FROZEN food giant Iceland is in talks with the UK Government to assist with the storage of coronavirus vaccines.

The retailer has a large cold store behind its Deeside-based headquarters, which was visited by Boris Johnson during his election campaign.

An Iceland spokesperson said: "I can confirm that we are in contact with the Government about how we may be able to assist with the refrigerated storage of Covid vaccines."

The Leader:

Prime Minister Boris Johnson hauling a consignment of frozen desserts, during a visit to Iceland Foods HQ, Deeside, while on the General Election campaign. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

The contact comes as all adults in England could start to be vaccinated against Covid-19 before the end of January if supplies allow, according to leaked NHS documents.

Under the plan, every adult who wants a jab could be vaccinated by early April.

This week, referring to the situation in Wales, NHS Wales Chief Executive Andrew Goodall said the rolling out of the vaccine would require an unprecedented logistical operation.

NHS England’s draft Covid-19 vaccine deployment programme, seen by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) and dated November 13, comes as regional leaders have been told to prepare large vaccination centres to roll out a coronavirus vaccine.

Pfizer together with its partner BionTech is expected to receive US approval for its vaccine within days, with the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) also assessing the data for potential approval.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer jab, which needs to be stored at a very low temperature, and expects 10 million doses by the end of the year.

It has also ordered 100 million doses of a vaccine from AstraZeneca and Oxford University, which has shown promising results in clinical trials and is due to report before Christmas, and five million doses of a jab from US firm Moderna, which is not expected to arrive until the spring.