England urged to step up vaccinations to avoid winter Covid surge

Prof Neil Ferguson calls for booster rollout and teenagers’ second jabs to be accelerated to ease NHS pressure

The distribution of Covid boosters for the most vulnerable people and second shots of vaccine for teenagers should be accelerated to help prevent a winter surge of coronavirus overburdening the NHS, a senior scientist has said.

Prof Neil Ferguson, the head of the influential disease modelling group at Imperial College London, said England’s vaccine strategy had been “cautious” in recent months, with many teenagers having only one jab, and boosters for the most vulnerable people given no sooner than six months after their second dose.

Continue reading...

Global vaccine rollout vital to securing deal for nature, warns UN biodiversity chief

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema says access to Covid jabs for developing world will be critical to the success of in-person Kunming Cop15 summit

Governments hoping for a global agreement to halt biodiversity loss must put more effort into access to Covid-19 vaccines for developing countries, the UN’s biodiversity chief has warned.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said the Kunming Cop15 summit, at which governments will try to forge a “Paris agreement for nature”, was vital for halting the global crisis of species loss.

Continue reading...

Australia news live update: Melbourne to set Covid lockdown world record, Dominic Perrottet set to become NSW premier

Melbourne overtaking Buenos Aires as city that has spent most days under stay-at-home orders. Follow all the updates

When it comes to Melbourne now, by some counts, becoming the most locked-down city in the world, premier Daniel Andrews says he is proud of the sacrifices Melburnians have made over the pandemic.

Yesterday he called on Melburnians to make a final push before lockdown ends in coming weeks, reports Callum Godde from AAP.

We are going to get past this. We are going to end this lockdown and open up, and all that we will enjoy then will be a result of all that we have given.

If we let it rip last year, we would have had severe mortality and morbidity. It’s just that we haven’t had the same luck as other place.

Continue reading...

Australia Covid news live update: Victoria records 1,220 cases; NSW announces new rules for 70% vaccine milestone; Brisbane readies for NRL grand final

NSW reports 10 deaths amid ‘dramatic drop’ in new Covid cases with 70% double-dose target in sight; cases continue to rise in Victoria amid vaccine mandate protests; Queensland readies for NRL grand final at Suncorp Stadium tonight as state records no new local Covid infections; ACT records 38 new local cases; 32 of New Zealand’s 33 new cases in Auckland. Follow live

Speers has asked Husic what he thinks of the state government’s plan to open up once 70% of adults are vaccinated?

Husic:

As someone who lives in a locked down LGA, who represents residents who have gone through some of the toughest measures across the LGAs in Western Sydney, we clearly want to get out of this.

As Labor has said, we at the national level support the national plan and believe that we do need to get out as quickly as we can, but it does require in particular a focus on the safety elements of this.

Icac is actually not allowed under law to delay or defer investigations. What do you think, though, about the criticism that it has chosen a terrible time to do this?

In response to your question first off, I would say that it is a bit hard for Gladys Berejiklian to make that point when she started cancelling her own press conferences, her daily press conferences. If this was such an important time, she would be there every single day. I think that needs to be borne in mind and I would urge people to consider that, but I guess overall I would understand, the two points I would quickly make:

I understand how people are confused and disoriented about the events of Friday, seeing the premier go that quickly, but it is important to emphasise that ... this explosive event was lit in 2020 when you had a New South Wales premier appear before Icac as a person being monitored, a person of interest, and clearly there was an issue there, and the reality is Icac did not force Gladys Berejiklian to resign, she did that of her own accord, following 12 months of saying that she wouldn’t do that.

Continue reading...

NSW reports ‘dramatic drop’ in new Covid cases as Melbourne edges closer to world’s longest lockdown

Dr Kerry Chant warns next week is ‘critical’ for state as Victoria and ACT see slight declines in numbers

Victoria’s Covid infections have dropped slightly with Melbourne’s 246-day lockdown to become the world’s longest on Tuesday.

And while New South Wales recorded a substantial drop in local Covid-19 cases on Sunday, the state continued to see a rise in Covid-related hospitalisations and deaths.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

‘Tragic and completely avoidable’: US hits 700,000 Covid-19 deaths

Joe Biden laments ‘astonishing death toll’ as 100,000 die since June despite the availability of vaccines

The Covid-19 death toll in the US has now surpassed 700,000, despite the Covid-19 vaccines’ wide availability, in what one expert called a “tragic and completely avoidable milestone”.

Data from Johns Hopkins University shows that the US went just past 700,000 deaths on Friday; the US had previously reached 600,000 deaths in June. The country has had a total of 43.6m confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, according to Johns Hopkins.

Continue reading...

Covid antiviral pill halves hospitalisations and deaths, maker says

If approved, Merck’s drug would be first simple oral medication shown to be effective against coronavirus

An antiviral pill was found to reduce hospitalisations and deaths by half in patients newly diagnosed with Covid-19, according to results announced on Friday.

If approved, the drug made by the US firm Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics would be the first simple oral medication shown to be effective against Covid-19, which would mark a crucial advance in the fight against the pandemic. Other drugs, such as remdesivir, have been shown to be effective if given early, but all currently approved treatments need to be given as injections or IV infusions.

Continue reading...

John Key calling New Zealand’s Covid response ‘North Korean’ isn’t just lazy rhetoric, it’s wrong | Brian Ng

Irresponsible statements are fuel for those who falsely believe their rights have been taken away

When former prime minister John Key referred to New Zealand as a “smug hermit kingdom” in his widely disseminated op-ed, I thought it was pushing it a bit, but not completely off the mark – we closed our borders to outsiders, after all. What I didn’t expect was for him to start calling the government’s response “North Korean”. This isn’t just lazy rhetoric, it’s obviously wrong.

This is what North Korea’s been through: it closed its borders at the beginning of 2020, before most of the world put itself into lockdown. It stopped all shipments in and out of the country, including China, which is its largest trading partner and aid donor. Fishing in its surrounding waters and even salt harvesting was halted, for fear Covid may be transmitted that way. Foreign diplomatic staff left on one-way tickets: one group of Russians took a hand-powered rail cart out of the country.

Continue reading...

Australia Covid live news update: FTA negotiations with Europe postponed after submarine snub; national cabinet meeting

Trade negotiations with Europe postponed; Scott Morrison expected to discuss international travel rules; outbreak in Newcastle maternity ward grows. Follow all the latest news

Victoria’s case numbers are delayed:

No clue if this is a good sign or not. Here’s hoping.

Continue reading...

Flu and Covid jabs safe to be given at same time, study finds

Clinical trial on joint flu, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccinations reported only mild to moderate side-effects

Flu jabs are safe to give at the same time as the Pfizer or AstraZeneca Covid vaccines, according to the first clinical trial to investigate co-administering the shots in a single appointment.

While some people experienced more side-effects with certain combinations of flu and Covid shots, the ailments were mainly mild to moderate, the study found. The most common side effects included pain at the injection site and temporary fatigue, headache or muscle pain.

Continue reading...

Stark divide: disadvantaged areas of Victoria have worst Covid vaccination rates

Age, disadvantage and reduced access are mixing together in lower socio-economic areas to create a perfect Covid cocktail

Some of Victoria’s lowest socio-economic areas are still lagging behind on Covid-19 vaccination rates as the wealthiest local government areas surge ahead, creating a stark divide across the state.

The disparity has community leaders and epidemiologists worried the virus will sweep through some suburbs when the state opens up, if the vaccination rate does not pick up in vulnerable areas.

Continue reading...

Victoria to cut Pfizer interval as cases surge to record high – as it happened

NSW extends stay-at-home orders for 17 regional LGAs as state records 941 cases; South Australia records one local case; five Queensland areas including Brisbane and Gold Coast return to stage two restrictions. This blog is now closed

We are going to leave the blog there for the night.

Here’s what made news today:

Stay-at-home orders have been announced for the Kyogle and Narromine local government areas in New South Wales from midnight tonight until 11 October due to Covid cases in the area.

These restrictions will also apply to anyone who has been in the Kyogle LGA since 21 September and the Narromine LGA since 28 September.

Continue reading...

How are Australia’s neighbours faring in the Covid pandemic?

Vaccination rates are rising in much of south-east Asia and the Pacific after recent outbreaks, but some of the largest countries are falling behind

While Australians have focused on the Covid waves in Sydney and Melbourne, many of Australia’s neighbours have recently experienced their largest outbreaks so far. This includes Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and even Singapore.

Singapore surpassed Australia’s vaccination target weeks ago, but was now seeing more than a thousand cases a day. Fiji recently had one of the highest rates of Covid cases per capita – peaking at 1,850 cases in the middle of July. But the nation of 889,000 was now regularly administering more than 10,000 new vaccinations a day.

Continue reading...

Guam’s vaccination success story turns grim with Covid surge

Once the great vaccination success story, the island is under strain amid a new wave of infections, but experts say cases would be far higher without vaccine coverage

Outside Guam Memorial hospital, blue medical tents have sprung up to accomodate an overflow of Covid patients.

The sight is bewildering for Guam residents. The island ran an incredibly successful vaccination campaign, with almost 90% of eligible people having received two doses, and even began offering jabs to tourists in an “Air VnV” – vacation and vaccination – scheme.

Continue reading...

Biden receives vaccine ‘booster’ as confusion continues over third dose

President receives public Covid jab after FDA and CDC carved out fewer categories than he hoped of Americans eligible for third dose

At the White House on Monday, Joe Biden donned a black surgical mask, rolled his shirt sleeve to his shoulder and received a third dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine as a “booster” shot.

Related: Judge rules in Wisconsin teen’s favor after sheriff threatened jail over Covid post

Continue reading...

Australia Covid live news update: NSW outlines reopening plan as state records 787 cases, 12 deaths; Victoria 705 cases, one death

ACT eases some restrictions after recording 19 cases, one death; Gladys Berejiklian announces 11 October as day NSW restrictions ease after state records 787 cases and 12 deaths; Victoria records one death and 705 cases; no new cases in Qld; NT continues with reopening plans; 12 new cases in NZ. Follow all the day’s news

A...scamdemic? AAP reports that a record amount has been scammed from Australians this year.

Australians have lost a record $211m to scams so far this year, with people bombarded by bogus calls and texts purportedly from well-known businesses or the government.

The losses between 1 January and 19 September this year have surpassed the $175.6m reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s Scamwatch throughout 2020.

The prestigious Melbourne University joins several other tertiary institutions in announcing mandatory vaccination policies.

The University of Melbourne will make having a COVID-19 vaccine a compulsory requirement for attending any of its campuses. Exemptions to apply on medical or eligibility grounds. #springst @UniMelb

Continue reading...

New York may use national guard to replace unvaccinated health workers

The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, is considering using the national guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages, as tens of thousands of workers are unlikely to meet a Monday deadline for mandated Covid-19 vaccination.

Related: Uncontrolled Spread review: Trump’s first FDA chief on the Covid disaster

Continue reading...

New York City’s Covid vaccine mandate for school staff blocked by judge

Judge granted temporary injunction and referred the case to a three-judge panel while mandate was set to go into effect Monday

New York City schools have been temporarily blocked from enforcing a vaccine mandate for teachers and other workers by a federal appeals judge, days before it was to take effect.

Related: CDC overrides advisory panel to back Pfizer booster for Americans with high-risk jobs

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Covid cases in South Korea top 3,000; Northern Ireland to ease travel rules

Further 3,273 infections added to South Korea’s tally; fully vaccinated travellers in Northern Ireland will no longer need pre-departure test from 4 October

The introduction of Covid passes in the Netherlands has sparked protests, with demonstrators marching against the requirement to show proof of vaccination to enter bars, theatres and other venues.

After social distancing was brought to a close on Saturday, customers are now required to show proof of vaccination, recent recovery from Covid or a negative test to enter hospitality and leisure venues in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands ended social distancing measures on Saturday, replacing the restriction with a requirement to show a Covid-19 health pass to enter hospitality and entertainment venues.

Known as the “1.5-meter society” in the Netherland, social distancing measures have been in place for the last 18 months.

Continue reading...

CDC overrides advisory panel to back Pfizer booster for Americans with high-risk jobs

CDC advisory panel had only recommended boosters for elderly and some people with underlying medical conditions

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has broken with advice from its own internal advisory panel to back a booster shot of the Pfizer and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for Americans aged 65 and older, adults with underlying medical conditions and adults in high-risk working and institutional settings.

The move came on Friday one day after an advisory panel to the agency did not recommend that people in high-risk jobs, such as teachers, and risky living conditions should get boosters. The panel had only recommended boosters for elderly and some people with underlying medical conditions.

Continue reading...