Category Archives: Microbiology

Covid-19: what happens next? – podcast

Posted on by

On 23 March 2020, the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced the first lockdown in response to the growing number of cases of Covid-19. At the same time, countries around the world began to close their schools, restaurants, and offices and ask citizens to physically distance from one another. In the 12 months since, more than 2 million people have died, viral variants have emerged, and we have developed safe and effective vaccines.

One year into the pandemic, Science Weekly is asking: what happens next? Ian Sample talks to the professors Martin Landray, Mike Tildesley, and Deborah Dunn-Walters about Covid treatments, vaccines and what the next 12 months may hold

Continue reading...

Can the UK avoid a third wave of Covid?

Posted on by

Analysis: as lockdown restrictions ease, the country now faces a race between vaccination and infection

Britain’s latest lockdown has dramatically reduced cases of coronavirus, and the number of people being admitted to hospital and dying from the disease. What the country faces now is essentially a race between vaccination and infection: can we protect people faster than the virus spreads as restrictions are eased?

This was always going to be a balancing act. The UK vaccination strategy of prioritising the most vulnerable people and moving down the age groups is intended to save lives first and slow transmission second. This means that as the country unlocks, infections are likely to rise, primarily in younger people who have more social contacts and have not yet been vaccinated. Hospitalisations and deaths are expected to rise too, though not as sharply: even though vaccine coverage has been high in vulnerable groups and older people, not everyone has the vaccine and it will not protect all those who do.

Continue reading...

China to only allow foreign visitors who have had Chinese-made vaccine

Posted on by

Move raises questions as China’s vaccines not approved in many countries to which it is opening travel

China is resuming visa processing for foreigners from dozens of countries, but only if they have been inoculated against Covid-19 with a Chinese-made vaccine.

The move has raised questions about the motivations behind the demand, given China’s vaccines are not approved in many of the countries to which it has opened travel and that it will not accept foreign vaccines made elsewhere, including those approved by the World Health Organization.

Continue reading...

Covid death on Isle of Man deals a blow after tough lockdown

Posted on by

Manx government has run strict regime to keep island virus-free but isolation exemption for ferry workers causes anger

On Friday, the chief minister of the Isle of Man announced some bad news. A patient in the island’s Noble’s hospital had died from coronavirus, he said, the first Manx Covid death since 5 November.

Howard Quayle said he knew the news would “come as a blow” to the Isle of Man’s 85,000 residents. “The death of a member of our island community is a painful reminder of how dangerous this virus is,” he added.

Continue reading...

Ireland suspends AstraZeneca Covid vaccine over blood clot concerns

Posted on by

Deployment of Oxford vaccine temporarily deferred after latest reports from Norway

Ireland is suspending use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine as a precautionary measure following further reports of blood clots in people who have received it, this time from Norway.

The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, said Ireland’s advisory body on vaccines had recommended that deployment of the AstraZeneca jab should be “temporarily deferred” with immediate effect. He stressed, though, that there was no proof that the vaccine had caused blood clots.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: UK still not out of the woods, expert says; Dalai Lama gets first Covid vaccine dose

Posted on by

Contradictory death figures in Russia; WHO warns against relaxing guard due to vaccines

India’s federal government has asked local authorities to prioritise vaccinations in several districts of eight states, including New Delhi, that have seen a spike in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

Reuters reports:

More than 60 districts across New Delhi, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Chandigarh, “continue to be of concern”, the government said.

“These districts are seeing a decrease in total tests being conducted, low share of (tests), increase in weekly positivity and low number of contact tracing of the COVID positive cases,” it added, citing a risk of transmission to neighbouring regions.

More than 1,000 people in north-east England have been checked for coronavirus in the first day of surge testing after a variant from South Africa was discovered in their area.

The BBC reports that everyone aged over 16 living in Stockton’s TS19 postcode area was being urged to get tested even if asymptomatic. The local council said the variant was “more infectious” and cases needed to be identified “as quickly as possible”. Early studies indicate that this variant could be much more resistant to vaccines than the original strain.

Continue reading...

From Pfizer to Moderna: who’s making billions from Covid-19 vaccines?

Posted on by

The companies in line for the biggest gains – and the shareholders who have already made fortunes

The arrival of Covid-19 vaccines promises a return to more normal life – and has created a global market worth tens of billions of dollars in annual sales for some pharmaceutical companies.

Among the biggest winners will be Moderna and Pfizer – two very different US pharma firms which are both charging more than $30 per person for the protection of their two-dose vaccines. While Moderna was founded just 11 years ago, has never made a profit and employed just 830 staff pre-pandemic, Pfizer traces its roots back to 1849, made a net profit of $9.6bn last year and employs nearly 80,000 staff.

Continue reading...

Covid deaths high in countries with more overweight people, says report

Posted on by

Governments urged to prioritise obese people for vaccinations over greater risk of death from coronavirus

Countries with high levels of overweight people, such as the UK and the US, have the highest death rates from Covid-19, a landmark report reveals, prompting calls for governments to urgently tackle obesity, as well as prioritising overweight people for vaccinations.

About 2.2 million of the 2.5 million deaths from Covid were in countries with high levels of overweight people, says the report from the World Obesity Federation. Countries such as the UK, US and Italy, where more than 50% of adults are overweight, have the biggest proportions of deaths linked to coronavirus.

Continue reading...

Northern Ireland’s five steps out of Covid lockdown: key points

Posted on by

Plan for moving from lockdown to relaxation of restrictions will be guided by data

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, has unveiled a cautious five-step plan to ease the region’s Covid-19 lockdown. The plan has no hard dates and will be led by data, notably the reproductive rate of the virus, O’Neill told the Stormont assembly on Tuesday.

The 28-page plan, titled Moving Forward: the Executive’s Pathway out of Restrictions, envisages a five-stage process moving from lockdown to relaxation of restrictions for nine different sectors.

Continue reading...

Covid: Germany and France under pressure to shift Oxford vaccine

Posted on by

Both countries urged to take action to avoid pile-up of unused AstraZeneca vaccine doses

Authorities in Germany and France are under pressure to come up with creative solutions to shift the AstraZeneca vaccine at higher speed in order to avoid a pile-up of unused doses over the coming weeks.

On Monday, France’s medical regulator reversed its advice not to use the AstraZeneca jab on over-65s, and Germany’s vaccination committee is coming under increasing pressure to follow suit or even scrap prioritisation altogether.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus live news: Captain Tom Moore funeral takes place; Auckland to go into lockdown for seven days

Posted on by

Rishi Sunak warns of risk to economy; Joe Biden tells US ‘now is not the time to relax - follow all the day’s news as it happens

Attendees have been asked to stand while a verse from the war poem For the Fallen were read at Captain Tom Moore’s funeral.

The bugler is now playing The Last Post.

Continue reading...

Covax delivers first Covid vaccines in ‘momentous occasion’

Posted on by

Doses land in Accra as part of scheme seeking to offset ‘vaccine nationalism’

Covax has delivered its first Covid-19 vaccine doses in a milestone for the ambitious programme that seeks to offset “vaccine nationalism” by wealthy countries and ensure poor ones do not wait years to start inoculating people.

An aircraft carrying 600,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine landed in Accra, the capital of Ghana, on Wednesday, where jabs will be administered to frontline health workers on Tuesday. Vaccine doses will arrive on Friday in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, and will be given from Monday.

Continue reading...

Scientists say clinical trials for ‘variant-proof’ vaccines could start very soon

Posted on by

From immunity to blocking transmission of the virus, labs across the UK are hunting for second-generation jabs


Scientists are developing a range of second-generation Covid vaccines aimed at expanding protection against the disease.

Continue reading...

Coronavirus: UK should donate vaccines to poorer nations now, says new WTO chief; French cities facing tougher lockdowns

Posted on by
  • Russia registers third Covid vaccine
  • Argentina’s health minister resigns over vaccine allocations
  • France reports increase in daily Covid death toll
  • Ireland reports three cases of Brazilian variant
  • See all our coronavirus coverage

Greece reported 1,424 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, as well as 23 further deaths.

This compares with 1,222 cases and 26 deaths last Saturday.

There have been more than 3.8 million confirmed Covid-19 cases on the African continent, and more than 100,000 fatalities.

The number is understood to be an underestimation, with the director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) saying last week that it was “definitely not counting all the deaths, especially in the second wave”.

Over 3.8 million confirmed #COVID19 cases on the African continent - with more than 3.3 million recoveries & 100,000 deaths cumulatively.

View country figures & more with the WHO African Region COVID-19 Dashboard: https://t.co/FKav40Cbdd pic.twitter.com/QaygLU6nic

Continue reading...

Covid: vaccinated Israelis to enjoy bars and hotels with ‘green pass’

Posted on by

Mobile app inoculation certificate aims to help reopen economy, but privileges are untested and raise ethical questions

Israel is preparing itself to be split in half from next week, with the government creating a new privileged tier in society: the vaccinated.

Nearly 50% of the population who have chosen to be inoculated against Covid will be provided with a “green pass” a week after their second shot, as will those with presumed immunity after contracting the disease.

Continue reading...

Life savers: the amazing story of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine

Posted on by

A year ago, two scientists began work on the response to a new virus. Now, as their vaccine is being given to millions, they tell of their incredible 12 months

Exactly a year ago, Oxford University scientists launched a joint enterprise that is set to have a profound impact on the health of our planet. On 11 February, research teams led by Professor Andy Pollard and Professor Sarah Gilbert – both based at the Oxford Vaccine Centre – decided to combine their talents to develop and manufacture a vaccine that could protect people from the deadly new coronavirus that was beginning to spread across the world.

A year later that vaccine is being administered to millions across Britain and other nations and was last week given resounding backing by the World Health Organization. The head of the WHO’s department of immunisation, vaccines and biologicals, Professor Kate O’Brien, described the jab as “efficacious” and “an important vaccine for the world”.

Continue reading...

Wales is first UK nation to offer Covid jab to top four priority groups

Posted on by

Everyone in top four categories has been offered first vaccine dose, says first minister

Wales has become the first UK nation to have offered a Covid jab to everyone in the top four priority groups, the first minister, Mark Drakeford has announced.

Last month, Drakeford was forced to defend Wales’s vaccination programme after criticism of delays from opposition parties and doctors. But at a press conference on Friday, he said that 66 days after people in Wales first began getting the jab, the key target had been achieved.

Continue reading...

Ursula von der Leyen admits failings in EU Covid vaccine rollout

Posted on by

European commission leader says bloc late to authorise jabs and ‘not where it wants to be’

The EU is “not where it wants to be” with its coronavirus immunisation programme, Ursula von der Leyen has conceded, as she faced MEPs in the European parliament amid mounting criticism of the bloc’s slow deployment of vaccines.

“We were late to authorise,” the European commission president said. “We were too optimistic when it came to massive production, and perhaps too confident that what we ordered would actually be delivered on time. We need to ask ourselves why that is the case.”

Continue reading...

Europe’s oldest person survives Covid and set to celebrate 117th birthday

Posted on by

French nun Sister Andrée tested positive in her retirement home in Toulon but had no symptoms

A French nun who is Europe’s oldest person has recovered from Covid-19 after it swept through a nursing home in the south of France, and will celebrate her 117th birthday this week.

Sister Andrée, born Lucile Randon in 1904, tested positive for the coronavirus last month at the Sainte-Catherine Labouré home near Toulon where 81 of the 88 residents contracted the virus – 10 of whom died.

Continue reading...

Study shows Oxford Covid vaccine has less protection against South African variant

Posted on by

Researchers say vaccines’ focus must shift to protecting people from hospitalisation and death

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will not stop people becoming ill if they contract the South African variant of Covid-19, researchers have confirmed, warning that vaccines’ focus needs to shift from population immunity to protecting individuals from hospitalisation and death.

The small study in 2,000 people aged 31, who are less likely to become severely ill, adds to evidence from big trials of other vaccines carried out after the variant appeared in South Africa. Trial data from the Janssen and Novavax vaccines showed efficacy in South Africa was up to 60% against the variant, substantially lower than against the original virus.

Continue reading...