Pfizer vaccine cuts Covid-19 transmission risk four-fold, even before second dose: study February 14, 2021 People vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine are four times less likely to spread the Coronavirus, even before they have received their second jab, according to a new study. Individuals who tested positive for Covid-19 and received at least their first vaccination had a much lower viral load than those who had not received any vaccine [...]
Covid-19: Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ lockdown can be eased soon February 13, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said he was optimistic he would be able to announce the easing of some Covid-19 lockdown measures soon as the UK’s vaccine rollout continues at pace. The prime minister, who will unveil his “roadmap” for ending the lockdown on 22 February, said he would prioritise aims to reopen schools from [...]
Angels in America, now on-demand, is more relevant than ever February 13, 2021 In the same month Russell T Davies’ It’s A Sin has become the most talked-about TV show in the world, the National Theatre has made its own dramatisation of the AIDS crisis, Angels in America, available to watch on-demand for the first time. Both begin in the 1980s, just as the virus is taking hold [...]
Covid-19: Oxford extends vaccine study to children in world first February 13, 2021 Children as young as six will be given the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and Astrazeneca as part of a world-first trial to test the efficacy of the jab in young people. Researchers will enrol 300 volunteers to assess whether the coronavirus vaccine produces a strong immune system response in children and young [...]
New immune drug may be Covid-19 cure as 90 per cent of treated patients fully recover February 13, 2021 Medics in Israel have been given the go-ahead for a third trial of a relatively new drug after successfully testing the treatment on a number of severely ill Covid-19 patients, of which 90 per cent fully recovered within a week, according to multiple media reports. The drug, Allocetra, aims to slow or halt an extreme [...]
Matt Hancock: UK could live with Covid ‘like flu’ by end of year February 13, 2021 Vaccines and treatments mean Covid-19 could become a disease we live with “like we do with flu” by the end of the year, Matt Hancock has said. The health secretary said new drugs designed to tackle the virus could arrive in 2021, helping to make Covid a “treatable” disease. In an interview with the Daily [...]
Over-65s to receive vaccine appointment letters from next week February 12, 2021 The NHS will start vaccinating over-65s from next week as part of the next phase of the UK’s vaccination programme. The Prime Minister has set a deadline of Monday 15 February for offering a first dose of the vaccine to the top four priority groups, including care home staff and residents, all over-70s, frontline NHS [...]
Hotel quarantine booking site still not working February 12, 2021 Hotel quarantine booking site launches, there are no spots at London airports until Wednesday
UK R rate falls below 1 for first time since July February 12, 2021 The UK’s R rate has fallen below 1 for the first time since July, in the surest sign yet that current lockdown measures are working. The rate of reproduction of the virus has fallen to a best estimate of between 0.7 and 0.9, according to official figures from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), [...]
One in 63 Londoners had coronavirus last week as capital remains most infected region February 12, 2021 London still has the highest percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus of any region in England, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Around 1.6 per cent of Londoners estimated to have been infected in the week to 6 February — equivalent to around 1 in 63 people. It means [...]