Health News at Your Fingertips

Hello, it is Martin Belam here in London, taking over from Samantha Lock. You could be forgiven a slight sense of deja vu as the UK news cycle seems entirely gripped with when Sue Gray is going to publish her report into Downing Street’s lockdown party culture, what Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going to say in parliament in response to that, and then whether he can cling on to his leadership of the Conservative party. So just like yesterday, to be honest.

I’ll bring you the key lines from the morning’s UK media round. Thérèse Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, is on the airwaves for the government. And I’ll also be bringing you continuing coronavirus coverage from around the world.

A convoy of truckers is set to descend on Ottawa in Canada to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border drivers.

Thousands of truckers are protesting a new requirement that they be fully immunised to enter Canada as of 15 January.

Ottawa police Chief Peter Sloly said officers have been in been in contact with protest leaders whom he said have been cooperative and shared their plans, the Associated Press reports.

The US has imposed the same requirement on truckers entering the country.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance has estimated that about 15% truckers in Canada — as many as 16,000 — are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Donald Trump Jr. took to social media Tuesday to endorse the Canadian truck convoy’s fight against “tyranny” and to urge Americans to follow suit.

At the meeting in Ottawa, police disclosed they are preparing for a range of scenarios including the potential for violent outbreaks. Police say they are planning for the arrival of between 1,000 and 2,000 demonstrators, but say the situation is “fluid” and changing by the hour.

Some supporters of the convoy have taken to social media to warn the vaccine mandate for truckers will leave store shelves empty.

Transport minister Omar Alghabra has assured Canadians there’s no reason to fear food shortages will result from a small minority of truck drivers refusing to comply with the vaccine mandate.

Moreover, he said there’s been no “measurable impact” on the number of trucks crossing the border since the vaccine mandate went into effect on 15 January. Last week, he said almost 100,000 trucks crossed the border — about the same as usual for this time of year.

England today lifts Covid restrictions imposed to tackle the Omicron variant, with masks no longer required in enclosed places and vaccine passports shelved.

People will no longer be legally required to wear face masks, although they will still be recommended in some settings.

Covid passports are also to be scrapped to enter places such as nightclubs, football grounds and large-scale events, although venues may continue to ask customers to provide evidence of their vaccination status or a recent negative test if they wish.

The changes are part of the government’s decision to lift Plan B coronavirus measures and come as the number of positive Covid-19 cases has fallen sharply over the past two weeks. Although still at high levels, cases have plateaued in recent days.

The UK government introduced the so-called Plan B restrictions on 8 December, after prime minister Boris Johnson warned of a looming “tidal wave” of Omicron.

Moderna Inc says it has started a mid-stage study, testing a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine specifically designed to target the Omicron variant, a day after rival Pfizer Inc launched a similar trial.

The pharmaceutical company said while a third shot of its original coronavirus vaccine increased neutralising antibodies against the variant at the lower dose, their levels declined six months after the booster dose was administered.

However, neutralising antibodies remained detectable in all participants, Moderna added.

On Tuesday, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech started a clinical trial to test a new version of their vaccine specifically tailored to the Omicron variant.

Moderna said it would study its Omicron-specific booster in adults aged 18 years and older, Reuters reports.

It would test the booster in individuals who received only the two-dose primary series of Moderna’s original vaccine, mRNA-1273, and also in those who received the primary series and a booster dose of the same vaccine, the company said.

Moderna plans to enrol about 300 participants in each of the two groups in the study.

Three studies, led by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have shown that a third dose of an mRNA vaccine, such as those from Pfizer and Moderna, is key to fighting the Omicron variant.

Hello and thanks for joining us for all the latest Covid developments this Thursday.

I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be here for the next hour or so before my colleague Martin Belam takes the reins from London.

It’s another day of humiliation for Boris Johnson as the embattled British PM fields fresh calls to quit over a slew of alleged lockdown breaches in Downing Street.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer pressed Johnson on his behaviour during a session of prime minister’s questions where he said the PM had previously told MPs that “all guidance was followed” in Downing Street over gatherings during Covid lockdowns.

“So since he acknowledges the ministerial code applies to him, will he now resign?” the Labour leader asked. Johnson replied: “No.”

An official report by senior civil servant Sue Gray due to be published in the coming days may prompt a new raft of Conservative MPs to send letters of no confidence in the PM.

Amid all the political chaos it may be easy to forget we are still in the midst of a global pandemic.

People in England today will no longer be legally required to wear face masks, although they will still be recommended in some settings. The change is part of the government’s decision to lift Plan B coronavirus measures.

Covid passports are also to be scrapped although venues may continue to ask customers to provide evidence of their vaccination status or a recent negative test if they wish.

Pharmaceutical company Moderna Inc also announced it has started a mid-stage study, testing a booster dose of its Covid-19 vaccine specifically designed to target the Omicron variant, a day after rival Pfizer Inc launched a similar trial.

Here’s everything else you might have missed:

Europe:

• Italy will ease Covid restrictions for all visitors from European Union countries starting from 1 February, its health ministry said on Wednesday.
• Moderna has started testing an Omicron-specific Covid booster in healthy adults.
• In Denmark, the government announced it will scrap most pandemic restrictions next week, even as neighbouring Sweden extended its own measures for another fortnight.
• Police in Berlin have been authorised to crack down on protesters wearing badges resembling yellow star badges and other symbols associated with the Nazi era at demonstrations against vaccine mandates or other pandemic restrictions. Story here.
• The UK has reported a further 102,292 Covid infections and 346 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest data from the government’s coronavirus dashboard. That compares with 94,326 cases and 439 fatalities in the 24 hours prior.
• Sweden will extend its current pandemic measures by another two weeks, the minister for health said on Wednesday, as Omicron is spreading at record speed. The curbs mean bars and restaurants have to close at 11pm and there is a cap of 500 people inside larger indoor venues.
• As pressure on hospitals eases, Austria will end its lockdown for people not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus on Monday, though some restrictions on public life will remain.

Middle East:

• Israel has broadened its eligibility for a fourth dose of the Covid vaccine to include adults under 60 with underlying medical conditions, their carers and others over 18 at significant risk of exposure to coronavirus.

United States:

• The United States has donated more than 400m vaccine doses to 112 countries, marking a major milestone in the White House’s goal of donating 1.2bn vaccine doses under president Joe Biden’s direction.
• The Americas have seen their highest daily Covid caseloads since the pandemic began, and Omicron has clearly become the predominant variant, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said.