Category Archives: Vaccines and immunisation

Covid live: Brazil passes 500,000 deaths; 70% of England’s adults ‘should be fully vaccinated by 19 July’

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Protests in Brazil as confirmed death toll soars past half a million; most adults should be double-vaccinated by England lockdown lifting date

Vaccinations have been key to keeping levels of the Delta variant of Covid-19 low in Ireland at a time when it has been surging in the UK, according to an Irish expert.

There have been 180 known cases of the Delta variant - first identified in India - identified in Ireland, according to the Journal.ie. That accounts for five percent of sequenced cases in Ireland.

The Thai island of Phuket is racing to vaccinate as many people as possible in the hope that, if 70% of the population receives a dose before 1 July, the island will become the first Thai destination to reopen to foreign tourists.

If the island can build its immunity, it could soon come back to life again, said infectious disease nurse Bang-orn Rungruang, who is helping to coordinate vaccines at the Angsana Convention and Exhibition Space. The pandemic, she said, had devastated the island’s businesses.

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Under-18s could be ‘reservoirs’ for virus when all adults are jabbed, expert warns

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Unvaccinated children have potential to drive third wave of highly transmissible Delta variant, says virologist

The drive to vaccinate all adults over the age of 18 in the UK could lead to the concentration of Covid-19 cases in schoolchildren, a leading British virologist has warned.

Under-18s would then become reservoirs in which new variants of the virus could arise, said Julian Tang, of Leicester University.

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‘Forces for good will prevail’: Joy in Taiwan as US sends 2.5m Covid vaccine doses

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The US donation has more than doubled Taiwan’s available vaccine stocks as it battles a rise in coronavirus infections

Taiwan has reacted with an outpouring of thanks to the United States for shipping 2.5m Covid-19 vaccine doses to the island, more than doubling its arsenal as it deals with a rise in domestic infections.

Washington, competing with Beijing to deepen geopolitical clout through “vaccine diplomacy”, initially had promised to donate 750,000 doses but increased that number as President Joe Biden’s administration advances its pledge to send 80m US-made shots around the world.

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Coronavirus live news: Mexico City reshuts schools as it shifts up a tier; US has given more than 317,100,000 jabs

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Mexico City had reduced restrictions only two weeks ago; US says 317,117,797 Covid vaccines have been administered

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will suspend travellers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Namibia from entering the country on national and foreign flights, effective from 23.59 on 21 June, Reuters reports.

Restrictions would also include transit passengers, with the exception of transit flights travelling to the UAE and bound for those countries.

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London stadiums host ‘super Saturday’ of mass rapid Covid vaccinations

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Tens of thousands turn up to grounds of West Ham, Spurs and others, as young people are urged to get jabs

Londoners received tens of thousands of Covid jabs in just a few hours on Saturday as football grounds in the capital were transformed into mass vaccination centres.

Huge jab clinics have been set up at the London Stadium, Stamford Bridge, the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, the Valley, home of Charlton Athletic, and Selhurst Park.

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Covid jabs for billions of humans will earn their makers billions of dollars

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We look at the drug firms – led by Pfizer and Moderna – that are set to profit most in an unprecedented global vaccination drive

Drugmakers led by US firms Pfizer and Moderna stand to make tens of billions of dollars from their Covid-19 vaccines this year and next, given G7 governments’ pledge to vaccinate the entire world by the end of 2022, but sales are likely to drop sharply thereafter, according to analysts.

Acclaimed for allowing a return to more normal life, Covid vaccines will also substantially benefit some pharmaceutical companies. The global market for the vaccines is worth $70bn (£50bn) this year, says Karen Andersen of Morningstar.

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‘It’s such a relief’: how Europe’s Covid vaccine rollout is catching up with UK

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More supplies and vaccination centres have put France, Italy and Germany back on track in battle against coronavirus

On Friday morning, Leyla Çelik woke up with butterflies in her stomach. For weeks, the 22-year-old student at Berlin’s Freie Universität had tried in vain to get an appointment for her first Covid-19 vaccine shot so she could volunteer as a polling station administrator at federal elections in September. “I’d basically given up hope.”

But last week her university had suddenly got in touch via email, offering her a chance to get a first dose of Moderna vaccine on campus, and within a few days. By 9am on Friday, the anxiety has turned into euphoria: “It’s such a relief,” said the native Berliner, nursing her achey shoulder at Freie’s biology institute, converted into a vaccine delivery point as of this week. “At last I can catch a train or a bus without feeling anxious.”

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Third wave of Covid ‘definitely under way’ in UK, says expert

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Prof Adam Finn’s comments come after PHE reported 79% rise in number of Delta variant cases in just one week

A government scientific adviser has said a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is “definitely under way” as the vaccine programme races to outpace the Delta variant’s spread across the UK.

It comes after Public Health England reported a 79% rise in the number of cases of the variant first identified in India in a week. Hospital admissions have almost doubled.

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Covid live: Delta variant becoming globally dominant, WHO says as expert calls Africa’s case trajectory ‘very, very concerning’

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WHO expert says Delta variant becoming dominant because of its increased transmissibility as underreporting in Africa means case levels are worrying

The EU has lost its attempt to require AstraZeneca to deliver fewer Covid-19 vaccines to the European Union, Reuters reports.

Reuters reports:

AstraZeneca said that the EU had lost its legal case, but European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the court ruling supported its view that the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical giant had failed to honour its commitments.

The row plunged the EU into crisis earlier this year as states scrambled for shots, highlighting the pressure on them to speed up vaccinations. Brussels has since largely cut ties with AstraZeneca, choosing not to buy any more of its shots for now.

Official data in Britain reported 10,476 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday and 11 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, Reuters reports.

The figures showed 42.5 million people had received their first vaccine dose and 30.9 million had received both shots.

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Netherlands offers free pickled herring as Covid jab incentive

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Country becomes the latest to encourage uptake by offering a traditional early-summer delicacy

After Russia offered cars, Washington state spliffs, Indonesia live chickens and Hong Kong the chance of a £1.2m apartment, the latest country to reward people who show up for their Covid shots is the Netherlands – with soused herring.

Early batches of Hollandse nieuwe, or new-season Dutch herring, a traditional delicacy consumed to the tune of 75m a year, are being distributed to vaccination centres around the country as an encouragement for people to get their jabs.

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Previous Covid infection may not offer long-term protection, study finds

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Research found marked differences in immune response of medical staff six months after contracting virus

Previous infection with coronavirus does not necessarily protect against Covid in the longer term, especially when caused by new variants of concern, a study on healthcare workers suggests.

Researchers at Oxford University found marked differences in the immune responses of medical staff who contracted Covid, with some appearing far better equipped than others to combat the disease six months later.

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White couple who got vaccines meant for First Nation are fined but not jailed

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White River First Nation had sought six months in jail for Canadian millionaires Rodney and Ekaterina Baker

The millionaire Canadian couple who chartered a private plane to a remote community and jumped the coronavirus vaccine queue to receive doses intended for elderly Indigenous people have been fined C$2,300 but were not sentenced to jail after pleading guilty to breaking public health rules.

The size of the fine imposed on the former casino executive Rodney Baker and his wife, the actor Ekaterina Baker, on Wednesday prompted frustration amid members of the White River First Nation, many of whom wanted the couple to face stiffer repercussions.

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France and Spain to ease mask-wearing as Covid vaccine schemes gather pace

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French will no longer have to wear masks outside and curfew to end while Spain also planning to lift rule

France and Spain are moving to ease rules around wearing face masks outside, in a development attributed by both countries to their Covid-19 vaccination campaigns.

In France, people will no longer be required to wear masks outdoors from Thursday, though they will still be obligatory on public transport, in sports stadiums and other crowded places. A nightly curfew will end as of Sunday.

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Coronavirus live news: France to bring curfew-lifting date forward; row as India doubles gap between jabs

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France to also end mandatory mask wearing outside; Indian government extends gap between doses to 16 weeks

Portugal has said it would allow US visitors into the country, as it scrambles to shore up its tourism sector, but added Nepal to a list of “red” nations amid concerns over Covid variants.

Reuters reports that Portugal is now open to tourists from EU countries and Britain but they must show a negative Covid-19 test result on arrival. Since 15 June, rules applied to UK visitors also apply to those coming from the United States, the government said.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s removal of two Coca-Cola bottles during a press conference at coincided with a $4bn fall in drinks company’s share price. But with obesity being one of the main risk factors for the worst cases of Covid, what have governments done to ensure people have lived as healthily as possible during stringent lockdowns?

Related: Cristiano Ronaldo snub wipes billions off Coca-Cola’s market value

Related: Mexico state bans sale of sugary drinks and junk food to children

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UK excluded again from EU’s Covid-safe travel list, but US added

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British tourists face continued restrictions as bloc opens up to other vaccinated travellers

British tourists face continued restrictions on travelling to the EU this summer even as the bloc opens up to others, including residents of the United States.

Eight countries are to be added to a list of countries from where the EU says non-essential travel is safe, but the UK has not been included.

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The Covid Delta variant: how effective are the vaccines?

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Analysis: what protection do they offer against infection, hospital admission and death?

As lockdown easing in England is delayed from 21 June to a possible date of 19 July amid concerns of a substantial wave of hospitalisations due to the Delta variant of coronavirus, we take a look at the latest data on the protection offered by vaccines.

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Why is Israel lifting Covid restrictions as England extends them?

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Analysis: both are viewed as running successful vaccine campaigns, but case numbers are very different

Israel and the UK were viewed as world leaders in their coronavirus vaccine campaigns but whereas the former is lifting almost all pandemic limitations, the latter is now glumly extending its restrictions in England amid a sharp rise in infections.

Despite starting its mass inoculation programme after the UK in December, Israel has sped ahead and it reached a key milestone on Tuesday, scrapping a requirement to wear face masks indoors, one of the final Covid limitations.

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China set to administer 1bn Covid vaccine doses by end of this week

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Cash incentives and gifts offered to fulfil target of vaccinating 40% of population by end of month

China is on track to administer 1bn vaccine doses by the end of this week, after bolstering production and distribution networks in an ambitious drive to vaccinate 40% of the population by this month.

Chinese authorities have been encouraging people to take the free and voluntary doses with cash incentives, gifts and colour-coded signage to laud or shame businesses depending on vaccination rates, as well as the promise of protection against Covid-19.

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Eradicating polio is finally within reach. Why is the UK taking its foot off the pedal? | Anne Wafula Strike

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Instead of cutting the aid budget – including 95% from the plan to stamp out the disease – Britain should take a global lead

Despite the Covid pandemic, there have been just two recorded cases of wild polio in 2021 – in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the two remaining hiding places for the disease. But eradication is not guaranteed. Polio is virulent and spreads quickly. Even one case poses a threat to unvaccinated children everywhere, which is why a new strategy launched last week by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) outlines a plan to utilise this small window of opportunity for the world to end polio for good.

A 99.9% fall in polio cases globally in recent decades is thanks in large part to the GPEI and its supporters. The British government’s recent announcement that it will slash its contributions to the GPEI by more than 95% has been a body blow. The funding cut amounts to almost a quarter of the annual World Health Organization polio eradication budget.

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Brazil records 2,468 new Covid deaths – as it happened

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This blog is closed. Follow the latest updates on the pandemic from around the world:

Bars at full capacity. No masks for vaccinated Disneyland goers. Fans sitting side-by-side at Giants and Dodgers games.

California rolled back its major public health restrictions on Tuesday, 15 months after it became the first state in the US to shut down to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Related: Goodbye masks, hello full bars: California lifts Covid rules in ‘grand reopening’

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