Brits favour beach holidays over city breaks as the return of travel nears May 11, 2021 Brits are itching for some sun after a seemingly endless winter lockdown, with most travellers looking for beach holidays now the return of foreign holidays is in sight, according to bookings site Lastminute. After the government confirmed a 17 May return to abroad travel, 59 per cent of Brits have been eyeing sun and beach [...]
UK engages in Covid vaccine waiver discussions with the US and WTO May 11, 2021 The UK has begun seeking constructive engagement with the US and other World Trade Organisation (WTO) members on the conflicting issue of vaccine waivers, a government spokesman has said. Following pressure from charities to back the proposal, the UK government is yet to confirm whether it will back the US’ waiver. The waiver, proposed by [...]
Collision of Covid-19 and Brexit fuels a £700bn blow to economic output May 11, 2021 The UK economy has been forecast to suffer an over £700bn blow to output due to the collision of Covid-19 and Brexit, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research warned today. The bruising figure was made worse by the government’s “poor Covid-19 response”, the think tank said, adding that it has left the UK [...]
Inovio confirms its Covid vaccine is safe in mid-stage trials May 10, 2021 Inovio Pharmaceuticals has confirmed its Covid-19 vaccine candidate is safe in a mid-stage clinical trial, as it produces immune responses against the virus in all tested age groups. The trial, which included around 400 participants aged 18 years and older at 16 US sites, used a 2mg dose for the phase three segment of the trial. The [...]
Refugee nurses channelled into the NHS through new scheme May 10, 2021 Refugee nurses are being channelled into the NHS as part of a Liverpool-based scheme, giving asylum seekers the opportunity to use their qualifications to live an independent life in the UK. Palestinian national from Lebanon, Walid Jarad, had lived in just two t-shirts and two pairs of jeans for a whole year, until last month. [...]
Germany hits back at US patent waiver proposal for Covid-19 vaccines May 7, 2021 Germany has rejected the Covid-19 vaccine patent proposal today, urging that production capacity is key to boosting vaccine output. The country’s health minister said the primary challenge to increasing production volumes of vaccines is quickly and effectively transferring technology. “The main issue is not patent protection but production capacity,” Jens Spahn, said at a news [...]
Amid a slow rollout, 24m vaccines sit in freezers in Japan May 7, 2021 Unused Covid-19 vaccines are stacking up in the millions in Japan, as the country prepares to approve two more shots in the coming weeks amid a sluggish inoculation drive. Due to lack of manpower and logistical bottlenecks, Japan’s vaccine rollout has been slow, in a nation culturally sceptical of vaccines and layered with bureaucracy. Japan [...]
NHS to deliver vaccines to low-uptake communities in a Ford van May 7, 2021 Ford and the NHS in Essex have joined forces with local health leaders to roll out a vaccine drive using a tailored Transit van to deliver jabs. Despite the UK’s successful vaccine rollout, vaccine uptake is lower among some communities facing access challenges, which the vaccine drive seeks to tackle. “Our goal of giving everyone [...]
India’s latest wave worsens, accounting for nearly half of global Covid cases May 5, 2021 India accounted for one in four global Covid-19 deaths last week, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today, as the UK pledged to send 1,000 ventilators in aid on Sunday. The WHO said in its weekly epidemiological report that India accounted for 46 per cent of global cases and 25 per cent of global deaths [...]
‘Freedom day’: Pub bosses wipe down the bar for a 21 June return May 5, 2021 The UK’s pub bosses are wiping the bar down for a June return, coined “freedom day”, urging prime minister Boris Johnson to stick to his roadmap for the easing of restrictions. JD Wetherspoon, Greene King, Slug & Lettuce owner Stonegate and Young’s have all expressed their intentions for a 21 June return of bar service, [...]