NHS bosses in the county say work is already underway in preparation for a coronavirus vaccine to be made available.

Developers Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Monday (November) they had created a vaccine that was 90 per cent effective in preventing people from getting coronavirus.

Health chiefs in Worcestershire welcomed the news saying preparations have already started to ensure it can be administered when the time arrives.

A spokesman for NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire CCG, on behalf of all local NHS organisations, said: “The NHS has well established plans for delivering vaccinations across the country including the annual flu jab and children’s immunisations.

“Work is underway to build on these tried and tested approaches, so that when a vaccine is ready, staff can deliver it safely.”

Pfizer and BioNTech described the vaccine announcement as a “great day for science and humanity.”

The vaccine has been tested on 43,500 people in six countries with no safety concerns raised and the companies plan to apply for emergency approval to use the vaccine by the end of the month.

Dr Kathryn Cobain, director for Public Health in Worcestershire, welcomed the news about a vaccine.

“I welcome the positive news about a vaccine,” she said. “A vaccine will be another important part of our defence against Covid-19 and these scientific developments give us cause to be optimistic for 2021.

“While we wait for the vaccine to go through the final stages of the scientific process, we can protect ourselves and everyone we love by remembering to keep our distance, wash our hands and use face coverings where necessary.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the NHS would be ready from December to roll out the new vaccine if it gets approved telling MPs on Tuesday (November 10) the news about the vaccine was an important step but there were no guarantees.

He described the development as “promising news” but, with the country less than a week into a month-long lockdown, warned it was only “one step of many we need to get out of this and to tackle this pandemic once and for all.”

Forty million doses have already been ordered which would be enough to vaccinate up to 20 million people.