Category Archives: Medical research

How vaccine approval compares between the UK, Europe and the US

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The regulatory fast-tracking of the Covid vaccine in Britain by MHRA has led some to question its methods

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) in the UK has not had a round of applause from anyone other than the UK’s politicians and the vaccine companies. It gave temporary authorisation to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday and within hours, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) put out a stiff statement implying more work was needed than the UK regulator had done. Its own decision could come as late as 29 December. It may well have been needled by the crowing of the health secretary, Matt Hancock, who claimed the fast approval as a Brexit triumph. He had to backtrack. The MHRA’s chief executive, June Raine, pointed out that the agency had simply taken advantage of a provision that any country in Europe could use, to fast-track approval in a pandemic.

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Coronavirus live news: Biden vows to get vaccinated in public; Cyprus to waive tests for vaccinated visitors

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Biden will ask Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days in office; Cyprus announces new measure to ease travel; Iran’s cases top 1m

In the UK saliva tests for Covid-19, which are being introduced for NHS workers as part of the government’s mass testing programme, pick up only 13% of people with low levels of the virus and not 91%, as the official assessment has claimed, according to experts.

Two members of the Royal Statistical Society’s working group looking at the accuracy of Covid tests have questioned the results and the way they have been evaluated.

Related: Experts question claimed accuracy of Covid-19 saliva tests

Revelations of distorted corona virus tallies have caused growing controversy in Greece reports our correspondent Helena Smith in Athens.

Figures released by the government nightly have been slammed for not reflecting the truth after reports of mismanagement by the national public health organisation, EODY.

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Calls to investigate possible link between menopause and Covid risk

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Some evidence suggests falling oestrogen levels could make older women more vulnerable

A possible link between the menopause and Covid-19 needs to be investigated, researchers have said, with some evidence suggesting that falling oestrogen levels could leave older women at increased risk from the disease.

Men are at greater risk of severe Covid, and dying of the disease, than women but recent research has suggested that in women, infections and long-lasting symptoms might be more common among those who have gone through the menopause.

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‘The scientists have done it’: Boris Johnson hails Covid vaccine

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PM says news brings ‘sure and certain knowledge’ that people can reclaim their lives

Boris Johnson has declared that the nation is no longer resting on the hope of a return to normality by spring but instead has the “certain knowledge” that people can reclaim their lives, as he hailed the arrival of the newly approved Covid-19 vaccine.

The prime minister told a Downing Street press conference on Wednesday that “the scientists have done it”, although he stressed that people should not get carried away with “over-optimism”, insisting that they continue to abide by the rules.

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UK coronavirus live: Boris Johnson leads Downing Street briefing after vaccine approved for use

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Latest updates: PM holds press conference after earlier warning people not to ‘get hopes up too soon’ about early vaccination

Stevens is talking about the vaccination guidelines. (See 11.23am.)

The roll-out will be phased, he says.

Johnson urges people in tier 3 areas to take part in community testing.

And people should follow the restrictions, he says.

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France will carry out border checks to stop skiers from spreading Covid

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Coronavirus clusters in Alpine resorts played key role in early spread of virus in Europe

France will carry out random border checks over the holiday season targeting French skiers on their way to and from foreign resorts – particularly Switzerland and Spain – where slopes stay open, the prime minister, Jean Castex, has said.

“The goal is to avoid French citizens getting contaminated. That will be done by performing random checks at the borders,” Castex told French television, adding that returning holidaymakers would be ordered to quarantine for seven days.

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UK approves Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine for rollout next week

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‘Historic moment’ allows mass immunisation, with 800,000 doses expected to be available next week

The UK has become the first western country to license a vaccine against Covid, opening the way for mass immunisation with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to begin next week for those most at risk.

The vaccine has been authorised for emergency use by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), before decisions by the US and Europe. The MHRA was given power to approve the vaccine by the government under special regulations before 1 January, when it will become fully responsible for medicines authorisation in the UK after Brexit.

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Coronavirus live news: CDC suggests first vaccines to US healthcare workers; England enters tier system

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US hospitalisations surge; New tier system replaces lockdown; BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna file for EU approval of Covid-19 vaccine

The national accounts, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics just now, shows that rise in seasonally adjusted chain volume measures, after a 7% fall in the June quarter.

In the US, a government panel on Tuesday formally recommended early doses of Covid-19 vaccines be given first to healthcare workers and long-term care facility residents in the US, generally seen as people who live in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

Together, that group would represent roughly 23 million Americans, disproportionately including women, people of color and low-wage workers who makeup the healthcare labor force.

Related: CDC panel recommends giving Covid-19 vaccines to healthcare workers first

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Coronavirus live news: WHO says vaccines won’t prevent short-term surge; Putin orders start of mass inoculation

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Health body says there won’t be enough doses to prevent new wave in cases in next six months; Russian president says programme should start next week

Morocco hopes to launch an ambitious vaccination campaign against the coronavirus by year-end, but its efforts have sparked suspicion and rumours in the country, hard-hit by the pandemic.

The North African kingdom is hoping to immunise 20 million adults against Covid-19 within three months, using vaccinations from China’s Sinopharm and a UK-sourced shot developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.

Boris Johnson might be persuaded to take a Covid-19 vaccination on television to show it is safe but he would not have one before those in greater need, his press secretary has said.

Johnson, 56, who spent time in intensive care earlier this year after contracting Covid-19, has hailed the UK approval of Pfizer’s vaccine as a global win and ray of hope.

I don’t think it would be something he would rule out.

But I think we also know that he wouldn’t want to take a jab that should be for someone who is extremely vulnerable, clinically vulnerable, and who should be getting it before him.

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This World Aids Day the global response to HIV stands on a precipice | Winnie Byanyima and Matthew Kavanagh

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Covid-19 has shown the power of innovation and community services in a pandemic. These lessons should be applied to HIV

In a pandemic, when policy falls short, people die. Amid the growing Covid-19 pandemic and the continuing HIV pandemic, this is clearer today than ever before. From rules on access to testing to the distribution of new medical technologies or the use of criminal law in public health, policymaking is fraught. This World Aids Day, the global Aids response stands on a precipice.

Actions in the next few years will either tip us towards halting HIV, making deaths and new infections rare, or towards a resurgent virus thriving on social faultlines.

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Protecting others and record of vaccines main reasons to get Covid jab, poll shows

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Survey suggests almost one in two British people expect life to return to normal in a year

Preventing others from catching coronavirus and immunisation’s proven success against disease are the main reasons people see for taking the new vaccine, research has shown.

In a survey of 1,049 Britons, the top two reasons for having it – each cited by 77% – were to protect others from the virus and because vaccines have a long track record of working.

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Coronavirus live news: Moderna to seek US and EU approval for vaccine; Italy records 672 new Covid-related deaths

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Moderna reports a 100% success rate in preventing severe cases; Italy reports 672 new Covid-related deaths, a rise on Sunday’s figure

Turkey’s daily Covid-19 death toll hit a record high for an eighth consecutive day on Monday, with 188 fatalities in the last 24 hours.

The number of new coronavirus cases, including asymptomatic ones, over the past 24 hours also reached a record high of 31,219.

The state of Sao Paulo, home to Brazil’s biggest city, has imposed stricter social distancing measures as it wrestles to contain a fresh rise in Covid-19 cases.

Opening hours and capacities for bars, restaurants and shopping malls will be restricted in Brazil’s most populous state which has been the centre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak.

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Long Covid: ‘Is this now me forever?’

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Months after coming down with the virus, Eleanor Morgan is still struggling with ‘long Covid’. What is it and how can the burden be eased?

One night in early March, I had a fever that reminded me of being a child. My pyjama top stuck to me with sweat, my joints ached and, at some point, the walls looked like they were breathing. The next morning I started coughing and didn’t stop. It was pre-lockdown and, taking pity on me (I live alone in London), a friend in the countryside offered to be nurse. En route, in Paddington Station, I longed to curl up like a cat beside the warmth of the Upper Crust stall. One morning, my friend told me she’d poked her head round the door throughout the night to check I hadn’t coughed my aorta up into the bed.

Back in London, as lockdown began, unpredictable spells of fatigue started to hit me. Was it Covid? I had no idea; only NHS staff were being tested then. But it didn’t feel like chest infections I’d known. There was a crushing feeling in my chest for weeks, as if my ribs were a pair of bellows being squeezed. Adding to the fun, I’m asthmatic. On two occasions, things felt hairy and I called 111. Each time I was summoned to A&E and given a nebuliser and steroids, which helped dramatically. But March became April, became May and the fatigue remained. Some days, it felt like a possession. I’d walk the dog in the morning then fall asleep on the sofa until 3pm. Eight months on, I still have mild, irregular breathlessness and chest tightness. I have been upgraded to a steroid inhaler that, generously, keeps giving me oral thrush. My GP thinks I may have long Covid.

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Will everyone in the world have access to a Covid vaccine? – video explainer

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The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine is showing promise but it is premature to say the end of the pandemic is nigh. Several rich countries have signed a 'frenzy of deals' that could prevent many poor nations from getting access to immunisation until at least 2024. Also, many drug firms are potentially refusing to waive patents and other intellectual property rights in order to secure exclusive rights to any cure.

Michael Safi, the Guardian's international correspondent, explains why 'vaccine nationalisation' could scupper global efforts to kill the virus and examines what is being done to tackle the issue

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Different age groups may get different Covid vaccines, experts say

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Oxford/AstraZeneca planning new trial of lower-dose jab to see how well it works in older people

Concerns around the efficacy of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca coronavirus jab in older people could lead to different age groups being given different vaccines, experts have said.

The partners announced last week that the vaccine had a 70% efficacy overall. For most trial participants – given two full doses, spaced a month apart – the efficacy was 62%, but for 3,000 participants mistakenly given half a dose for their first jab, the efficacy was 90%. No participants, regardless of dosing, developed severe Covid or were hospitalised with the disease.

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Families bereaved by Covid say UK plan to allow Christmas mixing is ‘sheer madness’

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Support group warns that large gatherings are too risky and calls for low-key festive period

People bereaved by Covid-19 have warned that allowing families in the UK to get together over Christmas is “sheer madness” and urged the public to have a low-key festive period rather than risk the grief they have endured.

Members of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group told the Guardian that large family gatherings were too high-risk, with one grieving husband saying anyone prepared to mix family groups should also “prepare for a funeral”.

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A vaccine revolution | podcast

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Results from clinical trials have shown that the world has three apparently highly effective vaccines for Covid-19. With the race now on for regulatory approval, production and distribution, is the end of the pandemic within reach?

After a gruelling year of successive waves of Covid-19 infections and national lockdowns there has been a burst of good news this month, with three separate vaccine candidates performing extremely well in clinical trials.

First, Pfizer and Moderna announced that their vaccines were testing at an efficacy of around 95%. Then came the news that the AstraZeneca vaccine (the one pre-ordered in bulk by the UK government) was hitting 90%. It marks not just a new phase in the Covid-19 pandemic but potentially a revolution in vaccine technology itself.

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Africa’s largest Covid treatment clinical trial launched by 13-country network

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Anticov study with international research institutions aims to stop disease progression and protect fragile health systems

A network of 13 African countries has joined forces with global researchers to launch the largest clinical trial of potential Covid-19 treatments on the continent.

The Anticov study, involving Antwerp’s Institute of Tropical Medicine and international research institutions, aims to identify treatments that can be used to treat mild and moderate cases of Covid-19 early and prevent spikes in hospitalisation that could overwhelm fragile and already overburdened health systems in Africa.

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Coronavirus live news: Macron says worst of French second wave over; death tolls in Italy and Spain surge

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French president says lockdown to ease; Italy reports most daily deaths since late March; Spain’s daily deaths highest of second wave

Scientists have warned the UK’s Christmas coronavirus plans, which will allow up to three households form a “bubble” to meet over the festive period, will cause the virus to spread and lead to further deaths.

Martin McKee, the professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “We know that the virus spreads easiest where people mix together, close to each other, for long periods of time indoors. These are exactly the conditions the government seems to be encouraging.”

Brazil registered a further 31,100 confirmed Covid-19 cases over the last 24 hours and 630 deaths, the health ministry said.

The South American nation has now registered 6,118,708 cases since the pandemic began and the official death toll has risen to 170,115, according to ministry data.

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Vaccine results bring us a step closer to ending Covid, says Oxford scientist

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Latest breakthrough comes as PM says he hopes most at-risk could be immunised by Easter

The world is moving a step closer to ending the coronavirus pandemic, the scientist behind Britain’s first vaccine has declared, as Boris Johnson said he hoped the majority of those most at-risk could be immunised by Easter.

Successful trial results for the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, suggesting it could protect up to 90% of people, are the third set of promising findings in as many weeks. Before this year, there had never been a vaccine for a coronavirus.

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