Health News at Your Fingertips

Britons have been warned the coming months will be “challenging” as coronavirus cases continue to rise.

Downing Street said an increase in coronavirus cases had been expected over the winter and the government would keep a “close watch” on the situation, PA Media reported.

Epidemiologist and government adviser Prof Andrew Hayward said the situation was “concerning” and there was “huge potential for the NHS to come under a lot of pressure”.

Government data up to Sunday show more than 300,000 confirmed cases reported over the last seven days, a 15% increase on the previous week. The 852 deaths reported from 11-17 October was 8.5% higher than the figure for the previous seven-day period.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said:

We obviously keep very close watch on the latest statistics. We always knew the coming months would be challenging.

What we are seeing is case rates, hospitalisations and deaths still broadly in line with the modelling as set out a few months back now. The vaccination programme will continue to be our first line of defence, along with new treatments, testing and public health advice.

But we will obviously keep a close watch on cases. But it is thanks to our vaccination programme that we are able to substantially break the link between cases, hospitalisations and deaths.

The spokesman said the success of the vaccines meant “we are able to be one of the most open economies in Europe, which is benefiting the public and indeed businesses as well”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said it expects Bharat Biotech to provide more information on its Covid vaccine in a further setback to the Indian company’s hopes of getting an emergency-use listing for the shot.

Without WHO’s approval the two-dose Covaxin is unlikely to be accepted as a valid Covid vaccine around the world. Bharat Biotech has been pursuing a WHO emergency-use listing for several months, having submitted data on a rolling basis since July.

“We are aware that many people are waiting for WHO’s recommendation for (Bharat Biotech’s) Covaxin to be included in the #COVID19 Emergency Use Listing, but we cannot cut corners,” WHO said on Twitter.

Bharat Biotech did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Covaxin is one of the three approved vaccines that have been used in India for the country’s vaccination drive for adults.

Around 30% of about 944 million eligible adults have been fully vaccinated so far, which includes the administration of more than 112 million doses of Covaxin.

South Africa’s drugs regulator said today that it was not approving an emergency use application for Russia’s Sputnik V Covid vaccine for now, citing concerns about its safety for people at risk of HIV.

South Africa has one of the world’s highest HIV burdens, and some studies have suggested that administration of vaccines using the Adenovirus Type 5 (Ad5) vector – which Sputnik V does – can lead to higher susceptibility to HIV in men.

Viral vector vaccines such as Sputnik V use modified viruses as vehicles, or vectors, to carry genetic information that helps the body build immunity against future infections, Reuters reported.

SAHPRA, the regulator, said it had asked for data demonstrating Sputnik V was safe in settings with high HIV prevalence, but that it had not received enough to establish this.

“SAHPRA resolved that the … (emergency) application for Sputnik V … not be approved at this time. SAHPRA is concerned that use of the Sputnik V vaccine in … a setting of a high HIV prevalence and incidence may increase the risk of vaccinated males acquiring HIV,” the statement read.

The Gamaleya Institute, which developed Sputnik V, said: “Concerns about the safety of Ad5-vectored vaccines in populations at risk for HIV infection are completely unfounded,” adding that SAHPRA would get all the information it needed.

More than 250 clinical trials and 75 international publications confirm the safety of vaccines and medicines based on human adenovirus vectors, the institute added.

Headteachers’ unions are calling for children to be allowed to use walk-in vaccination centres in England after figures revealed the scale of the low take-up of the Covid jab among young teenagers.

In some areas, the rate of vaccine take-up is as low as 5%, while only 15 local authorities in England have managed to give a first jab to at least a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds, data shows.

The picture is very different in Scotland, where young people can also receive doses of the jab in drop-in vaccination centres, as the take-up is already more than 50% in half of local authority areas,PA Media reported.

School leaders’ unions are concerned that 12- to 15-year-olds in England are missing out on getting a Covid vaccination in school due to a high level of cases among the cohort, as well as logistical problems with vaccination teams having insufficient staff to deal with students needing jabs.

Three million pupils aged between 12 and 15 across the UK are eligible to receive a first dose of the Covid vaccine as part of a rollout that began a month ago.

James Bowen, the director of policy for school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

Allowing 12- to 15-year-olds to attend walk-in vaccination centres would be a sensible decision. Those who want to get the vaccination should be able to do so as quickly as possible.

We know that the high level of cases among this age group has led to some pupils who want the vaccine not being able to get it in school, either because they are absent on the day or because they have tested positive for Covid-19 within the last 28 days.

Assuming that this is designed to complement the existing in-school arrangements then it seems the sensible thing to do. It remains crucial that the in-school programme is rolled out as quickly as possible. We know that the health teams working in schools are working tirelessly to achieve this, but they need full support from the government.

In the UK, Downing Street has insisted that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie complied with coronavirus rules following reports Mrs Johnson’s friend Nimco Ali stayed with them over Christmas.

Johnson’s official spokesman said:

The prime minister and Mrs Johnson have followed the coronavirus rules at all times.

Ali insisted “I did not break any rules” after a report in the US in Harper’s Magazine claimed she “spent Christmas with the couple at No 10 despite pandemic restrictions on holiday gatherings”, PA Media reported.

Italian police used water cannon and teargas to clear a sit-in at the port of Trieste, where opponents of the government’s mandatory Covid health pass have tried to block access.

The north-eastern port has been the focal point of protest in Italy over the introduction of rules last Friday that require all workers show either proof of vaccination, a negative coronavirus test or recent recovery from infection.

Police in full riot gear moved in this morning after several hundred dock workers disrupted access to one of the main gates at Italy’s largest commercial port, Reuters reported.

The crowds were pushed aside by jets of water followed by volleys of tear gas. Many of them headed towards the city’s main square to continue their protest in front of government offices.

“They attacked us. I am speechless. I never expected it,” said Stefano Puzzer, the spokesman of the port protesters. “We will sit down here. We are keeping calm. We will not give up.”

The government says the mandatory health “green pass” is needed to keep workers safe and to encourage more people to get vaccinated. Under the rule, effective until year-end, workers will be suspended without pay and face a fine of up to €1,500 if they try to work without the certificate.

Most Italians support the provision, opinion polls show.

Good afternoon, I am Tom Ambrose and I will be bringing you all the latest Covid news from around the world and the UK today.

An interesting story from my colleague Mostafa Rachwani this morning, in case you missed it. In Australia, the Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, has hit back at US senator Ted Cruz who criticised the Northern Territory’s vaccine policy, telling the firebrand Texan conservative “you know nothing about us”.

The spat began when the US Republican shared a video of Gunner announcing the territory’s wide-ranging vaccine mandate for workers.

Cruz lamented the “Covid tyranny of their [Australia’s] current government,” which he said was “disgraceful and sad”.

“Individual liberty matters,” Cruz declared, adding he had considered Australia the “Texas of the Pacific”.

Gunner did not appreciate the feedback, responding on Twitter with a statement sharing a “few facts about Covid down here” and tagging Cruz. “We don’t need your lectures, thanks mate,” the chief minister began.

“Nearly 70,000 Texans have tragically died from Covid. There have been zero deaths in the Territory. Did you know that?

“We’ve done whatever it takes to protect the Territory. That’s kept us safe and free. We have been in lockdown for just eight days in 18 months. Our businesses and school are all open. Did you know that?”

Gunner went on to say that Cruz knows nothing about Australia, and criticised his stance on vaccination.

Moscow’s streets were buzzing with energy on Friday evening. At Simach, a trendy bar and nightclub in the city centre, the small, sweaty dance floor was packed and a long queue of chatty people formed outside. Looking at the crowd, it is easy to forget that Russia is at the centre of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, recording daily record deaths and infections

Russia topped the symbolic figure of 1,000 daily deaths on Saturday for the first time since the start of the pandemic, and hit a new record in infection numbers on Monday with 34,325 cases reported.

Officials say the country is quickly running out of hospital beds and Russia’s chief doctor, Denis Protsenko, described the situation on Friday as “near critical” with vaccinations at a standstill.

During the first coronavirus wave, 60% of Russian households said they had lost income as a result of the economic crisis.

Several regions re-introduced QR codes for access to public places last week as well as mandatory vaccination for certain groups, but Moscow and St Petersburg – home to by far the biggest clusters of infections – have so far opted against new measures. The two cities are among most open places in Europe.

“Russians have consistently shown more concern about the economic situation than the epidemiological one,” said Christian Fröhlich, a sociology professor at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics who studies public dissent.

“People have very low expectations from the government and don’t expect to receive any support during a lockdown. This helps explain why many prefer for the country to stay open despite the deaths.”

Read more of Pjotr Sauer’s report from Moscow here: ‘You reap what you sow’: Russians party despite record Covid figures

• The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has issued a statement this morning that the European Union has exported over 1bn doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the last 10 months. She said “Together with President Biden, we aim for a global vaccination rate of 70% by next year” and promised to pressure world leaders at the Rome G20 summit next week on the issue.
• Russia has again set a new record daily caseload, recording 34,325 new cases in the last 24 hours. That’s up just slightly on the previous day’s 34,303. There were 998 further deaths. The population of Russia is around 144 million people.
• The UK recorded 45,140 new daily cases on Sunday – a significantly higher figure than is usually seen at the weekend, where test reporting tends to tail off, and is the highest jump in positive Covid cases since mid-July.
• Take-up of a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine among young teenagers is below 10% in just over a third of the main local authorities in England, latest figures show.
• This compares unfavourably to Scotland, where take-up is already over 50% in half of local authority areas.
• Cases of psychosis have soared over the past two years in England as an increasing number of people experience hallucinations and delusional thinking amid the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• French pharmaceutical firm Valneva has reported positive results from its Covid-19 trial. CEO Thomas Lingelbach said: “We are committed to bringing our differentiated vaccine candidate to licensure as quickly as possible and continue to believe that we will be able to make an important contribution to the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.”
• India’s vaccination campaign has slowed despite amassing record stockpiles of vaccine, health ministry data shows, as authorities maintain a wider-than-usual gap between doses in a strategy that has boosted coverage.
• Thousands of students in New South Wales, Australia, put on uniforms and packed their lunches for the first time in months on Monday, as kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 students returned to face-to-face learning.
• Melbourne, Australia is set to lift stay-at-home orders this week, ending what is considered to be the world’s longest lockdown. About 5 million people living in Australia’s second-most populous city have spent more than 260 days under six lockdowns since March of 2020.
• Australia’s Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, has hit back at US senator Ted Cruz who criticised the Northern Territory’s vaccine policy, telling the Texan conservative “you know nothing about us”.

That is all from me today, I will be back tomorrow. Tom Ambrose will be here shortly to continue bringing you the latest coronavirus developments from the UK and all around the world.

Take-up of a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine among young teenagers is below 10% in just over a third of the main local authorities in England, latest figures show.

In some areas the rate is as low as 5%, while only 15 authorities have managed to give a first jab to at least a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds. The picture is very different in Scotland, where take-up is already over 50% in half of local authority areas.

First doses of Covid-19 vaccine began to be rolled out to all the UK’s 3.2 million 12- to 15-year-olds nearly a month ago.

But Ian Jones reports for PA Media that figures for England and Scotland – the two nations currently publishing daily statistics on take-up – show wide variations across the countries.

In 55 of the 149 upper tier local authorities in England, or 37% of the total, fewer than one in 10 children aged 12 to 15 are estimated to have received a first dose. Barking & Dagenham has the lowest take-up (3.5%), followed by Newham and Lewisham (both 5.2%), all of which are in London.

Take-up is also likely to have been affected by the level of infection circulating in the community. A first dose of vaccine cannot be delivered to someone if they are within four weeks of testing positive for Covid-19, waiting for the results of a coronavirus test, or self-isolating.

Around one in 10 children in England in school years 7 to 11 were likely to have tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to 9 October – the highest rate for any age group – according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has issued a statement this morning about the EU reaching a vaccine milestone. She says the bloc has exported over 1bn vaccine doses worldwide. She says:

We have reached an important milestone in the delivery of Covid-19 vaccines to the world. The European Union has exported over 1bn vaccine doses worldwide, over the past ten months. Vaccines produced in the EU have been shipped to more than 150 countries. We delivered around 87m doses to low- and middle-income countries through Covax. Very clearly, the European Union is the largest exporter of Covid-19 vaccines.

In parallel, the EU has enabled the vaccination of our citizens. And more than 75% of adults in the EU are now fully vaccinated. Together with President Biden, we aim for a global vaccination rate of 70% by next year. The EU-US Agenda for Beating the Global Pandemic will help us achieve that. On top of our exports, the EU will donate in the next months at least 500 million doses to the most vulnerable countries. But other countries need to step up, too.

Von der Leyen goes on to say that she will be pressing world leaders at the G20 summit in Rome next week on the issue.

Russia has again set a new record daily caseload, recording 34,325 new cases in the last 24 hours. That’s up just slightly on the previous day’s 34,303.

The official death toll was raised by 998, with the numbers continuing to hover close to 1,000 deaths per day.

About a third of adults in the country have had at least one Covid vaccine shot. The population of Russia is around 144 million people

French pharmaceutical firm Valneva has reported positive results from its Covid-19 trial.

In new phase 3 results reported today, Valneva said its vaccine showed superior neutralising antibody titer levels compared with the comparator vaccine from AstraZeneca. The company also said its vaccine – VLA2001 – induced broad T-cell responses, a part of the immune system believed to be involved in long-term immunity.

PA Media reports that the phase 3 trial recruited 4,012 people across 26 trial sites in the UK.

Thomas Lingelbach, the chief executive officer of Valneva, said: “We are committed to bringing our differentiated vaccine candidate to licensure as quickly as possible and continue to believe that we will be able to make an important contribution to the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.”

Last month, the UK government scrapped a deal for Valneva’s vaccine, with health secretary Sajid Javid telling MPs it had been “clear” the vaccine “would not get approval” by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK.