Health News at Your Fingertips

A quick snap from Reuters: Russia has reported 20,182 new Covid cases. That is the most confirmed in a single day since 24 January. The government coronavirus taskforce also confirmed 568 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours

Professor Kevin Fenton, regional director for London for Public Health England (PHE), has been defending Euro 2020 arrangements in the capital, saying allowing 40,000 people into Wembley next week was a controlled situation.

“With all of these large programmes, they’re done under very controlled circumstances,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“So a lot of testing beforehand, measures are placed in the stadium to manage the crowd as well as… to do lateral flow device testing before people enter, and there are marshals across the stadia to ensure that people social distance as best as they can and to follow the rules.

“So there are really strict protocols in place… and the data that we get from events such as these will help us to plan further events in the future, so we need to understand how to live with the virus and to do so safely.”

That isn’t going to do much to pacify parents being told they can’t attend a school sports day when they see tens of thousands of fans at a game.

On the topic of the vaccine roll-out, PA report he added: “We have an ambition to ensure that every Londoner over 18 is offered their vaccine by the end of July… and we want to ensure that some high risk groups, for example, care homes, residents and staff, staff working in the NHS and those who may be at increased risk, those aged over 40, all get their second doses in time before 19 July 19”

The Interfax news agency has a figure for Russian vaccinations this morning – it claims that 20 million people out of the country’s 114 million population had received a shot, with data going up to 18 June.

By the way, at the moment we don’t have a timing for the UK government to release its updated travel advice. It has been heavily trailed that Malta and the Balearics might be moved to the “green list”.

There are, however, transport questions in parliament at 9.30am. We also expect an updated stats bulletin from Public Health England at 2pm today.

Cathay Pacific have said that all Hong Kong-based pilots and flight attendants would need to be vaccinated against Covid by 31 August or risk losing their jobs. It is one of the airline industry’s toughest policies yet.

Cathay said it had struggled with staff rostering due to Hong Kong’s strict quarantine rules on return that have been loosened for crew that have been vaccinated. There are also requirements that only fully vaccinated crews can operate to certain high-risk destinations and on quarantine-free “bubble” flights.

Cathay said 90% of pilots and more than 65% of cabin crew had been vaccinated already, or had appointments for vaccinations, following a previous warning that vaccination was highly likely to become compulsory.

“We understand there will be some who cannot take a vaccine and we will look into accommodating them on a short-term basis where we can,” the airline said in a statement, Reuters report.

“However, we will review the future employment of those who are unable to become vaccinated and assess whether they can continue to be employed as aircrew with Cathay Pacific.”

The vaccine numbers that come out of China are always mind-boggling. Reuters report this morning that yesterday China administered 24.1m doses, bringing the official national total to 1.096bn.

Here’s a bit more from UK environment minister George Eustice on Sky News, who sounded a little impatient to ditch his face mask:

What we want to do on the 19 July, and the prime minister said that the data looks good, is to remove all of the legal restrictions. That’s all of the legal requirements to do things to be taken away completely. Now, whether there will still be some people who might choose to wear masks, or whether it may be advisory in some settings, that’s a separate matter but the the objective of that final stage is to remove the legal requirement to do these things.

Asked whether he would continue to wear a face mask indoors once there is no legal compulsion:

I wouldn’t. I’d have to be honest, once I’m told that it’s safe not to, I want to get back to normal. I think a lot of people will want to shed those masks. But, while it’s contributing to controlling the pandemic, yes I will when I’m asked, like everybody else.

With the July Fourth holiday approaching, the White House has acknowledged this week that Joe Biden’s administration will fall short of his 70% goal and an associated aim of fully vaccinating 165 million adults in the same time frame.

White House officials, while acknowledging they are set to fall short, insist they’re unconcerned. “We don’t see it exactly like something went wrong,” press secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week, stressing that Americans’ lives are still better off than they were when Biden announced the goal.

A half-dozen officials involved in the vaccination campaign, speaking on the condition of anonymity to Associated Press discuss the missed target candidly, pointed to a combination of factors, including: the lessened sense of urgency that followed early success in the vaccination campaign; a decision to reach higher than a play-it-safe lower goal; and unexpectedly strong recalcitrance among some Americans toward getting a shot.

Zeke Miller writes for AP that nonetheless, the White House says it’s not letting up on its vaccination efforts. Joe Biden will be in North Carolina today urging Americans to roll up their sleeves as part of a nationwide “month of action” to drive up the vaccination rate before the holiday. The White House is continuing to roll out increasingly localized programs to encourage specific communities to get vaccinated.

When the 70% goal was first announced by Biden seven weeks ago, on average more than 800,000 Americans were getting their first vaccine dose each day — down from a high of nearly 2 million per day in early April. Now that figure is below 300,000.

Paradoxically, officials believe the strong response to the early vaccination campaign has served to reduce motivation to get a shot for some. One of the most potent motivators for people to get vaccinated was the high rate of cases and deaths. Now that those figures have dropped to levels not seen since the onset of the pandemic, officials say it’s become harder to convince Americans of the urgency to get a shot — particularly for younger populations that already knew they were at low risk of serious complications from the virus.

Indonesian cleric Rizieq Shihab has been sentenced to another four years in prison on Thursday for concealing information about his coronavirus test result.

A three-judge panel at East Jakarta District Court, which was under heavy police and military guard, ruled that he had lied about his test result, which made contact tracing more difficult. Shihab has been detained since 13 December.

Reuters report that authorities blocked streets leading to the court as thousands of Shihab’s supporters tried to stage a rally to demand his release. Police fired tear gas and water canons to disperse followers who tried to approach the court. Hundreds who refused to leave were detained.

The indictment said Shihab’s false statement that he was healthy, which was aired by several news network and went viral on social media, put the community at risk, considering that he had attended several events involving thousands of people.

Shihab’s case was part of a series of criminal trials he has been facing since returning from a three-year exile in Saudi Arabia last November. Shihab, 55, was the leader and grand imam of the now-banned Islam Defenders Front, widely known by the Indonesian acronym FPI.

My colleague Frances Ryan writes for us this morning that during Covid, to be ‘vulnerable’ is to be told by the state that your life doesn’t matter:

High-risk people who hoped ministers would protect them ended up becoming victims of inaction and indifference. A shielding programme in England so inept that nearly two million people were missed off it. Staff sent into care homes without adequate PPE. Shielding workers with no financial support forced into workplaces to pay their bills. This is what institutional neglect looks like: a perfect storm of systematic injustice and old-fashioned disregard.

“Vulnerable” has become a key word in the pandemic lexicon, but it is one that has often done more harm than good. It implies that the mass deaths of disabled and old people were inevitable, and conveniently exonerates the state from responsibility. It suggests that the decision to send untested residents back to care homes was not to blame for subsequent deaths, but rather it was the faulty bodies of the individuals in question.

The truth is, disabled and older people were not “vulnerable” to the virus simply because of their health or age: they were vulnerable because the government did not bother to keep them safe. What happened to our “most vulnerable” during the pandemic was not some terrible tragedy. It was the all too predictable consequence of a system that decided the lives of disabled and older people mattered less than those of the rest.

Read more here: Frances Ryan – During Covid, to be ‘vulnerable’ is to be told your life doesn’t matter

UK minister George Eustice on Sky News has also just been suggesting that when England lifts all restrictions, that may not include all face mask requirements in all settings.