lives".

Speaking in the commons, the Health Secretary told MPs: "Even since the pandemic hit our shores almost a year ago we have known a vaccine would be critical to set us free.

"It's no longer a case of if there's going to be a vaccine, it's when.

"In our battle against the virus, help is on its way.

"Today is a triumph for all those who believe in science, a triumph for ingenuity, a triumph for humanity."

The Prime Minister hailed the "fantastic" vaccine news which will allow us to "reclaim our lives" - ahead of a No10 press conference tonight.

The news comes as:

• Boris Johnson will give a press conference tonight on the vaccine news
• Matt Hancock revealed millions of Britons would get vaccinated by the end of this year
• England's second national lockdown ended today, plunging the nation into harsher restrictions - but opening shops, gyms and leisure centres
• 50 NHS hospitals will be ready to deliver the jab from next week
• Care home residents, NHS staff and the elderly will be among the first to receive drug
• UK has secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine - enough to vaccinate 20 million people - with 10 million doses due in the UK by the end of the year
• The Nightingale hospitals, along with football clubs, race-courses and tennis courts, will be transformed into mass-vaccine centres
• A scientist warned it may take six months to get everyone vaccinated.

The Pfizer vaccine is the first in the world to get the green light, with at least two more expected to be approved in the coming weeks - the jabs from Oxford and Moderna.

The Pfizer jab made with German firm BioNTech- which is 95 per cent effective - is safe for use, health regulators say.

It will be deployed as "quickly as it is manufactured", the Health Sec said, but the Government hasn't set out a timetable for when that will be or where people can go to get it.

Ben Osborn, Country Manager, Pfizer UK, said the Government will have the first batches of the virus “by the weekend”.

Speaking at a Science Media Briefing, he said the processes to trigger shipment of the vials began “last night” - before the news of regulatory approval broke.

“We expect to deliver somewhere around 800,000 in next few days”, he said.

“It will be in Government distribution warehouses by this weekend.”

Mr Osborn would not reveal if the stock would be arriving by air or sea to ensure it was transported safely without interference.

Sean Marett, chief commercial officer at BioNTech, was optimistic the jabs could reach Britain as soon as tomorrow.

He told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme: 'We’re packing them now as we speak and getting ready for shipping.

"What we can definitely say is it will arrive, the first consignment, in the next few days and that could be as early as tomorrow or it could be a few days later, but the UK will be the first country in the world to be receiving vaccine for administration to its population."

The Health Secretary Mr Hancock told the Commons the first batch of the vaccine has been tested on Wednesday morning ready for deployment next week.

He said: “We’ve spent months preparing for this day so that as soon as we got the green light we would be ready to go."

Mr Hancock said the bulk of the rollout will come in the new year, adding: "We haven't put a finger on the numbers before Christmas."

"People will be contacted by the NHS when it's their turn."

He expressed his excitement to MPs about the promise of a return to normality, saying: "This is a day to remember, frankly, in a year to forget.

"We can see the way out of this but we're not there yet, so let's keep our resolve, keep doing our bit to keep people safe until science can make us free.

"I'm confident now with the news today that from spring, from Easter onwards, things are going to be better and we're going to have a summer next year that everybody can enjoy."

It followed a round of broadcast interviews this morning hours after the news broke, in which Mr Hancock said: "We can see the dawn in the distance but we got to get through 'till morning."

The PM also hailed the news, and will be lead a TV briefing from No 10 later flanked by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens and England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam.

At PMQs today he thanked everyone involved in the development of the vaccine and on Twitter said it would help us to "reclaim our lives" and get the economy moving again.

Mr Hancock said he would be willing to get the jab live on TV if it helped persuade people would be safe, and Mr Johnson's press secretary later ruled out the PM would "not rules it out" either.

Mr Hancock was invited to get the inoculation live on TV by Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan who is keen to "send the right message" to anyone with concerns.

The the Shadow Health boss Jon Ashworth offered to "stand alongside" Mr Hancock on "any platform or in any TV studio" to promote the take-up of vaccination, and there are even mutterings

Mr Hancock replied: "If we can together encourage anybody to take a vaccine who may be hesitant by appearing together and getting vaccinated together than of course I'd be happy to do that - it's a deal."

Some antivax sentiment has been present in the UK as many people have voiced their concerns about the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Mr Hancock has "strongly urged" people to take the offer when the NHS got in touch about being vaccinated because "it's good for your community as well to help get this virus under control once and for all".

Ministers are also primed to launch a nationwide campaign across TV and radio highlighting the benefits of vaccination as early as next week.

However, the PM agreed with MP Chris Green in the Commons today that vaccines should be given out on a voluntary basis - but that people should take it.

The Health Sec admitted he was unsure how many people need to be vaccinated before restrictions can be lifted.

He said: "We do not know the impact of the vaccine on reducing the transmission because of the problem of asymptomatic transmission - which has so bedevilled our response to this virus and made it so hard to tackle.

"Therefore we don't know the answer to that question."

The vaccine requires two doses, 21 days apart, and has to be kept at a very low temperature, restricting some of where it can go immediately.

It has to be stored at -70C and can only be thawed in batches of 1,000 before immunisation.