Third vaccine looming as JVCI fear two doses are not enough August 19, 2021 The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) are discussing a potential booster campaign amidst concerns that two doses are not effective enough. In a JVCI meeting this morning, a government scientific adviser claimed there may be people who “really need” a third dose of the Coronavirus vaccine. JVCI member Professor Adam Finn spoke of [...]
Annual Covid-19 boosters may become a reality, says Moderna co-founder August 18, 2021 With governments around the world debating whether to authorise Covid-19 vaccine booster doses, Moderna co-founder Noubar Afeyan envisions a time when the shot could become routine. “Public health officials are going to have to decide if everybody should get a booster shot,” he said in an interview on Bloomberg TV today. “My guess is that [...]
98 per cent of London schools in areas with toxic air quality August 18, 2021 Almost every London school is in an area where air pollution levels exceed World Health Organisation limits, a City Hall analysis suggests. According to the 2016- 2020 report, the average concentration of particulate matter was a third higher at schools in London than in the rest of England. Figures show 98 per cent of schools [...]
Life sciences sector alert to evolving skills challenge August 16, 2021 | City Talk ‘We stand on the cusp of an era of cures, in which new technologies make previously terminal diseases treatable or curable’: so states the UK ‘Life Sciences Vision’, which outlines a 10-year strategy for the sector.The vision, unveiled last month, states that life sciences will be one of the great drivers of growth in the [...]
CMA accuses pharma firms Pfizer and Flynn of charging NHS illegal prices for anti-epilepsy drug August 5, 2021 The UK’s competition watchdog has accused pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Flynn of breaking competition law and overcharging the NHS for crucial anti-epilepsy drugs, in a new re-investigation following a years-long battle with the companies. Pfizer and Flynn “abused their dominant positions” and charged the NHS “unfairly high prices” for life-saving phenytoin sodium capsules, for which they [...]
Green and pleasant land? The future of cannabis use in the UK July 29, 2021 Smoking as a social activity suffered a heavy blow around 15 years ago. Between 2006 and 2007, the four parts of the United Kingdom brought in new laws prohibiting smoking in public places, with Scotland being the first to take the leap. I bear a sliver of responsibility: I worked for the House of Commons [...]
Dominic Raab says only countries with ‘high trust’ could join US and EU in quarantine exemption July 29, 2021 Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the introduction of a quarantine exemption for double-jabbed people entering from the US and EU I would only be extended to countries using similar vaccines to the UK. The new exemptions were introduced as part of the government’s “easing out of lockdown” plan, according to Raab. The Foreign Secretary emphasised [...]
No increased blood clot risk after second dose of AstraZeneca July 28, 2021 New data shows AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine carries no additional risk of rare blood clotting disorder after the second dose. A study published in the Lancet medical journal found that the estimated rate of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) in people who had received both doses was 2.3 per million. This figure is comparable to that [...]
Podcast: Matthew Halstead, Trustee and Co-Creator of sidekick, on mental health, the importance of community and reaching a ‘career pivot’ July 26, 2021 | City Talk Listen now on Spotify, Apple podcast, Soundcloud or the ICAS website. Matt lives in Hampshire with his wife and daughter. Previously a Samaritans volunteer, he loves an open and honest mental health chat which lead him to co-create the sidekick charity, because he believes mental health support should be accessible to all. He runs Noctis, a small consultancy offering commercial [...]
Men are twice as likely to develop skin cancer: LifeJacket is here to help July 19, 2021 No doubt many of you were enjoying the sun this weekend, and many more will be out and about celebrating the taste of freedom granted today by the loosening of Covid restrictions. And while we all know in theory the dangers of sun damage, putting that knowledge into practice is often a step too far. It’s an [...]