Covid vaccines should be available early next year, doctor tells Lionel Barber

19 October 2020, 19:03 | Updated: 20 October 2020, 11:47

Richard Hatchett: Vaccines will become available in the first half of next year

Covid-19 vaccines will likely be available early next year and people should trust they are safe, lead vaccine co-ordinator Dr Richard Hatchett tells Lionel Barber on brand new LBC podcast What Next? with Lionel Barber.

"I think that vaccines will begin to become available in the first half of the year," Dr Richard said, "I think the supply of the vaccine is not going to equal the potential demand for the vaccine in all of next year.

"So I think a vaccine will have to be prioritised for specific populations and I think most countries will prioritise vaccine for those at greatest risk."

Lionel observed that deciding who will get the vaccine first is "tough" to which Dr Richard responded he would hope this would be a "decision that societies and communities can come to some consensus about."

He continued that the impact on the young and on children is "very very small" yet the mortality rate in those who are 70+ is much more significant - when a resource is scarce people will allocate it "where it will do the most good."

"You want to protect your healthcare workers who are on the front lines," he said.

Lionel Barber, the former Editor of the Financial Times, has joined LBC – Britain’s biggest commercial news talk station – to host a brand-new podcast series available on Global Player.

In his first broadcast venture since the FT, What Next? with Lionel Barber focuses on life beyond the current pandemic and sees the multi-award-winning journalist and author discover how the world is adapting to it, what needs to change and, most importantly, what lessons we have learnt that will shape our lives for the future.

Listen to: What Next? with Lionel Barber