Boris Johnson: People will need booster jabs every year for Covid mutations February 10, 2021 The most vulnerable members of the population will likely need booster jabs especially suited to Covid mutations “every year”, the Prime Minister has said. Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Boris Johnson said: “As new variants appear, it will be more useful than ever to have vaccines that combat all variants. “I think we [...]
Breaking: World Health Organization recommends Astrazeneca vaccine for all age groups February 10, 2021 The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended the use of the Astrazeneca/Oxford University vaccine for use by all countries around the world, with a 8 to 12 week interval between doses. In a major snub to European countries that have applied age limits to the vaccine, WHO said there was enough evidence to recommend vaccines [...]
Italy blocks Astrazeneca vaccine for over-65s February 10, 2021 Italy has become the latest European country to slap age restrictions on the Astrazeneca vaccine, after officials said there was “insufficient data” to prove it will help protect over-65s against Covid-19. The Italian government said it would only use the jab made by the Anglo-Swedish firm on people aged between 18 and 65 and in [...]
Ministers in talks with US and Singapore over international vaccine certificate February 10, 2021 Ministers are in discussions with other countries over the creation of an international vaccine certification system that would allow a partial resumption of travel, the transport secretary has said. Grant Shapps told the BBC he has spoken to his counterparts in the US and Singapore about the creation of an internationally recognisable system of proving [...]
Government averts Tory rebellion as anti-genocide compromise passes in Parliament February 9, 2021 The government has staved off a Tory rebellion as it squeezed through a compromise deal on blocking trade agreements with countries found to have committed genocide. MPs were denied a straight vote this afternoon on an amendment to the Trade Bill that would have handed powers to determine whether a country has committed genocide over [...]
Lambeth to receive surge testing amid concerns over South African Covid mutation February 9, 2021 Extra coronavirus testing will be carried out in Lambeth following confirmed cases of the South African Covid variant in the south London neighbourhood. Surge testing and genomic sequencing will be carried out in the SE27 0, SE27 9 and SW16 2 postcodes in Lambeth. People living within the targeted areas are strongly encouraged to take [...]
Airline shares tumble as hotel quarantine spells travel chaos until Easter February 9, 2021 Shares in the UK’s largest airlines tumbled more than three per cent this afternoon as the health secretary’s announcement of new hotel quarantine measures spelt prolonged chaos for the travel industry. Easyjet shares fell more than 4.5 per cent to 788p, while Tui shed 4 per cent and British Airways owner IAG dropped 3.3 per [...]
Hotel quarantine to cost £1,750 per person with flouters facing 10 years in jail February 9, 2021 All passengers returning to the UK and Ireland from “red list” countries from Monday must quarantine at a hotel for 10 days at a cost of £1,750 per person, the health secretary has announced. “Any returning citizens will have to quarantine at an assigned hotel room for 10 days —or for longer if they test [...]
Growing risk of attacks on UK in ‘breakdown of world order’, says defence secretary February 9, 2021 Britain is at growing risk of chemical and biological attacks due to a “breakdown of world order”, the defence secretary has warned. In an interview with the Times, Ben Wallace said the internet had proved a “turbo boost” for terrorist groups and nation states seeking information on deadly attacks. “Globally, I think there is a [...]
Wuhan lab leak ‘extremely unlikely’ source of Covid pandemic, says WHO February 9, 2021 It is “extremely unlikely” that Covid-19 spread to the human population through a laboratory leak, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said. Investigators on the ground in Wuhan believe the most likely hypothesis for the start of the pandemic was the virus spreading to humans via an “intermediary host species”. Experts studying the likely cause [...]