Category Archives: Health

Covid live: half of UK adults receive booster vaccine; Ireland sets 8pm curfew for hospitality venues

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Half of UK adults receive booster vaccine; Ireland will also face 50% capacity limit on events

Here is a bizarre story out of the US to add a little light relief to an otherwise sombre news day.

A Florida man wearing a red thong as a face mask was forced off a United Airlines flight after failing to comply with the federal mask mandate.

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What Omicron’s Covid ‘tsunami’ could mean for the UK

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Will the NHS cope? What’s the worst case scenario? The key questions on the fast-spreading variant’s impact

The rapid spread of Omicron across the UK has led public health officials and ministers to warn that, without action, the country will see 1 million infections a day by the end of the month. The consequences of the Omicron “tsunami” are far from clear, but a picture is beginning to take shape.

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No 10 parties raise questions about whether PM will follow Covid science

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Analysis: After a steady stream of reports, how likely is it that Boris Johnson will take advice about imposing tougher restrictions?

• Boris Johnson joined No 10 party during May 2020 lockdown, say sources

Cast your minds back to 15 May 2020. Matt Hancock, the then health secretary before he quit for breaking restrictions by having an affair, was giving a press conference where he said people should be “staying at home as much as is possible”.

Social interaction was strictly limited to outdoors and one person at a time. It was the week when people were told they could meet one parent outside, in a socially distanced way, but not both of them together.

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Omicron R number estimated to be between 3 and 5, says UK health adviser – video

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Dr Susan Hopkins, the chief medical adviser at the UK Health Security Agency, told a select committee on Thursday that for Omicron the R value was between 3 and 5 in the UK and that the variant was spreading rapidly – doubling in size every two days.

Hopkins said data on the severity of Omicron would not be known for another fortnight. At least 250 patients would need to be admitted to hospital before there could be a statistical analysis of the disease, she said

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Nearly 100 Covid cases linked to Sydney Taylor Swift party as Newcastle residents urged to postpone celebrations

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Some cases from the Metro theatre on Friday likely to be Omicron and at least 600 people who attended are now isolating

At least 97 people have caught Covid-19 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Sydney, as NSW cases escalate to record levels.

NSW Health issued an alert on Thursday evening about the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at Sydney’s Metro theatre, with at least 600 people who arrived after 9pm on Friday deemed close contacts.

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Cut back on socialising, says Whitty, as he predicts surge of hospitalisations

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Chief medical officer warns of ‘two epidemics on top of each other’ as UK records highest ever daily total of new cases

Chris Whitty sent a clear message to cut back on socialising in the run-up to Christmas Day, warning that a rise in Covid hospitalisations is “nailed on” after cases hit a record high.

Appearing alongside the prime minister, who has continued to insist formal restrictions on gatherings are unnecessary, Whitty said: “Don’t mix with people you don’t have to.” He advised the public to “prioritise social interactions that really matter to them”, suggesting work parties may be ill advised.

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GSK/Sanofi Covid booster delayed by lack of uninfected people to test it on

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Early trials show jab effective in people of all ages who have already received doses of any vaccine

Efforts by the British and French drugmakers GSK and Sanofi Pasteur to produce a Covid-19 vaccine have suffered a further setback, with final clinical data on the jab and a potential launch delayed until next year as they struggle to find enough uninfected people to test it on.

The two vaccine specialists announced positive preliminary results from a trial that showed the vaccine raised antibody levels against Covid by nine to 43 times when given as a single booster shot in people who had already received doses of AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, for all age groups.

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Canapes and party hats in CCHQ: Boris Johnson’s latest photo nightmare

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Picture emerges showing Tory mayoral candidate, activists and a party donor crammed together during lockdown

As Christmas parties go, it may not be everyone’s idea of a good time: there are barely touched canapes, hotel buffet-style containers of hot food, a hand sanitiser dispenser visible in the background, and about 25 political activists, all crammed into a brightly lit basement in the middle of a pandemic.

Uninspiring though it might be, that is the scene captured by a photo taken at Conservative campaign headquarters (CCHQ) last December, which emerged in the Daily Mirror on Tuesday to create another political nightmare for Boris Johnson.

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Why UK has been less keen than US to give Covid jab to children

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Differing adult uptakes, healthcare systems and cultures of medicine have played role in approaches

The UK and US may have many things in common, but when it comes to vaccinating children against Covid, the approach has been markedly different.

In May, the US Food and Drug Administration’s emergency use authorisation of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab was expanded from people aged 16 and older to those aged 12 to 15, with two doses recommended for all those eligible.

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MPs back Covid passes in England amid large Tory rebellion

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Measure comes into force on Wednesday and was passed despite many Tories voting against

Boris Johnson has suffered a humiliating rebellion over measures to slow the spread of the Omicron variant, with 99 Conservative MPs rejecting plans for vaccine certificates despite surging infections and personal lobbying by the prime minister.

Johnson had earlier warned his cabinet of a “huge spike” in cases but failed to convince many in his party to support plans to insist on a Covid certificate or negative lateral flow test to attend large venues.

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How big is the risk of Omicron in the UK and how do we know?

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Analysis: Sajid Javid estimates there are 200,000 new cases a day – here’s why the experts suggest that number will soon multiply

When Savid Javid revealed on Monday that an estimated 200,000 people a day are getting infected with Omicron, it brought understandable concern – especially as just 4,713 cases of the variant had been confirmed in the UK so far – . So where does this figure come from – and what does it tell us about the trajectory of the surge?

Confirming a Covid case is caused by the Omicron variant requires a full genetic analysis of that person’s swab. According to Prof Paul Hunter at the University of East Anglia, it can take up to two weeks to return a viral sequence, meaning the figure of 4,713 Omicron cases reported by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was already out of date.

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‘So depressing’: Covid empties City of London of pre-Christmas cheer

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The ‘work from home’ rules are less stringent than before in the financial hub, but many seem to be staying away

At about 1pm in Paternoster Square on Monday, four placid, Christmassy eyes gazed at the trickle of workers emerging from the London Stock Exchange in search of lunch. “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE REINDEER,” a sign on the enclosure said. “THIS IS TO PREVENT THE TRANSMISSION OF CORONAVIRUS.”

“I remember when you could stroke them,” said a passing trader. “It’s so depressing. I wish I’d stayed at home now.”

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Heads warn of Omicron chaos in English schools, with staff and pupils absent

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Some schools said to have up to half their teachers off due to Covid, and there are fears parents will keep pupils at home

Headteachers are warning of “chaos” in England’s schools as Omicron sweeps across the country, with high levels of staff and pupil absences and reports that parents are planning to keep children home to avoid the virus before Christmas.

School leaders and unions urged the government to introduce more protective measures, including masks in classrooms, better ventilation and tougher isolation rules to try to slow the spread of the virus before the holidays.

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Australia to manufacture mRNA vaccines under deal with Moderna

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New facility could produce 100m vaccines a year under deal between pharmaceutical company and federal and Victorian governments

Australia may be manufacturing mRNA vaccines for Covid-19 and other diseases by 2024 under an in-principle agreement struck with pharmaceutical giant Moderna.

Scott Morrison will announce on Tuesday that under the deal a new sovereign vaccine manufacturing facility will be built in Victoria to produce pandemic and non-pandemic respiratory vaccines, including potential flu vaccines.

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Australia live news update: WA to ease hard border from 5 February; $1bn defence deal signed with South Korea

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Mark McGowan announces reopening plan after WA hits 80% fully vaccinated; PM confirms international borders to reopen Wednesday for some visa holders; defence deal inked as Korean leader visits; Greg Hunt says telehealth to be made permanent; Victoria records 1,290 new Covid cases and two deaths; NSW records 536 new cases and no deaths; NT to ramp up Covid rules for some communities after 17 new cases; Queensland records one new local case, with 13 reported in SA. Follow all the day’s developments

Time to chat about next year’s election, and the battle the treasurer is facing from an independent in his home seat.

Michael Rowland:

You are now facing, as we know, Monique Ryan in the seat of Kooyong. She’s a Royal Children’s hospital doctor. You’ve labelled people like she, an independent, as a front for Labor and the Greens. What evidence do you have for that?

Well, at the last election, I had an independent who said they were gonna vote for Labor. That’s a pretty clear indication. We’ve also seen plenty of cases where they’ve just mirrored the policies of our political opponents.

But what evidence do we have at this time?

This is a rinse-and-repeat, Michael. What we’ve seen, we’ve seen obviously a lot of funding going into these independents around the rest of the country, and it’s a democracy, so people can put their hand up.

Just on Omicron, you might have caught up with the news just in the last hour or so, Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, made an address to the nation there. He’s declared a tidal wave of Omicron case is about to hit the UK.

He’s declared it a public health emergency, and has declared that all British adults over the age of 16 can get a booster shot by the end of the year. Taking that into account, are we being a bit too sanguine about Omicron here in Australia?

We saw the medical advice, and that saw a pause for two weeks of the reopening of the border to international students and to skilled workers.

That was a precautionary measure. But we will continue to listen and follow the health advice, and it has served us well to date.

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UK’s 1m a day booster rollout is strategy of short-term pain for long-term gain

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Analysis: next few weeks will be tough for anyone who relies on the health service as well as those who work in it

The wording of the four home nations’ chief medical officers joint statement on Sunday was undramatic but still ominous. “Transmission of Covid-19 is already high in the community, mainly still driven by Delta, but the emergence of Omicron adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and healthcare services.”

Given that “vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced … hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly”, they added.

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What makes boosters more effective than the first two Covid jabs?

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Analysis: top-up vaccines make key changes to our antibody defences, reducing the threat from Omicron

Covid-19, we should know by now, is a moving target. In autumn the rollout of boosters to older age groups was contentious. Now they’re the single biggest focus. So why do boosters help so significantly compared with first and second jabs, and are we on a conveyor belt towards needing an ever-increasing number of top-ups?

Even before Omicron, it was clear boosters would be required to maintain the levels of protection against infection, although protection against severe illness appeared to be holding up well.

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UK has Omicron Covid patients in hospital, government confirms

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Top UK medical adviser says growing number of people going to emergency departments diagnosed with Omicron

People have been admitted to hospital with the Omicron variant in Britain, a government minister has confirmed, as a senior public health adviser said further curbs may be needed.

The education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, said he could confirm there were “cases in hospital with Omicron”. “We’ve been able to test people who are in hospital over the past two weeks, and so there is a lag to hospitalisation,” he told Trevor Phillips on Sky News.

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