Category Archives: Vaccines and immunisation

Covid booster shots significantly strengthen immunity, trial finds

Posted on by

Jabs offer far higher protection than that needed to prevent hospitalisation and death, Cov-Boost trial lead says

Covid booster shots can dramatically strengthen the body’s immune defences, according to a study that raises hopes of preventing another wave of severe disease driven by the Omicron variant.

In a study published in the Lancet, researchers on the UK-based Cov-Boost trial measured immune responses in nearly 3,000 people who received one of seven Covid-19 boosters or a control jab two to three months after their second dose of either AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine.

Continue reading...

UK Covid live: PM says people should not cancel Christmas events after highest cases since 17 July recorded

Posted on by

Latest updates: Boris Johnson says ‘no need’ to cancel Christmas events as UK reports 53,945 daily coronavirus cases

Jeremy Corbyn posted a tweet this morning promoting a virtual Stop the War fundraiser this Christmas, not an in-person one. So my earlier post (now removed) about this being an example of a party going ahead that might not meet with George Freeman’s approval was completely wrong. I apologise for the mistake.

The Cabinet Office has been fined £500,000 for accidentally disclosing the postal addresses of the 2020 new year honours list recipients online, in breach of data protection laws.

On 27 December 2019 the Cabinet Office published a file on GOV.UK containing the names and unredacted addresses of more than 1,000 people announced in the new year honours list. People from a wide range of professions across the UK were affected, including individuals with a high public profile.

After becoming aware of the data breach, the Cabinet Office removed the weblink to the file. However, the file was still cached and accessible online to people who had the exact webpage address.

When data breaches happen, they have real-life consequences. In this case, more than 1,000 people were affected. At a time when they should have been celebrating and enjoying the announcement of their honour, they were faced with the distress of their personal details being exposed.

The Cabinet Office’s complacency and failure to mitigate the risk of a data breach meant that hundreds of people were potentially exposed to the risk of identity fraud and threats to their personal safety.

Continue reading...

Omicron seems to carry higher Covid reinfection risk, says South Africa

Posted on by

Scientists warn of higher rate of repeat infections but say vaccines appear to protect against serious illness

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 appears to be reinfecting people at three times the rate of previous strains, experts in South Africa have said, as public health officials and scientists from around the world closely monitor developments in the country where it was first identified.

As the EU’s public health agency warned that Omicron could cause more than half of all new Covid infections in Europe within the next few months, evidence was emerging, however, that vaccines still appear to offer protection against serious illness.

Continue reading...

Joe Biden to announce nationwide coronavirus battle plan

Posted on by

Plans include a drive to encourage vaccine boosters, expansion of at-home tests and tighter restrictions on international travel

Joe Biden is set to announce new actions to combat the coronavirus, including a nationwide campaign encouraging vaccine boosters, an expansion of at-home tests and tighter restrictions on international travel.

Buffeted by the emergence of the Omicron variant and a political backlash from Republicans, the US president will visit the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, on Thursday and lay out a pandemic battle plan for the winter months.

Continue reading...

Covid: scientists find possible trigger for AstraZeneca jab blood clots

Posted on by

Experts hope better understanding of rare side effect of vaccine could help ‘turn the tide’ on pandemic

Scientists believe they may have found the trigger behind the extremely rare blood clot complications stemming from the Oxford/AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine.

According to a team of researchers from Cardiff and the US, the reaction can be traced to the way the adenovirus used by the vaccine to shuttle the coronavirus’s genetic material into cells binds with a specific protein in the blood, known as platelet factor 4 (PF4).

Continue reading...

Covid live: Germany to impose ‘lockdown’ on unvaccinated and could make jabs obligatory from February

Posted on by

Germany is seeking to break a surge in coronavirus infections; India detects two cases of new Omicron variant in Karnataka; Greece and Finland detect first Omicron cases

Some Covid numbers from Germany are now in.

The European nation reported another 73,209 new Covid cases for Wednesday and 388 deaths, according to data from the Robert Koch Institute.

Continue reading...

Time to think about mandatory Covid vaccination, says EU chief – video

Posted on by

The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the 'highly contagious' Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president has said. Ursula von der Leyen said one-third of Europe's 150-million population were not vaccinated and it was 'appropriate' to discuss the issue

Continue reading...

Prince Harry compares Covid vaccine inequity to HIV struggle

Posted on by

Duke of Sussex says on World Aids Day that vaccinating the world against Covid is ‘test of our moral character’

The Duke of Sussex has warned of “corporate greed and political failure” prolonging the Covid pandemic, comparing a “spectacular failure” of global vaccine equity to the struggle by millions to access HIV medicines.

In a letter read out at a World Health Organization (WHO) and UNAIDS event on World Aids Day, Prince Harry said lessons must be learned from the HIV/Aids pandemic.

Continue reading...

Covid-19 variants may not evolve to be less dangerous, says Neil Ferguson

Posted on by

Senior UK scientist says extent of threat posed by Omicron will not be clear until end of year

People should not assume that Covid will evolve to become a milder disease, a senior scientist has warned, adding that the threat posed by the Omicron coronavirus variant will not be clear until the end of December.

Prof Neil Ferguson, head of the disease outbreak analysis and modelling group at Imperial College London, told MPs on Wednesday that while evolution would drive Covid to spread more easily the virus might not become less dangerous.

Continue reading...

Covid news: Omicron detected in US; UK reports 48,374 new cases and 171 deaths – as it happened

Posted on by

Case identified in California; UK infections on rise amid fears over Omicron variant; non-EU travellers to France must have negative Covid test regardless of vaccination status

Three people who escaped an Australian Covid quarantine facility have been arrested.

Our reporter Cait Kelly from Melbourne, Australia, has the story.

Continue reading...

EU must consider mandatory Covid jabs, says Von der Leyen

Posted on by

European Commission president says EU states need to discuss idea in response to spread of Omicron variant

The EU must consider mandatory vaccination in response to the spread of the “highly contagious” Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has said.

In a call to arms, Von der Leyen said the EU’s 27 member states should rapidly deploy booster doses and a commission communique backed countries that opted to temporarily enforce pre-travel PCR tests even within the bloc’s borders.

Continue reading...

Omicron Covid variant ‘present in Europe at least 10 days ago’

Posted on by

Two cases of new Covid variant found in Netherlands predate last week’s alert from South Africa

The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was present in Europe at least 10 days ago and already appears to be spreading in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

“We have found the Omicron coronavirus variant in two test samples that were taken on November 19 and 23,” the Dutch health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “It is not yet clear whether these people had also visited southern Africa,” the ministry added.

Continue reading...

All adults to be offered third Covid jab by end of January, says Boris Johnson

Posted on by

PM tells Downing Street press conference temporary vaccine centres will be ‘popping up like Christmas trees’

Every eligible adult in the UK should be offered a Covid booster by the end of January as ministers race to increase protection against the Omicron variant, Boris Johnson has announced.

“We’re going to be throwing everything at it, to ensure everyone eligible is offered a booster in just over two months,” the prime minister said, adding that he would be getting his own third vaccine on Thursday.

Continue reading...

Why Omicron is the most worrying Covid variant yet – video explainer

Posted on by

The discovery of a new and potentially vaccine-resistant Covid variant has concerned governments and unnerved markets around the world. Omicron has prompted the return of border closures and mandatory testing and mask wearing as countries attempt to slow its spread.

The number of mutations on its spike protein - the part of the virus vaccines use to prime the immune system - has concerned scientists, but it will take weeks to determine the extent of the threat Omicron poses. The Guardian's science correspondent Linda Geddes explains

Continue reading...

Testing, vaccines, sequencing: experts call for multi-pronged approach to Omicron

Posted on by

‘Best hope’ for containing the new variant is worldwide vaccine campaign where rates are low, public health experts say

As new cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant are uncovered across the globe and threaten to spread in America, US officials are reacting by urging vaccinations and boosters instead of imposing restrictions which have increasingly provoked political fights.

But the US should quickly invest in other tools as well, experts said, including testing, genomic sequencing and surveillance, better communication, and a strong focus on global vaccine equity to prevent the emergence of new variants.

Continue reading...

Covid live: boosters may protect against Omicron, says Israel’s health minister, as US checks vaccine effectiveness

Posted on by

Nitzan Horowitz says ‘already room for optimism’ that vaccines will cover new variant; US Food & Drug Administration checking if tweaks needed

Stock markets in Asia have bounced back again as investors’ concerns about the new Omicron Covid variant eased. In Australia the ASX200 was up more than 1%, while in Japan the Nikkei was up 0.75%.

It followed a stronger showing on Monday on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.6% and the broader S&P500 was up 1.2% after some hefty losses on Friday, when news of the new strain shook confidence.

There are so many unknowns about Omicron and the market has been jumping at shadows.

After such a strong run and with elevated valuations, the market will always be susceptible to the odd shakeout on news that could bring risk.

Hong Kong’s very stringent system of boarding, quarantine and also testing requirements has successfully stopped the transmission of the three Omicron cases, that we have identified in our designated quarantine hotel, from going into the community.

Non-Hong Kong residents from these four places will not be allowed to enter Hong Kong.

The most stringent quarantine requirements will also be implemented on relevant inbound travellers from these places.

Continue reading...

Covid: UK aims for 500,000 jabs a day in bid to outpace Omicron variant

Posted on by

Ministers to ramp up vaccinations to 3.5m a week as minimum gap for boosters is halved to three months

Ministers are targeting a return to half a million UK Covid jabs a day as the waiting time for boosters was cut to three months in a bid to outpace the Omicron variant that scientists believe is already spreading in the community.

Confirmed Omicron cases rose to 11 in England and Scotland on Monday, with scientific advisers braced for hundreds more to be detected in the next week or so.

Continue reading...

South African scientists explore vaccines’ effectiveness against Omicron

Posted on by

Crucial work will study how well current jabs work and whether they need to be updated to tackle new variant

Scientists in South Africa have begun crucial work to assess how well Covid vaccines hold up against the Omicron variant that has been detected in more than a dozen countries since it was formally reported last week.

The variant carries dozens of mutations that are expected to change how the virus behaves, including its ability to cause infection and how well it can hide from immune defences primed by vaccines or previous infection with an older variant.

Continue reading...

Sajid Javid outlines changes to Covid vaccine booster programme – video

Posted on by

Sajid Javid has announced changes to the UK's coronavirus vaccine booster programme, including advising that all adults in the country should be offered third doses from just three months after their second vaccinations. Speaking in the Commons, the health secretary outlined this and other changes aimed at speeding up booster vaccinations as the government scrambles to limit the spread of the new Omicron variant

Continue reading...

Nursing unions around world call for UN action on Covid vaccine patents

Posted on by

Bodies in 28 countries file appeal for waiver of intellectual property agreement and end to ‘grossly unjust’ distribution of jabs

Nursing unions in 28 countries have filed a formal appeal with the United Nations over the refusal of the UK, EU and others to temporarily waive patents for Covid vaccines, saying this has cost huge numbers of lives in developing nations.

The letter, sent on Monday on behalf of unions representing more than 2.5 million healthcare workers, said staff have witnessed at first hand the “staggering numbers of deaths and the immense suffering caused by political inaction”.

Continue reading...