UK’s vaccine programme ‘breaking link’ between Covid infections and death April 8, 2021 The UK’s vaccination programme is beginning to break the link between Covid-19 infections and deaths, scientists studying the epidemic have said. The latest REACT study by Imperial College London of more than 140,000 people in England shoed infections have fallen roughly two-thirds since February. Data showed that around 0.2 per cent of England’s population had [...]
England’s Covid-19 prevalence drops 60 per cent in March April 8, 2021 The prevalence of Covid-19 fell 60 per cent between 11 and 30 March, with the sharpest falls seen in London and the South East. Imperial College London’s latest React study found the prevalence of Covid-19 in London fell from 0.60 per cent of the population in February to 0.16 per cent in March. National prevalence [...]
UK regulator recommends alternative to Astrazeneca vaccine for under-30s April 7, 2021 Under-30s in the UK will be offered an alternative to the Astrazeneca Covid vaccine following mounting evidence leading it to rare blood clots, Britain’s medicines regulator has ruled. A review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) found that by the end of March, 79 people in the UK had suffered rare blood [...]
Big Pharma: How much will companies make off their Covid vaccines this year? April 7, 2021 There’s money to be made in vaccines. Before the pandemic, US pharmaceutical firm Moderna had never made a profit and employed just 830 staff. This morning, its $30-a-dose Covid vaccine was administered to the first patient in the UK, after widespread distribution across the States. On the same day, Stéphane Bancel, the French chief executive [...]
UK begins rollout of Moderna’s Covid vaccine April 7, 2021 The Moderna vaccine has become the third Covid jab to join the UK’s jab portfolio, with the first doses being given to carers in Wales today. The vaccine received emergency approval from the UK’s medicines regulator in January, when it was deemed safe and effective. Supplies arrived in Wales this morning, with 5,000 doses sent [...]
One in three Covid survivors diagnosed with mental condition within six months of infection April 7, 2021 One in three people who suffered severe illness from coronavirus have been diagnosed with a neurological or psychological condition within six months of recovering, a study has found. Researchers at the University of Oxford looked at the electronic 2020 health records of more than 230,000 Covid-19 patients, with their results published in The Lancet Psychiatry [...]
UK’s economic reopening takes off as Europe lags further behind April 7, 2021 Friday’s bumper US payrolls report saw both the DAX and Stoxx600 post new record highs yesterday, following on from similarly record sessions in the US on Monday, and while the FTSE100 continues to lag behind, the FTSE250 was still able to close within touching distance of a record close. China and the US aside, which [...]
Oxford pauses dosing in paediatric trial of AstraZeneca vaccine following rare blood-clotting issue April 6, 2021 The University of Oxford has paused dosing children and teenagers in a small UK study of the Covid-19 vaccine it developed with AstraZeneca, pending more information about rare blood-clotting issues in adults who have received it. The European Medicines Agency is currently reviewing reports of an extremely rare brain blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus [...]
Vaccine passports: What’s going on and what happens now? April 6, 2021 It looks as though vaccine passports could be on the cards until the threat of Covid-19 recedes. At a press conference on Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the principle of requiring someone to have a certificate to prove they would not pass on the disease “can be a sensible one”. However, the PM [...]
Hospitality industry slams vaccine passports as ‘Hobson’s choice’ April 6, 2021 The hospitality industry has slammed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suggestion that vaccine passports are on the horizon as a “Hobson’s choice” that will severely restrict businesses within the sector. Announcing the next stages of lifting lockdown yesterday, Johnson said vaccine certifications were a “sensible” principle for reopening the economy. Government documents released last night revealed the [...]