Category Archives: Health policy

UK vaccine adviser says delay of Covid second dose will save lives

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JCVI deputy chair defends extended gap between jabs as Hancock warns end of restrictions ‘long way off’

A representative of the UK’s vaccine advisory committee has defended its decision to delay giving people a second dose, saying it will “save many lives”, as the health secretary, Matt Hancock, warned lifting restrictions was “a long, long way off”.

Prof Anthony Harnden, of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said the evidence was still in favour of delaying the dose, after a small Israeli study on people over the age of 60 suggested a first dose gave just 33% protection from coronavirus.

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Doctors call for shorter gap between Pfizer Covid vaccine doses in UK

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British Medical Association warns current 12-week wait could reduce effectiveness of the jab

The gap between the first and second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine must be reduced to ensure the vaccine is effective, senior doctors have warned.

Currently patients wait about three months to get their second dose. Prof Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, said this was a “public health decision” to get the first jab to more people across the country.

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Summer holidays cancelled? UK faces big decision on border

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Stricter controls appear likely, with government’s approach in stark contrast to that during first Covid wave

Slumped on the sofa after another day of home schooling, many families will have longingly eyed adverts for getaways: sun, sandy beaches and glittering pools, a much-needed reward after a year in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.

But ministers are becoming increasingly concerned they may have to ask the British public to sacrifice their hopes of a break abroad this summer. On Thursday, Priti Patel became the latest cabinet minister to say it was too soon to book an overseas break; Matt Hancock has already announced he is going to Cornwall.

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Reasons why Covid variant could kill more people are uncertain

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Whatever the answer, everyone has to try even harder not to catch it in the first place

Those who may have been comforted in recent weeks by the evolutionary theory of virus mutation – that the more transmissible they become, the less lethal they are – may now be pondering the news that the variant that originated in Kent not only spreads more easily but may kill more people too.

Britain’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, at the Downing Street press briefing, said it could be that in people over 60 with Covid, 13 or 14 might die in every 1000, instead of 10 as has been the case. The reasons still seem to be uncertain.

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Joe Biden challenges Americans to ‘mask up’ for first 100 days – video

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Joe Biden has urged Americans to wear face masks for 99 days as part of a challenge for his first 100 days in office during a speech on Thursday in which he unveiled his administrations’s national Covid strategy.

Biden signed an executive order to mandate face coverings during interstate travel and within federal buildings as he noted the US coronavirus death toll is higher than that from the second world war.

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Coroner’s Covid findings stoke calls for inquiry into pandemic policy

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Analysis: bereaved families concerned that lessons were not learned after first wave

The failures and concerns highlighted by a senior coroner, Alison Mutch, following the deaths of two men, Anthony Slack and Leslie Harris, from Covid-19, have reinforced bereaved families’ calls for a government inquiry into the handling of the pandemic, and for more inquests.

Very few inquests have been held into deaths of people from coronavirus, following the then chief coroner’s guidance in March that Covid-19 is “a naturally occurring disease” and inquests are not normally necessary unless a person died due to additional factors, for example neglect.

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Questions will be asked over timing of closing UK travel corridors

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Analysis: poor implementation ends another week of shifting Covid policy by the government

The announced closure of all international travel corridors to the UK marks the end of another week of changing policy, with the timing and implementation dismaying many.

Travel corridors will be axed in effect from Monday morning. The corridors, which exempted inbound travellers from the requirement to quarantine for 10 days, may make little practical difference to the airline and travel industry in the current context.

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Experts remain divided over merits of mass Covid tests in schools

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Analysis: some say lateral flow tests could help cut outbreaks, but others argue they offer false reassurance

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, has put mass testing for coronavirus at the heart of his strategy to reopen schools after the lockdown. It is a controversial strategy that has divided scientists. Some believe mass testing can help reduce outbreaks at schools, while others argue it could make matters worse by giving teachers and pupils false reassurance.

Mass testing relies on lateral flow tests, or LFTs, which contain antibodies that bind to the virus. When a nasal swab is tested in an LFT, any virus present in the sample sticks to the antibodies and produces a dark band, a bit like a pregnancy test’s indicator. LFTs are not as accurate as the standard NHS lab-based PCR tests, but they are cheap and produce results fast – within 30 minutes.

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Regulator refuses to approve mass daily Covid testing at English schools

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Exclusive: Boris Johnson’s plan to test millions of pupils a week in disarray after concerns raised

Boris Johnson’s plans to test millions of schoolchildren for coronavirus every week appear to be in disarray after the UK regulator refused to formally approve the daily testing of pupils in England, the Guardian has learned.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) told the government on Tuesday it had not authorised the daily use of 30-minute tests due to concerns that they give people false reassurance if they test negative.

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We don’t want to go tougher on English lockdown, says vaccines minister – video

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The UK's Covid vaccine deployment minister, Nadhim Zahawi, confirmed England's restrictions were being reviewed but said the lockdown was already 'pretty tough'.

Zahawi told Sky News: 'The lockdown is actually pretty severe. We're asking people to stay at home, don't go out, if you have to go out it's only for exercise'

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All UK adults will be offered Covid vaccine by autumn, says Matt Hancock – video

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The health secretary promised vaccines would be offered to every adult in the UK ‘by the autumn’. Speaking on the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show, Hancock said it was ‘very, very important’ that as many people as possible get a vaccine. More than 200,000 people are now being vaccinated each day, he added

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UK ministers face legal action over lack of abortion services in Northern Ireland

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Exclusive: government accused of failing to ensure access more than a year after terminations legalised

Northern Ireland’s human rights commission (NIHRC) has launched a landmark legal action against the UK government for its failure to commission safe and accessible abortion services more than a year after abortion was made legal in the country, the Guardian can reveal.

The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, is accused of unlawfully denying the rights of women in the country, who experts warn are being forced to use unregulated services and to travel to high-risk areas during the pandemic. The NIHRC is also taking action against the Northern Ireland Executive and the country’s Department of Health.

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Ginger root and meteorite dust: the Steiner ‘Covid cures’ offered in Germany

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The movement best known for its schools is firmly entrenched within the German health sector

In a pandemic where global leaders have peddled quack treatments and miracle cures, Germany has often stood out as a shining beacon for science.

It is the country that developed the first diagnostic test to detect the coronavirus, and the first vaccine approved in the west to shield people against the disease. It is a country whose physicist chancellor told parliament she passionately believes “there are scientific findings that are real and should be followed.”

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UK Covid deaths pass 80,000 and confirmed cases top 3 million

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A further 1,035 deaths are reported on Saturday, taking the official total to 80,868

More than 80,000 people have died in the UK within 28 days of a positive Covid test, official figures show.

The total number of lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK has now also exceeded 3 million, according to the government’s dashboard, though the true figure of people who have been infected is likely to be much higher.

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‘We’re bursting’: a day inside a Covid intensive care unit

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The Guardian spends a day with Covid patients and staff at Milton Keynes University hospital

In a private room by the locked entrance of the intensive care unit, Dilip Sharan is sitting up in bed, a plate of stew in front of him. He navigates his spoon around the breathing tube keeping him alive, every mouthful soundtracked by a discordant symphony of beeps and bongs from multiple monitors keeping tabs on his vital organs.

It is his fifth day in the last chance saloon of Covid care. He gasps for air, barely able to speak.

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Covid in the UK: why is it so bad now and when will cases decline? | Nicola Davis and Linda Geddes

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With a major incident declared in London and positive test results surging, experts answer key questions

The UK is seeing record numbers of people testing positive for coronavirus, with more than 60,000 positive tests reported on three days this week.

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What’s the scientific basis for delaying the Covid vaccine second dose?

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UK health officials also allowing combining doses from different manufacturers

UK health officials have decided to delay giving second doses of Covid-19 vaccines and even permit combining doses from different manufacturers, prompting international concern. What is the scientific justification for this decision?

Why has the UK decided to lengthen the gap between the first and second doses of vaccine?
The original plan was to offer priority groups an initial shot of vaccine, followed by a second dose three weeks later. But a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases, combined with the emergence of a more transmissible variant and uncertainty about the supply of vaccine stocks, prompted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to consider other options.

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One in 50 people in England had Covid last week, says Chris Whitty

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Figure for people outside hospitals and care homes revealed as number of new daily cases in UK tops 60,000 for first time

One in 50 people in private households in England – more than 1.1 million – are estimated to have had the coronavirus in the week ending 2 January.

The Office for National Statistics figures were released on Tuesday, as the number of new cases of people in the UK testing positive for Covid-19 topped 60,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

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The many U-turns on the road to England’s third lockdown

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November lockdown decision has been followed by a series of flip-flops and 11th-hour announcements

The government’s coronavirus strategy for England has changed a number of times since the start of the November lockdown, as infections soared and a new variant of the virus emerged.

14 October 2020: Johnson dismisses calls from the Labour leader, Keir Starmer, for a “circuit-breaker” lockdown, telling MPs: “Opportunism is the name of the game for the party opposite.”

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UK to move to highest coronavirus alert level as full lockdowns loom

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Boris Johnson to make TV announcement on Monday night after pressure to tackle soaring infection rate

The government is expected to announce new steps to control the spread of coronavirus, as the chief medical officers recommended that the UK move to the highest coronavirus alert level.

Boris Johnson is due to make a TV address on Monday evening where he is set to announce mass school closures and tight lockdown restrictions. MPs will be recalled to parliament from Wednesday.

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