Category Archives: Vaccines and immunisation

Covid live news: UK records a further 7,738 cases as Johnson cautious over lockdown easing; Vietnam approves Pfizer vaccine for emergency use

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Honours for key UK figures in vaccine drive; MPs say Covid passports are discriminatory and should be scrapped

G7 leaders discussed the origins of Covid-19, including the theory it originated in a Chinese lab, WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

“We believe that all hypotheses should be open, and we need to proceed to the second phase to really know the origins,” he told reporters.

Above all, at the root of the #COVID19 pandemic is a deficit of solidarity and sharing – of the data, information, resources, technology and tools that every nation needs to keep its people safe. @WHO believes the best way to close that deficit is with a #PandemicTreaty. #G7UK

A poll for the Observer shows more than half the British public support delaying the lifting of restrictions on social contact because of the rising number of Covid-19 cases, report Michael Savage and Ben Tapper.

With Boris Johnson poised to announce a delay to his plan to remove the remaining restrictions on 21 June, an Opinium poll for the Observer found that 54% think the move should be postponed, up from 43% from a fortnight ago.

It suggests that the public is taking a cautious view following the emergence of the Delta variant, first detected in India and thought to be 60% more transmissible than the variant previously dominant in the UK. The proportion of people who thought Johnson should push ahead with the unlocking has fallen from 44% a fortnight ago to 37% this week.

Related: Delay ending lockdown: majority of public back Boris Johnson

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G7: Emmanuel Macron tells Boris Johnson UK-France relations need ‘reset’ – live updates

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Leaders of the G7 industrialised countries are meeting in Cornwall this weekend to discuss vaccines, the pandemic recovery and the climate crisis

The Duchess of Cambridge and US first lady Jill Biden have written a joint article on the importance of early childhood, following their visit to a primary school in Cornwall, where the G7 is taking place.

The two women met for the first time on Friday at Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, where they took part in a round-table discussion with experts on the importance of the early years of childhood for future outcomes.

In the article, published by CNN, they say there must be a fundamental shift in how the UK and US approach the earliest years of life. “If we care about how children perform at school, how they succeed in their careers when they are older, and about their lifelong mental and physical health, then we have to care about how we are nurturing their brains, their experiences and relationships in the early years before school,” they write.

The European Union has been urged to back down in a dispute with the UK over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Boris Johnson was holding talks with the EU’s key players on Saturday as the dispute threatened to overshadow his hosting of the G7 summit.

The prime minister was meeting European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, European Council head Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the margins of the gathering in Cornwall.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urged the EU to take a more “pragmatic” approach to the Northern Ireland issue.
The main summit agenda will see the leaders of the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy commit to a new plan aimed at preventing a repeat of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Johnson also faces a potentially tricky series of meetings with the EU’s senior representatives. Downing Street has indicated the UK would be prepared to unilaterally delay the full implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol to prevent a ban on chilled meats crossing the Irish Sea from Great Britain.

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Black and Latino communities are left behind in Covid-19 vaccination efforts

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Although a few states have seen large increases in vaccination rates among Black and Latino Americans, most are still trailing behind

When vaccines became increasingly available throughout America, US health officials moved quickly to try to convince large numbers of Americans to get vaccinated. But amid the mass vaccination rollout, Black and Latino communities, who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, have been left behind in vaccination efforts, creating racial disparities about who was more likely to get a Covid-19 shot.

Amid federal and local efforts to address vaccine disparity, vaccination rates for Black Americans and Latinos lag behind the general population, leaving many communities of color still unprotected against the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Lifting restrictions in England on 21 June: what are the alternatives?

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As doubt grows that government will end Covid controls on planned date, we look at the other options

Downing Street is due to announce its decision on the next stage of Covid reopening in England by Monday, a week ahead of 21 June, which was set as the earliest date to bring in what is officially stage four of the Covid unlocking process. The original aim was to remove “all legal limits on social contact”, allowing the reopening of remaining businesses such as nightclubs. Public health is a devolved matter, meaning Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not have the same deadline. Here are some possible options for England. They are not exclusive, meaning several could be used at the same time.

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Covid live: UK reports 8,125 daily cases, highest since February, as doctors call for delay to lockdown-easing

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UK also reports 17 deaths as infection rate rises; British Medical Association calls for delay to easing of remaining lockdown restrictions

The EU does not expect Johnson & Johnson will be able to deliver 55 million Covid-19 vaccine doses it had committed to shipping to the bloc by the end of June, an EU official has said.

Reuters reports that the bloc had previously said that it was confident the US pharmaceutical giant could meet its commitments. The position has changed after the European Medicines Agency, the European drugs regulator, said earlier today that J&J doses sent to Europe from a factory in the US would not be used out of precaution after a case of contamination.

The British Medical Association is calling for a delay to the easing of all remaining lockdown restrictions in England due to case numbers ‘rising rapidly’.

The BMA says the fourth stage of lockdown should not go ahead until there is “better understanding of the implications” of the reported rise in cases in recent days.

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Delta variant causes more than 90% of new Covid cases in UK

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Variant first discovered in India is thought to spread more easily and be more resistant to vaccines

More than 90% of Covid cases in the UK are now down to the coronavirus Delta variant first discovered in India, data has revealed, as the total number of confirmed cases passed 42,000.

Also known as B.1.617.2, the Delta variant has been linked to a rise in Covid cases in the UK in the past weeks. It is believed to spread more easily than the Alpha variant, B.1.1.7, that was first detected in Kent, and is somewhat more resistant to Covid vaccines, particularly after just one dose. It may be also associated with a greater risk of hospitalisation.

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Coronavirus Australia live: woman’s body found in Victoria flood waters; Four Corners QAnon episode to air Monday

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Victoria and Queensland record no new Covid cases; court approves robodebt settlement. Follow live

A flood evacuation warning has been re-issued for Traralgon in Victoria’s Gippsland region, reports AAP.

Anyone near the Traralgon Creek was being told early on Friday afternoon to evacuate now.

Andrew Grech, a partner at Gordon Legal, is on the ABC now responding to the federal court judgment on the robodebt class action.

I think for many people, there’s been a lack of accountability, both of the ministers involved and senior public servants involved.

We think that it’s important that, through the proper parliamentary processes and, if necessary, through a royal commission, that those questions be answered for people, so that they can actually have far more closure on all those issues.

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UK to give 100m Covid vaccine doses to poorer countries within a year

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At least 1bn doses due from G7 but campaigners say package does not address structural problems

The UK will donate 100m surplus coronavirus vaccine doses within the next year to low-income countries as part of at least 1bn doses due from the G7.

The US has promised to buy 500m Pfizer vaccines at a cost of $3bn for distribution to 100 poorer countries, with 200m to be distributed this year, in addition to releasing 80m of its surplus by the end of June.

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Coronavirus live: Portugal delays Lisbon lockdown easing; highest daily cases in Russia since March

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Capital and three other municipalities will remain under restrictions until at least 27 June due to rise in infections; Russia reports 10,407 new cases

Some of the UK’s biggest care home operators have told the Guardian they repeatedly warned Matt Hancock’s department about the risk of not testing people discharged from hospitals into care homes in March 2020.

Their claims are likely to increase pressure on the health secretary when he appears before MPs on Thursday to defend his handling of the Covid pandemic to a parliamentary inquiry.

Related: Matt Hancock ‘was warned of Covid care home risk in March 2020’

The US is in talks with drugmaker Moderna Inc to buy more Covid-19 vaccine doses for global supply, CNBC reported on Wednesday citing a source.

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San Francisco may be first major US city to hit herd immunity, experts say

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City still recording small number of Covid cases per day but they don’t appear to be triggering wider outbreaks

San Francisco may have become the first major American city to hit herd immunity to the coronavirus, experts say.

San Francisco is still recording a small number of coronavirus cases, about 13.7 per day, said Dr George Rutherford, professor of epidemiology at University of California, San Francisco, but they don’t appear to be gaining enough of a foothold in the population to trigger wider outbreaks.

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Coronavirus live news: Pfizer to expand trial in under-12s; more than 1m Europeans get Covid travel pass

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Up to 4,500 children under 12 to be enrolled in US, Finland, Poland and Spain; health certificate being rolled out to unlock travel within the bloc

Conservative backbencher Steve Baker has urged the UK government to press ahead with lifting England’s remaining Covid restrictions on 21 June despite a sharp rise in cases.

He claimed that by that date, all over-50s and vulnerable younger adults should have been given the opportunity to receive two doses of Covid vaccine.

These groups represent about 99% of Covid deaths and about 80% of hospitalisations. As of today, according to announcements made by the government, these groups should all have been offered a chance to have had a second dose. It would be helpful for the government to clarify that this has been achieved.

If this brilliant milestone isn’t enough to convince ministers that we need to lift all remaining restrictions – especially social distancing requirements – on 21 June, nothing will ever get us out of this.

Related: Do not delay England’s Covid unlocking, says leading Tory lockdown sceptic

The Dutch government has promised an independent investigation into a supposedly not-for-profit €100m deal to buy facemasks from China last year that ended up making three young entrepreneurs about €20m richer.

The investigative website Follow the Money revealed that Sywert van Lienden, 30, a former civil servant turned TV pundit and activist, who co-wrote the manifesto of the Christian Democrat (CDA) party (part of the ruling coalition), netted €9.2m.

Related: Dutch to investigate business trio’s €100m facemask deal

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Can we vaccinate the world against Covid by the end of 2022?

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Achieving herd immunity is possible – and necessary – but requires quick action, say experts

As ambitious declarations go – even for Boris Johnson – it was a big one. At the weekend, the UK prime minister said he would urge the G7 leaders to vaccinate the world against Covid by the end of next year.

But is this feasible? That rather depends on your definition. No country will vaccinate every adult. Vaccinating enough to achieve herd immunity, which could be 60% or 70%, is the real aim. It is possible to achieve that by December 2022, say experts, but only if the G7 leading economies move immediately to make it happen.

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Australia news live: Victoria reports two new Covid cases; renewed calls for Biloela family to be resettled

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Both new coronavirus cases are linked to current outbreaks

It’s been a bit of a heavy morning so far, so here is some dinosaur news from the Guardian’s amazing new science reporter Donna Lu:

A new species of dinosaur discovered in south-west Queensland has been officially recognised as the largest ever found in Australia and among the biggest in the world.

The Australotitan cooperensis, a plant-eating dinosaur of the family known as titanosaurs, likely lived between 92m and 96m years ago, during the Cretaceous period.

Related: New species of dinosaur – up to 30m long – confirmed as largest ever found in Australia

Less than 3% of Australians over 16 have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus but health chiefs are tipping numbers will soar in coming weeks.

The sluggish national rollout of jabs continues to spark concern with Melbourne in the grips of another lockdown-inducing outbreak, reports Matt Coughlan from AAP.

There are multiple strains and we will continue to see Covid adapt and mutate – that’s what these viruses do.

We’re likely to see other strains emerging. The sooner we can get the world vaccinated, the less likely it is that it can mutate.

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Third wave sweeps across Africa as Covid vaccine imports dry up

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WHO says continent urgently needs more jabs as eight countries report rise of 30% in cases in a week

African countries face a last-ditch battle against a third wave of Covid infections, as the supply of vaccines to the continent “grinds to a halt”, top health officials have warned.

“The threat of a third wave in Africa is real and rising. Our priority is clear – it’s crucial that we swiftly get vaccines into the arms of Africans at high risk of falling seriously ill and dying of Covid-19,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for Africa.

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Thailand starts Covid vaccine drive using jabs made by king’s firm

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Country aims to vaccinate 70% of people this year but experts express doubts amid supply concerns

Thailand has started its Covid vaccination campaign amid concerns over the supply of doses, which are mainly being produced locally by a royal-owned company that has no prior experience of making vaccines.

Thailand aims to vaccinate 70% of the population before the end of the year, and is relying primarily on AstraZeneca doses produced by Siam Bioscience, a company owned by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. The company is also due to supply vaccines to eight other countries in the region.

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Coronavirus live news: tests of new antibody drug on mice show promise; Czech Republic to reopen border with EU

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India announces free jabs for over-18s; Norway to shorten vaccine interval

Brazil’s health ministry has reported 37,156 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 1,010 deaths, according to Reuters:

The South American country has now registered 16,984,218 cases since the pandemic began, while the death toll has risen to 474,414, according to ministry data, in the world’s third worst outbreak outside the United States and India and its second-deadliest.

Portugal’s foreign minister has said that Spain’s decision to require a negative coronavirus test for people crossing the border must be “a mistake”, Reuters reported Lusa news agency saying on Monday:

Portugal had asked Spanish authorities for clarification on “what could only have been a mistake”, Portugal’s foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said.

“We have asked Spanish authorities for clarification and await it being granted as quickly as possible, because if not we will need to adopt equivalent reciprocal measures,” Santos Silva said, adding that “the epidemiological situation in Spain is, at the moment, worse than what we are living in Portugal.”

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Children are ‘vulnerable host’ for Covid as cases recede, US expert warns

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  • Cases plummet but children under 12 not yet eligible for shots
  • Mississippi governor defends low state vaccination rate

A US public health expert has warned that though cases of Covid-19 are at their lowest rates for months and much of the country is returning to normal life, young Americans are still “a vulnerable host” for the coronavirus.

Related: Post-lockdown summer: Americans out for fun and with money to spend

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Cupid’s needle? UK under-30s wooed with dating app vaccine bonus

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Apps such as Hinge and Bumble will offer benefits to vaccinated users amid fears of low take-up

First came the idea of making Covid vaccinations mandatory to go to the pub, while Israel offered free pizza and beer with a shot. Now UK officials have hit on what they hope is an even more persuasive reason for young people to get their jab: more chance of getting a date.

In an eye-catching policy coinciding with the rollout of vaccinations for the under-30s beginning this week, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has teamed up with popular dating apps to encourage take-up of the programme.

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Covid: more than 200 leaders urge G7 to help vaccinate world’s poorest

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Former PMs, presidents and ministers sign letter saying richest should pay two-thirds of $66bn needed

More than 100 former prime ministers, presidents and foreign ministers are among 230 prominent figures calling on the leaders of the powerful G7 countries to pay two-thirds of the $66bn (£46.6bn) needed to vaccinate low-income countries against Covid.

A letter seen by the Guardian ahead of the G7 summit to be hosted by Boris Johnson in Cornwall warns that the leaders of the UK, US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada must make 2021 “a turning point in global cooperation”. Fewer than 2% of people in sub-Saharan Africa have been vaccinated against Covid, while the UK has now immunised 70% of its population with at least one dose.

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Data on Delta variant splits scientists on lifting final Covid restrictions

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Sage group advises against easing social distancing on 21 June, but others say it is too early to assess risks

Health experts remain divided over the dangers posed by the new Delta variant of Covid-19 and the risks it poses to the nation as ministers consider whether or not to lift lockdown later this month.

Some argue that the new variant, first identified in India, is a significantly increased threat to the UK and have urged that delays be imposed on the total removal of social restrictions, due on 21 June.

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