The Moderna vaccine is not being prioritised for use in general practice at the moment, the BMA has said.
UK rollout of the Moderna vaccine began in April, after it was authorised for use by the MHRA in January.
At the time, NHS England announced that around 20 sites would ‘initially’ deliver the vaccine in England, with ‘more coming online as supplies expand’.
However, it declined to tell Pulse whether any of these were PCN-led sites and if not, when PCN sites would be able to start delivering the vaccine.
Now the BMA has said in a recent GP Committee bulletin that the Moderna vaccine ‘is not currently expected to be supplied to general practice’.
A BMA spokesperson told Pulse: ‘We understand from discussions with NHS England that Moderna is not being prioritised for use in general practice at this stage due to vaccine characteristics and logistics, and that the limited supply is likely to be used in mass vaccination centres.’
NHS England has not responded to a request for clarification around whether GPs can expect to receive the Moderna vaccine at all in the future.
The UK Government has purchased 17 million doses of the vaccine, with the first doses expected ‘by spring’. However, the Government and Moderna both declined to tell Pulse how many doses were due to arrive this month.
Announcing the MHRA authorisation in December, the Government said the Moderna vaccine would be deployed through ‘similar methods’ as the Pfizer and Oxford jabs – including via ‘community services’ staffed by ‘local teams and GPs’.
READERS' COMMENTS [2]
Please note, only GPs are permitted to add comments to articles
Aha, better read up on it’s SPC friends – it is bound to be in your next unexpected delivery!
Please can GP / PCN centres have equal access to Moderna vaccine- with its 30 day window after thawing.
It makes so much sense for non-hospital based sites to be delivering less time vulnerable vaccines, as were are effectively losing the ability to use AZ vaccines on the under 40s.