Vaccine passports could be ‘counterproductive’, government adviser warns March 27, 2021 Forcing punters to show vaccine passports to gain access to pubs could be counterproductive, a top government adviser has warned. Professor Stephen Reicher, a behavioural scientist, said the policy could make the problem of vaccine hesitancy even worse and lead to “social apartheid”. Ministers are considering the use of vaccine passports for hospitality venues such [...]
Boris Johnson: England lockdown lifting still on track March 27, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said England’s plan for easing coronavirus lockdown measures was still on course, despite worries about a third wave of the virus sweeping Europe. The prime minister said he was looking forward to getting a haircut and enjoying a pint of beer in a pub garden following the next stage of [...]
Britain ‘close’ to striking vaccine deal with EU amid supply row March 27, 2021 Britain is said to be close to striking a vaccine deal with the EU that will remove the threat of the bloc cutting off supplies of the jabs. After a week of tense diplomacy the two sides are expected to ink an agreement as early as this weekend under which the EU will remove its [...]
Covid-19: Over-70s could get booster jabs from September March 27, 2021 Brits aged 70 and over could start receiving booster Covid-19 jabs from September to protect them from new variants of the virus. Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the booster doses will go to people in the top four priority groups, which includes the clinically vulnerable and frontline NHS and social care staff, as well as [...]
20-second Covid test to be distributed across the UK and Europe March 26, 2021 A freshly approved and fully recyclable 20-second Covid-19 test is set to be distributed across the UK and Europe, London-based distribution company HISTATE has said this morning. The rapid test, known as Virolens, has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use and sale in the UK. The trials show [...]
EU will not be ‘blackmailed’ by UK over vaccines, says French minister March 26, 2021 The EU will not be “blackmailed” by the UK over Covid vaccine supplies, France’s foreign minister has said, as a cross-Channel dispute over coronavirus jabs continues to escalate. Jean-Yves Le Drian claimed the UK is set to run into “problems” because it has prioritised first doses of the jab, as he warned that Europe would [...]
Coronavirus latest updates: EU boosts vaccine supply; Norway halts Astrazeneca jab; London R rate rises March 26, 2021 EU boosts production of Covid vaccines The European Medicines Agency announced this afternoon that it has approved the use of two European factories to scale up the EU’s vaccine supply. The Halix factory in the Netherlands has been cleared to produce doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine for the EU, while another in Marburg in Germany [...]
Is your boss an introvert? Then working from home may be here to stay March 26, 2021 The majority of small businesses in the UK is run by introverts, and remote working as a result of the pandemic could be here to stay for many of their employees, according to a new study. From the roughly 1,000 business owners that were approached by Hitachi Capital Business Finance, just over two thirds, or [...]
UK R rate increases to between 0.7 to 0.9 March 26, 2021 The UK’s R number has risen slightly to a best estimate of between 0.7 and 0.9, though it remains below the crucial 1 threshold. The figure marks a marginal hike from last week, when scientists estimated that the R rate was between 0.6 and 0.9. The new R rate means that every 10 people infected [...]
EU approves use of Netherlands factory to produce Astrazeneca vaccine March 26, 2021 The EU medicines regulator has approved the use of a factory in the Netherlands for the production of Covid vaccines for Europe, despite the fact that it is currently being used to make jabs for the UK. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said in statement it had cleared the Halix production site in the Netherlands [...]