THE Army is set to deploy 150 teams to deliver Covid vaccines with a fleet of Land Rovers and Chinooks.
In a mission dubbed Operation Delta Force, mobile units are set to help get Britain vaccinated against the killer bug.
The Mail on Sunday reports the operation involves teams of medics and logistics experts aiding the roll-out in wintry weather.
Up to 1,500 people could be involved in the large scale project, understood to have been approved by Ministers.
Chinook helicopters will be used to get to remote areas, and a fleet of Army Land Rovers are being prepped.
The troops set to be deployed are due to start training in giving jabs this week.
It is thought some troops could be sent to the Nightingale Hospitals.
Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, said: “It is fantastic. I have been calling for a greater use of the skills offered by the Armed Forces and these Delta Force teams are a perfect example of what the military can bring to the table.”
Soldiers will be pulled in from the Royal Army Medical Corps and the UK’s standby battalions.
Some of them were recently sent to Dover to help get stranded lorry drivers tested and off to France.
CALL IN THE ARMY
The Ministry of Defence said: “The Covid Support Force has personnel, including specialist planners, medics and logisticians, ready to support responses to the outbreak, however required.”
The UK has access to two vaccinations now, with thousands already given the first dose.
The Pfizer vaccine has been found to be 89 per cent effective against the bug from around 15 to 21 days after the first dose.
After the second dose, this rises to 95 per cent effective, but this means a potential delay in those who could have been given a first dose.
It comes as the first doses of the newly approved Oxford/AstraZeneca jab arrived at Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath – with Trending In The News calling for an army of volunteers to help.
From tomorrow 530,000 doses will begin being dished out around the country.
Cases have soared to the highest numbers yet, with 57,725 positive tests reported yesterday.
It was the fifth day in a row that the figure had topped 50,000 and brought the total number of positive tests in Britain to 2,599,789.
A further 445 deaths were also recorded, bringing the overall toll to 74,570.
The rocketing cases due to a mutant variant which is spreading fast throughout the country.
