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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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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Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Analysis: UK faces grim winter if vaccines offer poor overall protection, but if the virus has weak powers to evade immunity, hospital cases can be contained
Two competing forces will determine Omicron’s impact on the nation over the next few weeks. The power of booster jabs to give last-minute protection against Covid-19 will be pitted against the new variant’s ability to elude existing immunity. The outcome will decide whether our festive season is going to be muted or miserable.
If enough arms are jabbed with booster vaccines, while Omicron turns out to have poor powers to evade immunity, then there is hope hospital cases will be contained and the NHS will be protected. Severe restrictions in the new year – including the prospect of lockdowns – could be avoided.
Continue reading...Researchers say new rules may be needed to cut deaths, but there are concerns that ‘fed-up’ people will ignore government
Ministers announced a huge expansion of the booster vaccine campaign on Saturday night, amid warnings that further restrictions will be needed imminently to prevent tens of thousands of deaths.
With new Covid measures being discussed in Whitehall and claims of people being turned away from booster walk-in centres, third jabs will be opened up to those in their 30s from Monday in England. Those who had their second jab three months ago or more will be eligible.
Continue reading...Apparent glitch allows younger people to book vaccinations before they were expected to qualify
There was confusion on Saturday about which age groups in England are now eligible to book a booster jab with the NHS, after an apparent glitch allowed younger people to book before they were expected to qualify.
People aged 30 and over in England were expected to be able to book a Covid-19 booster from Monday as long as it has been three months since their second vaccine dose, but many 30-somethings reported on social media on Saturday that they had been able to book their appointments already.
Continue reading...Focus on the exciting potential of T-cell immunity is spurring the sector on to create a new generation of jabs
The speed at which scientists worked to develop the first Covid jabs was unprecedented. Just nine months after the UK went into lockdown, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan officially became the first person in the world outside a trial to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. But the virus is mutating, and the emergence of the Omicron variant last month is already focusing attention on the next generation of jabs.
So what do we know about the new Covid-19 vaccines? One change is with delivery mechanisms, such as San Francisco firm Vaxart’s vaccine-in-a-pill, and Scancell’s spring-powered injectors that pierce the skin without a needle. But the biggest development is in T-cell technology. Produced by the bone marrow, T-cells are white blood cells that form a key part of the immune system. While current vaccines mainly generate antibodies that stick to the virus and stop it infecting the body, the new vaccines prime T-cells to find and destroy infected cells, thus preventing viral replication and disease. (The current vaccines also produce a T-cell response, but to a lesser extent.)
Continue reading...Despite the abuse and anger, the comedian spent hours a day online. But then his daughter Dolly became dangerously drawn in. Was it time for a rethink?
Over the past 30 years, I have read and heard David Baddiel’s thoughts on many subjects, including sex, masturbation, religion, antisemitism, football fandom, football hooliganism, his mother’s sex life and his father’s dementia. “I am quite unfiltered,” he agrees, “mainly because I am almost psychotically comfortable in my own skin.” But today I have found the one subject that makes him squirm.
How much time does he spend on social media a day? “Oh, um, too much,” he says, his usual candour suddenly gone. What’s his daily screen time according to his phone? “It says four hours, which is a bit frightening.”
Continue reading...Making substances illegal has never worked, simply because it fails to address the reasons why people use them
I once lived with a militant vegetarian who had grown up near an abattoir. With a thousand-yard stare, he’d talk about how its bloody runoff would seep into his local playground. He hadn’t touched meat since those days. You often hear this sort of thing from vegetarians and vegans: that if you looked at what went on inside (or even outside) a slaughterhouse, you’d switch to Quorn full-time. In a similar vein, if you want to quit smoking, I recommend watching someone go through lung cancer.
I could never look someone in the eye and tell them smoking isn’t both immensely pleasurable and cool-looking. What I would say is this: my mum was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017. Over just a few months I watched her shrivel, become obscured by tangles of medical tubing, and begin to suffocate to death as her lungs filled with fluid. She died that same year, and it was a relief to know that her unimaginable suffering was over. I apologise if this description has either put a damper on your next fag break, or stressed you into taking a fag break when you didn’t even have one planned. As a former smoker, I can understand either scenario.
Eleanor Margolis is a columnist for the i newspaper and Diva
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