UK coronavirus death toll rises by 11 bringing total to 45,312
A further 11 people have died after contracting coronavirus in the UK, the government announced today.
It brings the total number of coronavirus associated deaths in the UK to 45,312, according to official Department of Health figures.
There have been 580 lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK in the past day, bringing the total number to 295,372.
Statistics published on Sundays and Mondays tend to be lower due to a lag in processing the weekend’s data.
Last week the health secretary Matt Hancock called for an “urgent” review into how coronavirus deaths were being recorded after it was revealed to include people dying of other causes.
Public Health England included people who tested positive for coronavirus but died from other causes in its stats of coronavirus deaths.
Today’s statistics come as the University of Oxford announced progress in its work on a coronavirus vaccine.
It has been deemed safe and induces a “strong response” from the immune system, according to the study. An initial trial of 1,077 people showed that the injection produced antibodies and white blood cells in patients.
A single dose of the vaccine provoked a T cell response within 14 days of vaccination and an antibody response within 28 days, according to the findings which were published in the Lancet.
The trial’s chief investigator Professor Andrew Pollard said: “The immune responses observed following vaccination are in line with what we expect will be associated with protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although we must continue with our rigorous clinical trial programme to confirm this.”
“We saw the strongest immune response in participants who received two doses of the vaccine, indicating that this might be a good strategy for vaccination.”
While it is still too early to tell whether the vaccine will be effective, the UK has already ordered 100m doses of the coronavirus vaccine, which the government has put £84m into developing.