Category Archives: Vaccines and immunisation

Covid vaccines: India export delay deals blow to poorer countries

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Efforts in Africa and elsewhere hit by decision not to export AstraZeneca jab until end of year

Vaccine programmes across Africa and much of the developing world will suffer big delays after the world’s biggest producer said it would not be exporting the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine until the end of the year.

“We continue to scale up manufacturing and prioritise India … We also hope to start delivering to Covax and other countries by the end of this year,” Adar Poonawalla, chief executive of the Serum Institute of India (SII), said in a statement on Tuesday.

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Australia news live: Morrison labels India a ‘dangerous place’; Rex Patrick in court fight for cabinet documents

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Coalition backs $600m gas plant as IEA warns against new fossil fuel use; concerns over speed of vaccine rollout continue with Melbourne hubs below capacity. Follow latest updates

With that I shall depart, leaving the amazing Christopher Knaus in my place to take you through the afternoon.

Just a bit more from that Scott Morrison interview with 2GB earlier today:

The prime minister has brushed off criticism about the red carpet treatment he recently received at an Australian airbase.

We have nothing to do with that, I mean, I just walk out of a plane and whatever is there is there...

I have nothing to do with what the defence forces do when you step out of a plane. So it was nice of them to receive it. It wasn’t the first time that’s happened.

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Hilary Mantel and JK Rowling add lots to auction for global vaccine rollout

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Fundraiser running until 21 May also includes chances to consult with star agent Jonny Geller and have a character named after you in a Sarah Pinborough novel

A literary auction raising money to help vaccinate the world against coronavirus has made more than £23,000 so far, as book lovers bid to win signed novels by authors including Hilary Mantel, as well as mentoring sessions from star publishers and agents.

Bidding at Books for Vaccines for a personal consultation with literary agent Jonny Geller has reached £1,000, while a signed box set of the Wolf Hall trilogy, with handwritten first sentences from Mantel, has topped £600. The auction is running until 21 May, with other lots including the chance to have a character named after you in the next novel by Sarah Pinborough, author of the Netflix hit Behind Her Eyes, a signed copy of Marian Keyes’s novel Grown Ups, and the chance to write the dedication at the front of Jill Mansell’s new novel.

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Scott Morrison fends off calls to reopen border as medical association urges ‘plan for 2022’

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The prime minister concedes the government has to ‘step up’ the vaccination effort as the AMA says it’s time to put a date on reopening

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, is fending off mounting pressure to reopen Australia’s borders sooner than next year, as the peak medical association joins calls for a “plan for 2022” that would see the country reopen to the rest of the world.

Following last week’s budget, which assumed that Australia’s borders would remain closed until mid next year, the Morrison government has faced a barrage of calls from business, the university sector and from within Coalition ranks for a swifter reopening of borders and a bolstering of quarantine facilities.

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Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine has approved storage period extended

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Increased flexibility of vaccine expected to have ‘significant impact’ on rollout in EU member states

The Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine can be stored at fridge temperature for much longer than previously recommended, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The previous advice was the vaccine needed to be kept at an ultra-low temperature, between -70C and -80C, until a few days before use when it could be transferred to a standard medical fridge.

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Long Covid symptoms ease after vaccination, survey finds

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Exclusive: Fifty-seven per cent of people with illness say they were better overall after jab

Covid-19 vaccines tend to alleviate the symptoms of long Covid, according to a large survey of more than 800 people that suggests mRNA vaccines, in particular, are beneficial.

Though Covid-19 was initially understood to be a largely respiratory illness from which most would recover within a few weeks, as the pandemic wore on increasing numbers of people reported experiencing symptoms for months on end. There is no consensus definition of the condition of these people who have symptoms ranging from chronic fatigue to organ damage, let alone a standardised treatment plan.

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Australia news live: calls from business sector to open border before mid-2022 intensify – live

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Pressure comes as Scott Morrison refuses to commit to a vaccination level at which regular flights will resume. Follow all the day’s news as it happens

Despite Australia’s relative success at locking out the coronavirus pandemic, we still aren’t moving around nearly as much as we used to. Public transport has been hit especially hard, as have recreational and urban areas generally.

Only road traffic has really recovered to pre-Covid levels, which experts say could be a short hangover of fears about the pandemic. Or it could reveal a longer-term shift as working from home becomes more accepted.

Related: How Covid changed the way Australians move: more traffic jams, less public transport

Triple doughnuts!

No new cases were reported yesterday.

- 8,917 vaccine doses administered
- 18,041 test results received

More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19VicData #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/m8qeauJvaH

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It could take a decade to vaccinate Venezuela against Covid as pace drags

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Head of country’s academy of medicine issues warning with less than 1% of population having received a dose

Venezuela’s slow rate of vaccination for Covid-19 means it could take up to 10 years for the country to be fully vaccinated, the president of the nation’s academy of medicine said on Monday.

Venezuela, with about 30 million inhabitants, has received 1.4m vaccines from China and Russia, according to its health ministry. Authorities hope to receive enough doses for about 5 million people from the World Health Organization’s Covax system.

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India variant will be dominant UK Covid strain ‘in next few days’

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Scientists’ warning comes as government comes under pressure to explain border policy

The Covid variant first detected in India is set to be the dominant strain in the UK within days, experts have said, with the government and health teams struggling to contain cases, which have risen by more than 75% since Thursday.

With the rapid spread of the more transmissible B.1.617.2 variant threatening to reverse moves to ease lockdown, the government faced intense pressure to more fully explain the delay in adding India to the so-called red list of countries.

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Fake Covid vaccine and test certificate market is growing, researchers say

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More than 1,200 vendors operating in the UK and worldwide, offering false documents for as little as £25

A hidden pandemic market advertising fake vaccine and test certificates for as little as £25 has grown exponentially, with more than 1,200 vendors in the UK and worldwide, researchers have found.

After UK ministers announced the return of overseas holidays – with travellers required to show proof of negative tests, and vaccine passports on the horizon – the Guardian has also learned that anti-vaxxers and people arriving in Britain from poorer nations make up a significant number of those buying forged pandemic paraphernalia.

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What threat does Indian Covid variant pose and do vaccines work against it?

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The number of identified cases of the B.1.617.2 variant in the UK has more than doubled in a week

The number of identified cases of the Indian variant in the UK has more than doubled in a week, from 520 to 1,313, according to the most recent figures. The areas with the highest numbers so far include Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen, Erewash in Derbyshire and Bedford, all in England, and Moray in Scotland.

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India variant could seriously disrupt lifting of lockdown, says Boris Johnson

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PM announces acceleration of Covid vaccine programme, saying race could become a ‘great deal tighter’

The final stage of the lifting of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across England could face “serious disruption” due to the India variant, the prime minister has warned, as he announced plans to accelerate the vaccine programme to curb its spread.

Boris Johnson said the gap between the first and second Covid jab would be cut from 12 weeks to eight for all over-50s and the clinically vulnerable, admitting: “The race between our vaccine programme and the virus may be about to become a great deal tighter.”

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UK Covid live: second vaccine doses for over-50s and vulnerable accelerated as Indian variant threatens June easing

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Latest updates: prime minister announces acceleration of programme to give second vaccine doses to over-50s and clinically vulnerable as Indian variant threatens June lockdown easing

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has accused Boris Johnson of a “reckless failure to protect our borders” as the Indian variant threatened to derail progress to ending coronavirus restrictions in June.

The Labour MP said: “People across the country will be deeply concerned and tonight’s news brings into sharp focus Boris Johnson’s reckless failure to protect our borders in this crisis.

There is a “realistic possibility” that the Indian coronavirus variant could be as much as “50% more transmissible” than the Kent strain, the Scientific Advisory Group for emergencies (Sage) has said.

The minutes of the meeting between the government’s scientific advisers on Thursday said that it is “highly likely that this variant is more transmissible than B.1.1.7 (high confidence), and it is a realistic possibility that it is as much as 50% more transmissible”, PA reports.

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What can England do to combat the Indian Covid variant?

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A list of possible measures that could be taken by the government to limit the spread of the variant

The possible spread of the highly transmissible B.1.617.2 variant of Covid, first identified in India, threatens to hamper the timetable for removing lockdown restrictions, since a series of localised outbreaks have been detected.

Here are some possible actions that could be used to limit the spread of the variant:

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India variant could lead to serious third wave of Covid in UK

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Analysis: If B.1.617.2 proves highly transmissible, hospitalisations could peak again, models show

It was all looking so good. After a brutal second wave in the winter, the lockdown combined with the swift rollout of vaccines forced infections, hospitalisations and deaths down to levels not seen since last summer. The vaccines performed better than expected, not only in preventing deaths, but in hampering the spread of the virus. Scientific advisers were confident about England’s cautious roadmap back to a life more normal: the worst, it seemed, was over.

Now, those same advisers are deeply worried that the new variant of concern from India, B.1.617.2, could undermine the hard-won achievement. The government strategy has been to ease restrictions as vaccines reach more people, aiming for a delicate balance that opens up society while preventing another wave that overwhelms the NHS.

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‘A great day’: Biden hails relaxed CDC guidance for fully vaccinated Americans

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Rochelle Walensky announces relaxation of guidelines: ‘We have longed for this moment … [to] get back some sense of normalcy’

As coronavirus cases and deaths decline across the US amid vaccination efforts, the director of the CDC said Thursday that fully vaccinated Americans could participate in most indoor activities without wearing a mask.

An unmasked president Joe Biden heralded the announcement during an outdoor press conference several hours later, saying: “Today is a great day for America in our long battle with coronavirus.”

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Budget 2021 reply speech: Anthony Albanese delivers Labor response to Australia federal budget

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Labor leader set to continue attack over sluggish wages growth; NSW Liberal minister Gareth Ward steps down over allegations which he denies. Follow latest updates

Anthony Albanese is on his way to the ABC studios for his 7.30 interview

The house is adjourned

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Call for ‘surge vaccinations’ as UK cases of India variant double

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Sources say government poised to approve jab for over-16s in worst-affected areas

Ministers are under growing pressure to deploy “surge vaccinations” in Covid hotspots, with some local authorities pushing to extend the offer of jabs to over-18s to stop the spread of a coronavirus variant.

Boris Johnson said he was anxious about the spread of the variant first detected in India, as cases more than doubled in a week.

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Delaying second Covid vaccine doses can save lives, study finds

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Modelling suggests countries struggling to immunise populations could adopt UK strategy

Delaying the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines as the UK has done can save lives, according to a US modelling study that suggests other countries struggling to immunise their populations could adopt the strategy.

Second shots of both vaccines and the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab are designed by the manufacturers to be given within three to four weeks of the first dose. The UK, however, opted for a 12-week delay between doses in a bid to ensure that more people received their first vaccination more quickly.

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More frequent side-effects reported mixing Pfizer and Oxford Covid jabs, study suggests

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However, UK trial found two doses of the same vaccine triggered less adverse reactions

Administering one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine followed by one of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (or vice versa) induces a higher frequency of mild to moderate side-effects compared with standard two doses of either vaccine, initial data from a key UK trial suggests.

The Oxford-led Com-Cov study is exploring the safety and efficacy of mixed-dose schedules given that they are being considered in several countries – including the UK – to fortify vaccine rollout programmes that are dependent on unstable vaccine supplies.

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