The Pfizer vaccine will be rolled out in December in the UK if it gets regulatory approval, the government has said.

Under the plan, people working and living in care homes would be the first to receive the vaccine, then people aged over 80 and health and social care workers. 

The next category would be over 75s, followed by those over 70 and then 65. After that, vaccinations would be given to high- and medium-risk adults aged under 65, followed by people aged over 50 and finally everyone else.

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The challenge of vaccinating the world is "daunting" admitted Thomas Cueni, director general of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA). Until now, the highest volume of vaccines produced had been for the annual flu jab, with 450 million doses.

Cueni said COVID-19 vaccinations will require 12 billion to 15 billion doses because it will likely need two doses per person.

That means doubling or tripling global vaccine manufacturing capacity. The pharmaceutical industry believes it can manufacture between 3 billion and 5 billion doses next year from dozens of new manufacturing plants that are being developed.

According to the IFPMA, there was concern earlier this year over a shortage of glass medical vials. It appears that problem has now been solved because each vial should be able to hold between five and 20 doses.

"This will make it more challenging to administer [the vaccine] because you have to get the dose right and have the syringes," Cueni said.

Across the UK mass-vaccination centers, local doctor surgeries, pharmacies and roving teams of vaccinators will be used to get the jab out to people as fast as possible.

Richard Wilding, logistics and supply chain expert at the UK's Cranfield University, said it will require various supply chains coming together like a "well choreographed ballet" for the distribution in the "biggest logistical challenge of the century."

He added: "For people to be vaccinated, you need needles, syringes and enough personal protection equipment (PPE) for the people who will administer the vaccine."

The other major issue is storage, as the Pfizer vaccine has to be kept at -75 degrees Celsius. The company has pledged to manage distribution itself with ultra-cold boxes holding just over 1,000 vaccines each. 

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be easier to transport because it can be stored at room temperature.

Draft government plans published by the Health Service Journal suggest 44 million people will be vaccinated in the first five months of the roll-out.

The UK has ordered 100 million doses of vaccine from AstraZeneca and 40 million from Pfizer. In total it's bought 340 million doses from six experimental vaccines.

Pfizer's vaccine is being manufactured in Belgium. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be produced in Wrexham in north Wales.