Category Archives: Vaccines and immunisation

Omicron: everything you need to know about new Covid variant

Posted on by

Key questions answered about coronavirus variant first detected in southern Africa

The variant was initially referred to as B.1.1.529, but on Friday was designated as a variant of concern (VOC) by the World Health Organization because of its “concerning” mutations and because “preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant”. The WHO system assigns such variants a Greek letter, to provide a non-stigmatising label that does not associate new variants with the location where they were first detected. The new variant has been called Omicron.

Continue reading...

BioNTech says it could tweak Covid vaccine in 100 days if needed

Posted on by

Company says it will know in two weeks whether current Pfizer jab is effective against Omicron variant

BioNTech says it could produce and ship an updated version of its vaccine within 100 days if the new Covid variant detected in southern Africa is found to evade existing immunity.

The German biotechnology company is already investigating whether the vaccine it developed with US drugmaker Pfizer works well against the variant, named Omicron, which has caused concern due to its high number of mutations and initial suggestions that it could be transmitting more quickly.

Continue reading...

Failure to share Covid vaccines ‘coming back to haunt us’, says Gordon Brown

Posted on by

Ex-PM says world was ‘forewarned’ of dangers of failing to vaccinate poorer countries amid rise of new variant

The failure of the world to get vaccines to the developing world is “coming back to haunt us”, Gordon Brown has warned, as experts said the emergence of variants such as B.1.1.529 could have been avoided if jabs had been more fairly distributed.

Writing in the Guardian, the Labour former prime minister said the world had been “forewarned” that a lack of vaccines in poorer countries could have serious consequences for the pandemic.

Continue reading...

Covid live: France announces boosters for all adults and stricter mask rules; EU approves Pfizer jab for children aged five to 11

Posted on by

French health minister holds press conference to announce new measures; EU regulator approves vaccine for younger children

Alberto Nardelli (formerly of this parish) and John Follain have a story leading the Bloomberg site at the moment, claiming that the EU is to propose a nine-month limit on Covid vaccine validity for travel. They write:

The European Union will recommend a nine-month time limit for the validity of Covid-19 vaccinations for travel into the bloc and also propose prioritising vaccinated travellers.

The European Commission will propose that member states should continue welcoming all travelers inoculated with shots approved by the bloc, according to a document seen by Bloomberg. It also calls for countries to reopen as of 10 January to all those who have used vaccines approved by the World Health Organization.

Continue reading...

No apparent disruption from Biden’s federal vaccine mandate, says White House

Posted on by

One day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of workers covered by the mandate reported they were at least partially vaccinated

The Biden administration’s vaccine mandate for millions of federal workers seems to be working, with no apparent disruption to law enforcement, intelligence-gathering or holiday travel.

One day after the deadline for compliance, 92% of the 3.5 million federal workers covered by Biden’s mandate on Tuesday reported to the government that they were at least partially vaccinated, according to White House officials.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live update: Scott Morrison to introduce religious discrimination bill to parliament

Posted on by

Legislation which contains a controversial statement of belief clause is expected to pass the lower house before being examined by a Senate committee. Follow live updates

AAP has a bit more on the Byron Bay hostel lockdown:

More than 80 backpackers at a Byron Bay hostel on the NSW north coast have been placed into a week-long lockdown after a guest tested positive to COVID-19.

Continue reading...

Novavax expected to be approved as fourth Covid vaccine in UK

Posted on by

Trials show the protein-based jab causes fewer side-effects – and hundreds of British jobs depend on it

Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna. Britons have become so accustomed to the three Covid vaccines available in the UK that most have forgotten about another jab, Novavax – even though the government has ordered 60m doses and hundreds of British jobs depend on it.

Late last month the US company, with a factory on Teesside primed to manufacture doses, submitted final data to UK regulators and a positive decision is anticipated within days or weeks. It will bring to an end what feels like a long wait compared with the speedy development and approval of the other jabs, including for those who took part in trials.

Continue reading...

The world finally has a malaria vaccine. Now it must invest in it | Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Posted on by

As an economist I know it makes financial as well as ethical sense to get this world-first vaccine to the millions who need it

I vividly remember the day I learned a harsh lesson in the tragic burden of malaria that too many of us from the African continent have endured. I was 15, living amid the chaos of Nigeria’s Biafran war, when my three-year-old sister fell sick. Her body burning with fever, I tied her on my back and carried her to a medical clinic, a six-mile trek from my home.

We arrived at the clinic to find a huge crowd trying to break through locked doors. I knew my sister’s condition could not wait. I dropped to the ground and crawled between legs, my sister propped listlessly on my back, until I reached an open window and climbed through. By the time I was inside, my sister was barely moving. The doctor worked rapidly, injecting antimalarial drugs and infusing her with fluids to rehydrate her body. In a few hours, she started to revive. If we had waited any longer, my sister might not have survived.

Continue reading...

Covid deaths in Europe to top 2 million by March, says WHO

Posted on by

Dr Hans Kluge describes situation as ‘very serious’ with increasing strain on health services

Total deaths across Europe from Covid-19 are likely to exceed 2 million by March next year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, adding that the pandemic had become the number one cause of death in the region.

Reported deaths have risen to nearly 4,200 a day, double the number being recorded in September, the agency said, while cumulative reported deaths in the region, which includes the UK, have already surpassed 1.5 million.

Continue reading...

One Nation anti-vaccine mandate bill rejected despite support from five Coalition senators

Posted on by

Scott Morrison plays down government division, saying Liberal and National parties are ‘not run as an autocracy’

One Nation’s anti-Covid vaccination mandate bill has been rejected in the Senate, despite five government senators crossing the floor to support it.

On Monday morning Liberals Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic, who have threatened to withhold support from government legislation, voted for the bill contradicting the Morrison government’s aged care vaccine mandate and state government public health orders.

Continue reading...

Sajid Javid rules out compulsory Covid vaccinations in UK – video

Posted on by

The health secretary says the UK 'won't ever look at' mandatory vaccinations for the general public, after Austria announced it would become the first country in Europe to make coronavirus jabs compulsory. This comes as several countries, including Belgium, Germany and Norway, revealed last week they were preparing to beef up measures to tackle low uptake of Covid-19 vaccines

Continue reading...

ICU is full of the unvaccinated – my patience with them is wearing thin | Anonymous

Posted on by

Most of the resources we are devoting to Covid in hospital are being spent on people who have not had their jab

In hospital, Covid-19 has largely become a disease of the unvaccinated. The man in his 20s who had always watched what he ate, worked out in the gym, was too healthy to ever catch Covid badly. The 48-year-old who never got round to making the appointment.

The person in their 50s whose friend had side-effects. The woman who wanted to wait for more evidence. The young pregnant lady worried about the effect on her baby.

The writer is an NHS respiratory consultant who works across a number of hospitals

Continue reading...

Australia news live updates: NSW and Victoria close in on vaccination milestones; NT communities in lockdown after nine new Covid cases

Posted on by

Almost 90% of Victoria has had first dose of Covid vaccine as state records 1,275 new cases and four deaths; NSW records 176 cases and two deaths as state nears 95% first vaccination dose milestone; two more NT communities in lockdown after nine new cases on Saturday; 16 Covid cases in ACT; thunderstorm warning for south-west WA and severe weather warnings in place across NSW – follow all the day’s news

Speers has asked Chalmers about the anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protestors that took place in Victoria yesterday.

Do you accept that there are some people concerned about vaccine mandates who aren’t necessarily extremists?

You can express a view in this country without dragging around gallows and noose and calling for premiers to be hanged. I condemn without reservation, without qualification, the violent threats being made here, even if the prime minister won’t.

We live in a society, and that means we have obligations to each other to try to tame this virus, to look out for each other, to protect each other, to try to keep each other safe and what the prime minister is trying to do is trying to divide us, trying to diminish that collective effort and undermine all of the good and all of the progress that Australians have made together. He does that with this dangerous dog whistling double-speak that we see from him. He does it by claiming credit for high vaccination rates without taking responsibility for the measures that are necessary to get those rates up.

Continue reading...

US Covid infections rising again as upper midwest sees biggest jump

Posted on by

Increase comes ahead of Thanksgiving as families gather in homes, and as winter approaches, forcing people indoors

America’s Covid-19 infections are climbing again, and could soon hit a weekly average of 100,000 cases a day as daily case reports increase more than 20% across the upper midwest.

The fresh worsening of the coronavirus pandemic in the US comes as temperatures cool during the approach of winter, forcing people indoors where the virus is believed to spread more readily and may presage another wave.

Continue reading...

Europe’s Covid wave shows jab uptake in UK is ‘critical’, Sage member says

Posted on by

Prof John Edmunds says millions still unvaccinated and warns that surge on continent ‘shows how quickly things can go wrong’

The surge in coronavirus infections across Europe shows the “critical” need for people in the UK to get vaccinated, a government scientific adviser has said.

Prof John Edmunds, of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Sky News that the rise in cases on the continent underlined “how quickly things can go wrong”. He pointed out that there were still “many millions” across the UK who were still not fully vaccinated, while some have not had any Covid shots at all.

Continue reading...

WHO: Another 500,000 people in Europe could die of Covid by March

Posted on by

WHO’s Europe director calls more public health measures to be implemented as fresh wave of infections spreads across continent

The World Health Organization has said another 500,000 people in Europe could die of Covid by March next year unless urgent action is taken.

The WHO’s Europe director, Dr Hans Kluge, said he was very worried about a fresh wave of infections that had spread across the continent and led countries to announce new restrictions.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Hong Kong authorises Sinovac vaccine for children aged 3-17, Rotterdam riots condemned

Posted on by

The Coronavirus infections rate in the Czech Republic hit a new record for the second time this week, the health ministry said on Saturday.

It announced that the daily tally rose to 22,936 on Friday, almost 500 more than the previous record set on Tuesday.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong authorises Sinovac Covid vaccine for children aged 3 to 17

Posted on by

Benefits of approving age extension outweigh the risks, says secretary for food and health

Hong Kong has approved lowering the age limit for the Covid-19 vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech to three, down from 18 years of age.

Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health, Sophia Chan, said in a statement published on Saturday: “Adolescents aged 12 to 17 will be accorded priority to receive the CoronaVac vaccine, with a view to extending to children of a younger age group at a later stage.”.

Continue reading...

Covid live: Dutch police open fire at protest; German government not ruling out full lockdown — as it happened

Posted on by

Two injured as police in Rotterdam fire warning shots; German health minister says nothing can be ruled out

A quick snap from Reuters here that the UK government has announced it will add booster shot status to the Covid-19 pass for outbound international travel, though it said they would not be added to the domestic pass at this time.

The health ministry said that travellers who have had a booster or a third dose would be able to demonstrate their vaccine status through the NHS Covid pass from Friday, adding that a booster was not necessary to travel into England.

This pandemic has exposed a vulnerability to whole-system emergencies – that is, emergencies that are so broad that they engage the entire system. Although the government had plans for an influenza pandemic, it did not have detailed plans for many non-health consequences and some health consequences of a pandemic like Covid-19. There were lessons from previous simulation exercises that were not fully implemented and would have helped prepare for a pandemic like Covid-19. There was limited oversight and assurance of plans in place, and many pre-pandemic plans were not adequate. In addition, there is variation in capacity, capability and maturity of risk management across government departments.

Continue reading...

‘No way around it’: Austrians queue for jabs as unvaccinated told to stay home

Posted on by

In Linz, jab willingness is rising as police check Covid passports – but confusion remains on what is essential travel

On a street of shops in the Austrian city of Linz, a stone’s throw from the winding Danube river, two police officers in navy-blue uniforms and peaked white caps stop random passersby to check their vaccine passports.

Elderly shoppers rummage around in their handbags and comply with a smile, but a fortysomething woman with a nose piercing is less forthcoming: she says she left her immunisation certificate on the kitchen table as she had to dash across town to see a dentist.

Continue reading...