COUNCIL leader Louise Gittins says she's "extremely pleased and excited" about the latest Covid-19 vaccine development – adding that the authority is working with the NHS to prepare for "the largest vaccination programme in our history".

Earlier this week, the UK become the first country in the world to approve the coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, paving the way for vaccination to start next week.

The jab has been shown in studies to be 95% effective and works in all age groups.

The UK has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, enough to vaccinate 20 million people with two doses, given 21 days apart.

Around 10 million doses are expected to be available for use in the UK in the coming weeks for priority groups, including healthcare workers, with 800,000 doses arriving next week.

Responding to the latest development, councillor Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “It goes without saying that we are extremely pleased and excited by the latest news on a COVID-19 vaccine.

“The NHS has planned extensively to deliver the largest vaccination programme in our history and the Council is working with local NHS colleagues to prepare for this.

“While we don’t expect a vaccine to be widely available until 2021, the Government asked the NHS to be ready to deliver a vaccination programme for England from December, so that those who need it most will be able to access vaccinations as soon as they are available.

“More details about the roll-out will be released in due course.”