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Found 452 results
  1. News Article
    GP surgeries are waiting up to a month for supplies of this winter’s flu vaccine amid unprecedented numbers of patients seeking jabs ahead of the second wave of COVID-19, family doctors have said. The Royal College of GPs (RCPG) has written to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, seeking assurances that they will have enough doses of the vaccine to cope with demand. The struggle to get jabs has prompted fears that vulnerable groups, including elderly people and those with underlying conditions, will go unprotected. “We have heard anecdotally that some surgeries are waiting up to a month for replenished supplies of vaccine, which raises concerns that there are significant distribution problems,” Prof Martin Marshall, the RCGP’s chair and a family doctor in London, said in the letter. One GP in Nottingham said there had been “a huge uptake compared to previous years, well over what we anticipated” at their surgery among groups eligible for the free jab, “so supplies ran out quickly”. “The next delivery is several weeks away and there are patients in at-risk groups who are having to wait. We have a patient aged 70 with heart disease who wants the vaccine but we currently have none to give her until the next delivery in mid to late October,” the GP said. Shortages mean that people aged 50 to 64, who are being offered a jab for the first time on the NHS, may have to wait until those with a greater medical need have been immunised first. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 October 2020
  2. News Article
    Less than half of the UK population will get a Covid vaccine with the elderly being top priority - a top advisor has warned. Kate Bingham, who was appointed as the chair of the Vaccine Taskforce back in May has claimed that the public has been “misguided” when it comes to availability of a vaccine. In an interview with the Financial Times, she said the government “needs to vaccinate everyone at risk”. She said: “People keep talking about ‘time to vaccinate the whole population’, but that is misguided." “There’s going to be no vaccination of people under 18. It’s an adult-only vaccine, for people over 50, focusing on health workers and carehome workers and the vulnerable.” Read full story Source: Financial Times, 4 October 2020
  3. News Article
    Experts say robust legal protections are needed to inspire public confidence. The UK government has set out plans to amend drug regulations in case it decides that COVID-19 vaccines should be used before they are licensed, in a bid to roll them out more quickly. In a consultation on the proposals that ran from 28 August to 18 September the Department of Health and Social Care for England explained that if a suitable vaccine emerged with strong evidence of safety, quality, and efficacy the government would seek to license it through the usual route but could supply it in the meantime. The document added, “A COVID-19 vaccine would only be authorised in this way if the UK’s licensing authority was satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate the safety, quality, and efficacy of the vaccine. ‘Unlicensed’ does not mean ‘untested.” The consultation, and the timeframe in which it was conducted, prompted some people to post their concerns on social media. However, the Human Medicine Regulations 2012 already allow the licensing authority to temporarily authorise the supply of an unlicensed product in response to certain public health threats, including the suspected spread of pathogens. The proposed change would allow conditions to be attached “to ensure product safety, quality, and efficacy” The 2012 regulations also give healthcare professionals and manufacturers immunity from being sued in the civil courts for the use of some unlicensed products recommended by the licensing authority in response to a public health threat. The new regulations would extend the immunity to drug companies that have not manufactured the product but placed it on the market with the approval of the licensing authority, and they clarify the consequences for a breach of conditions imposed by the authority. Social media posts play into existing concerns that many people might not accept the vaccine, as surveys indicate. Lawyers have told the Department for Health and Social Care that to inspire public confidence it must provide redress for the few people who might experience adverse effects. Bozena Michalowska, a partner specialising in product liability at the law firm Leigh Day, said, “I do not believe that people will want to play Russian roulette with their health by taking a vaccine which they know nothing about, especially when they know that the risks they take are just taken by them and not a shared risk and they will not have sufficient protection should things go wrong.” Read full story Source: The BMJ, 28 September 2020
  4. News Article
    Having flu and COVID-19 together significantly increases your risk of death, say government scientists who are urging all those at risk of getting or transmitting flu to get the vaccine in the coming weeks and months. The evidence for the double whammy is currently limited and comes mostly from a study with small numbers – 58 people – carried out in the UK during the early phase of the pandemic. “As I understand it, it’s 43% of those with co-infection died compared with 26.9% of those who tested positive for Covid only,” said England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam. These were people who had been hospitalised and had been tested for both viruses, he said, and so were very ill – but the rate of death from Covid alone in the study between January and April was similar to the known rate of Covid hospital mortality generally of around 25% or 26%. "I think it is the relative difference in size of those rates that’s rather more important than the absolute rate,” he said. The study may have been small and they would be doing further studies this season, but the findings tallied with other work that has been done, he said. “If you get both, you are in some serious trouble, and the people who are most likely to get both of these infections may be the very people who can least afford to in terms of their own immune system, or their risk for serious outcomes. So please protect yourself against flu, this year,” says said Prof Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England The government has bought 30,000,000 doses of flu vaccine, which is more than ever before. They will arrive in batches, so the elderly – over 65 – and those with medical conditions will be called for immunisation first. Relatives of those who are on the shielding list will also be called up. The letters will begin to go out this week. Because of the threat of Covid and the risk that people with flu could be infected if admitted to hospital, all those aged 50-64 will be offered flu vaccination, but not straight away. They should wait to be called by their GP. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 September 2020
  5. News Article
    Pregnant women are struggling to get the coronavirus vaccine because clinics are unable to guarantee they will have the right type of jab available, Labour MP Stella Creasy has said. The Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna jabs are preferable for pregnant women because there is more safety data available. But the online booking system in England does not allow them to specify which vaccine they require. Pregnant women are advised to speak to their GP instead of booking online. But Ms Creasy, 44, said GPs do not always know when local vaccination centres will have specific types of the jab available. The MP for Walthamstow, who is currently pregnant with her second child, said she had received five invitations to be vaccinated but she could not take them up because there is no system to specify she needs the Pfizer or Moderna jab. "I don't think it's been made enough of a priority because there's a presumption it will become more of a priority as they move through the age groups, which is a misreading of the data about pregnancy," she told the BBC. Read full story Source: BBC News, 7 May 2021
  6. News Article
    Two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine can provide more than 95% protection against infection, severe illness and death from Covid, according to a groundbreaking study in Israel. The middle eastern country currently leads the world in its inoculation programme, with more than half (56 per cent) of its population having already received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The research, published today in The Lancet journal, also concluded that a single dose of the jab provides 58 per cent protection against infection, 76% against hospital admission, and 77% against death. The researchers said their study highlights the importance of fully vaccinating adults against the virus but acknowledged challenges remain to get the pandemic under control – including uncertainty around how long immunity lasts, from both vaccines and natural infection, and the emergence of variants that may be resistant to jabs currently on the market. Read full story Source: The Independent, 6 May 2021
  7. News Article
    Younger adults are particularly affected by the rare blood clotting disorder linked to the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the UK's medicines regulator has said. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there were 209 cases in the UK of the rare combination of blood clots with low platelet counts following being vaccinated the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, with 41 deaths, up to 21 April. This is up from 168 cases and 32 deaths the previous week. The new data also shows 24 cases of clots in people aged 18 to 29, 28 in those in their thirties, 30 in people in their forties, 59 in people in their fifties and 57 in those aged 60 and above, with the age not known in the remaining cases. The numbers appear to rise with age but that is because more older people have been vaccinated. Fewer than one in five clots was fatal. The latest NHS England data show that 5.5 million people under 45 had received a first dose by 25 April, while 22.6 million of those 45 and over had done so. MHRA chief executive June Raine said no medicine or vaccine was without risk, but that blood clots were extremely rare. She added: “The benefits of the vaccine continue to outweigh the risks for most people. It is still vitally important that people come forward for their vaccination when invited to do so." Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 May 2021
  8. News Article
    The vaccination rate for staff at older care homes is below the recommended level set by scientists in more than half of England’s local authorities, analysis of NHS England data has revealed. Data as of 18 April shows that 76 out of 149 LAs had not reached the 80% vaccination threshold for care home staff to provide a minimum level of protection against COVID-19, according to the PA news agency. In 17 areas, less than 70% of staff had received a first jab. Lambeth, where 23 cases of a South African COVID variant have been recently reported in a care home, had the lowest uptake at 52.4%. The government last week announced the launch of a five-week consultation on mandatory staff vaccination as a result of the failure in some areas to reach the designated threshold. Read full story Source: Care Home Professional. 23 April 2021
  9. News Article
    Pregnant women should be offered a Covid jab when other people their age get one, the UK's vaccine advisers say. They say the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are preferable because data from the US in 90,000 pregnant women has not raised any safety concerns. Up until now, only women with underlying health conditions or those whose risk of exposure to the virus was high were eligible. The shift in advice brings the UK into line with other countries. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation now advises that pregnant women should all be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines where available, at the same time as the rest of the population. They are encouraged to discuss the risks and benefits of the vaccines with their doctor before making the appointment, but it is not a requirement. "There is no evidence to suggest that other vaccines are unsafe for pregnant women, but more research is needed," it added. Currently, there is a lack of data on the AstraZeneca vaccine in pregnancy because pregnant women were not included in trials, but the JCVI says more evidence may be forthcoming in the near future. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 April 2021
  10. News Article
    A group of royal colleges has produced guidance for doctors seeing patients who have concerns about symptoms after receiving the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The Royal College of Emergency Medicine, the Society for Acute Medicine, and the Royal College of Physicians say that anyone who presents with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 vaccine induced thrombosis and thrombocytopenia (VITT)1 should have a full blood count to check their platelet level. Symptoms of concern include persistent or severe headaches, seizures, or focal neurology; shortness of breath, persistent chest, or abdominal pain; and swelling, redness, pallor, or cold lower limbs. The advice comes after the HSJ reported that emergency clinicians had raised concerns over a surge in patients attending emergency departments as a result of anxiety over the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Investigations by EU and UK regulators into reports of unusual blood clots after receiving the vaccine concluded that these are a “possible” and “extremely rare” side effect. Katherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, said that following the announcements, patients had been attending emergency departments after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. “I saw 21 patients with concerns in an eight hour shift, so we have to have a way of dealing with this. It was important for us to have a strategy for managing those patients that didn’t mean that they were getting over-investigated but they were getting reassurance. We also need to be aware that if somebody has significant symptoms it is always possible, given the rarity of VITT, that it is something else,” she said. Read full story Source: BMJ, 13 April 2021
  11. News Article
    Emergency clinicians have raised concerns and called for central guidance for dealing with a rush of unnecessary A&E attendances triggered by health anxiety over the Oxford covid vaccine’s safety. HSJ has heard from numerous emergency clinicians who reported an increasing number of attendances from people with very mild symptoms, such as headaches, but who were concerned they might be having a potentially serious reaction to the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab. The reports have come from London, the Midlands, the South, the North West and the East of England. Some expressed concerns about the impact of increased attendances on already busy accident and emergency departments. Senior staff said patients were self-presenting at A&E and at their GPs. HSJ has also been told some emergency departments have been alarmed by the number of patients presenting with mild symptoms who said they were told to go to A&E by their GPs. The concerns follow the announcement by government and regulators earlier this week that under-30s should be offered different covid vaccines where they are available, because of uncertain evidence of a very small risk of serious blood clotting linked to the Oxford/Az jab. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 9 April 2021
  12. News Article
    Women need more information about contraceptive options, experts said, after concerns over rare blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca Covid jab prompted a debate over side-effects caused by certain forms of the pill. On Wednesday the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that evidence that the jab could be causing a rare blood clotting syndrome was growing stronger. As a result the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that healthy people under the age of 30 who were at low risk of Covid should be offered a different vaccine if possible. But the announcement prompted numerous posts on social media questioning why there had been little comment on combined hormonal contraceptives. These methods, which include certain pills, vaginal rings and patches, contain forms of oestrogen and progesterone hormones and have been associated with increased risk of clots, including deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) – a very rare clot on the brain. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain Adam Finn, a professor who is part of the JCVI, confirmed the difference in risk. “The risks of thrombosis that come with taking the pill are very much higher than the risks that we were just seeing on those slides [relating to the rare blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine],” he said. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 9 April 2021
  13. News Article
    Increasingly strong evidence shows that the UK's vaccination programme is breaking the link between COVID-19 cases and deaths, scientists tracking the epidemic have said. A study found infections had fallen by roughly two-thirds since February, before beginning to level off. This is probably because people are beginning to mix more - but deaths have not followed the same pattern. This was not the case before January, when the vaccine rollout began. The research, commissioned by the government and run by Imperial College London, is based on swabs taken from 140,000 people selected to represent England's population. Of that group, who were tested for the virus between 11 and 30 March, 227 had a positive result, giving a rate of 0.2%, or one in 500 people. But in people over the age of 65, the infection rate was half that with one in 1,000 people testing positive for Covid. Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 April 2021
  14. News Article
    GPs should only give the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine to patients with medical conditions which put them at higher risk of developing blood clots if the benefits outweigh the risks, the UK medicines regulator has said. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued the advice to healthcare professionals regarding while it continues to review a link between the vaccine and rare blood clots. It has also added to previous advice regarding symptoms for patients to look out for following their Covid vaccination with the AZ vaccine. The new advice from the MHRA said: Administration of Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in people of any age who are at higher risk of blood clots because of their medical condition should be considered only if benefits from the protection from COVID-19 infection outweighs potential risks. Anyone who experienced cerebral or other major blood clots occurring with low levels of platelets after their first vaccine dose of Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca should not have their second dose. Anyone who did not have these side effects should come forward for their second dose when invited. Pregnancy predisposes to thrombosis, therefore women should discuss with their healthcare professional whether the benefits of having the vaccine outweigh the risks for them. Meanwhile, ‘anyone who has symptoms four days or more after vaccination is advised to seek prompt medical advice’. These include: a new onset of severe or persistent headache, blurred vision, confusion or seizures develop shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling or persistent abdominal pain, unusual skin bruising or pinpoint round spots beyond the injection site. Read full story Source: Pulse, 7 April 2021
  15. News Article
    An estimated 10% to 30% of people who get COVID-19 suffer from lingering symptoms of the disease, or what's known as "long COVID." Judy Dodd, who lives in New York City, is one of them. She spent nearly a year plagued by headaches, shortness of breath, extreme fatigue and problems with smell, among other symptoms. She says she worried that this "slog through life" was going to be her new normal. Everything changed after she got her COVID-19 vaccine. "I was like a new person, it was the craziest thing ever," says Dodd, referring to how many of her health problems subsided significantly after her second shot. And she's not alone. As the U.S. pushes to get people vaccinated, a curious benefit is emerging for those with this post-illness syndrome: Their symptoms are easing and, in some cases, fully resolving after they get vaccinated. Judy Dodd suffered lingering symptoms of COVID-19 for nearly a year, until she got her vaccine. It's the latest clue in the immunological puzzle of long COVID, a still poorly understood condition that leaves some who get infected with wide-ranging symptoms months after the initial illness. The notion that a vaccine aimed at preventing the disease may also be a treatment has sparked optimism among patients, and scientists who study the post-illness syndrome are taking a close look at these stories. Read full story Source: NPR, 31 March 2021
  16. News Article
    People aged 16 or over who live with immunosuppressed adults should be prioritised for COVID-19 vaccination alongside priority group 6 (people aged 16 to 65 who have a clinical condition that puts them at higher risk), the UK government’s vaccine advisory committee has said. This would include people living in households with an adult who has a weakened immune system, such as those with blood cancer or HIV, or people on immunosuppressive treatment, including chemotherapy, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said. These people are not only more likely to have poorer outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection but may not respond as well to the vaccine as others, recent evidence indicates, said the JCVI. The committee said it had made the new recommendation after evidence emerged showing that the covid-19 vaccines may reduce transmission, meaning that vaccinating those around immunosuppressed individuals could help reduce their risk of infection. The JCVI’s chair of COVID-19 immunisations, Wei Shen Lim, said, “The vaccination programme has so far seen high vaccine uptake and very encouraging results on infection rates, hospitalisations, and mortality. Yet we know that the vaccine isn’t as effective in those who are immunosuppressed. Our latest advice will help reduce the risk of infection in those who may not be able to fully benefit from being vaccinated themselves.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 29 March 2021
  17. News Article
    Tens of thousands of post-operative deaths could be avoided by ensuring patients are given coronavirus vaccines while waiting for elective surgery, a new study suggests. People awaiting surgery around the globe should thus be prioritised for COVID-19 jabs ahead of other groups, according to the research, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Studying data for 141,582 patients from across 1,667 hospitals in 116 countries – including Australia, Brazil, China, India, UAE, the UK and the US, scientists found that between 0.6 and 1.6% of patients have developed coronavirus in the wake of elective surgery. For patients who did contract COVID-19, their risk of death was four to eight times greater than typically seen in the 30 days after surgery. Given the higher risks that surgical patients face, scientists calculate that vaccines are more likely to have a life-saving impact upon pre-operative patients – particularly the over-70s and cancer patients – than among the general population. The researchers estimated that – in order to save one life in the course of a year – 351 people aged over 70 facing cancer surgery required vaccination. This figure rises to 1,840 among over-70s in general. “Pre-operative vaccination could support a safe restart of elective surgery by significantly reducing the risk of Covid-19 complications in patients and preventing tens of thousands of Covid-19-related post-operative deaths,” said co-lead author Aneel Bhangu, from the University of Birmingham. Read full story Source: The Independent, 25 March 2021
  18. News Article
    Care home workers in England could be legally required to have a COVID-19 vaccination under plans being considered by the government. According to details of a paper submitted to the COVID-19 operations cabinet subcommittee last week and leaked to the Telegraph, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, and the health secretary, Matt Hancock, have agreed to the proposal in order to protect vulnerable residents. The move would prove highly controversial and could result in legal challenges. The cabinet subcommittee paper warned a large number of social care workers may quit if the change is made, and said that lawsuits on human rights grounds could be possible. A government spokesman insisted “no final decisions have been made” but did not rule out jabs being made compulsory for care workers. The government is also reviewing the introduction of vaccination passports. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 22 March 2021
  19. News Article
    One consequence of an active immune response can be an enlarged lymph node. And, because coronavirus vaccines activate the immune system, some people have swollen nodes in the days following a vaccine. These are harmless if uncomfortable side effects – but they can be misleading when scanned by a radiologist, including during a mammogram. After vaccination, a swollen lymph node may appear as a lump in the armpit. These glands are hotbeds of immune activity, filtering pathogens and storing germ-fighting cells. If you’ve had a sore throat or a cold, there’s a chance you’ve felt a swollen node in your neck. The post-vaccine node may be palpable, too. Any swelling should resolve within days, and if it does, it isn’t a cause for concern. However, should it persist for multiple weeks, then it’s not a bad idea to notify your doctor. Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 March 2021
  20. News Article
    Some of the country’s most clinically vulnerable people have yet to receive the coronavirus vaccination, Guardian analysis shows. Ministers had said all clinically extremely vulnerable adults would be offered a vaccination by 15 February, but more than a month later some people who are housebound because of health problems have yet to be offered a jab they can actually access. People whose disability or age means that they are unable to get to one of the mass vaccine centres around the country were meant to be visited by a “mobile health worker” at home, similar to that offered to care home residents. However, while government figures suggest that nearly nine in 10 people who are clinically extremely vulnerable have received a first dose, a number who are housebound are missing out, with some being expected to travel miles to a vaccine centre. Kim Liddell, 49, from Cheshire, is housebound because of the nerve condition cauda equina syndrome, and is still waiting for a home visit. “I’ve spoken to my GP practice and all I have been told is they are in the process of setting up clinics,” she said. “The worst part of this is my father died from Covid three weeks ago. And I am at massive risk as my son, who lives with me, is a teacher, doesn’t drive [and has gone] back to face-to-face teaching. I’m absolutely petrified. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 March 2021
  21. News Article
    Arianna Eisenberg endured long-haul COVID-19 for eight months, a recurring nightmare of soaking sweats, crushing fatigue, insomnia, brain fog and muscle pain. But Eisenberg’s tale has a happy ending that neither she nor current medical science can explain. Thirty-six hours after her second shot of coronavirus vaccine last month, her symptoms were gone, and they haven’t returned. “I really felt back to myself,” the 34-year-old Brooklyn therapist said, “to a way that I didn’t think was possible when I was really sick.” Some people who have spent months suffering from long-haul COVID-19 are taking to social media to report their delight at seeing their symptoms disappear after their vaccinations, leaving experts chasing yet another puzzling clinical development surrounding the disease caused by the coronavirus. “The only thing that we can safely assume is that an unknown proportion of people who acquire SARS-CoV-2 have long-term symptoms,” said Steven Deeks, an infectious-disease physician at the University of California at San Francisco. “We know the questions. We have no answers. Hard stop.” Read full story Source: The Washington Post, 16 March 2021
  22. News Article
    There is no evidence the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine causes blood clots, say UK and EU regulators after a "thorough and careful review". The MHRA and the EMA say people can have confidence in the vaccine's benefits and should get immunised, despite some countries pausing use. But anyone with a headache lasting more than four days after vaccination should seek medical advice, as a precaution. The same advice applies if someone develops unusual bruising. That is because the regulators have received a very small number of reports of an extremely rare form of blood clot occurring in the brain. It is this type of clot that triggered some European countries to pause rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. In the UK, five cases of cerebral sinus vein thrombosis (CSVT), among 11 million people who have received the vaccine, occurred in men aged between 19 and 59. One of these was fatal. The EMA has received an additional 13 reports of CSVT. CSVT can occur naturally and no link to the vaccine has been established. The patients also had low blood platelet counts - cells involved with clotting. Covid infection can make clots more likely. Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said regulators would continue to closely monitor the situation and people should have the vaccine when it is their turn: "The public can have every confidence in the thoroughness of our review." Read full story Source: BBC News, 18 March 2021
  23. News Article
    People in prisons are at an increased risk of COVID-19, with a death rate more than three times higher than that of the general population, and should be made a vaccine priority, according to public health experts. There were 118 deaths related to COVID-19 among people in prisons in England and Wales between March 2020 and February 2021, representing a risk of dying more than three times higher than that of people of the same age and sex outside secure environments, the research team at University College London (UCL) found. The higher rate of death comes despite extensive physical distancing measures, including prisons keeping many inmates in their cells for 23 hours a day. The lead author of the study, Dr Isobel Braithwaite of UCL Institute of Health Informatics, said: “Our findings show that people in prisons are at a much higher risk of dying from COVID-19 than the general population, and we make the case that both they and prison staff should be given high priority in the rollout of vaccines." “We believe the current methods of regime restriction are not enough to protect people adequately, and a systematic, ‘whole-prison’ approach to vaccination is key to preventing further outbreaks and reducing overall deaths in prisons.” The Ministry of Justice challenged the authors’ work, however, arguing it failed to adjust for worse health among the prison population than the community and movements of prisoners in and out of prison. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 16 March 2021
  24. News Article
    Stories about people getting blood clots soon after taking the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have become a source of anxiety among European leaders. After a report on a death and three hospitalisations in Norway, which found serious blood clotting in adults who had received the vaccine, Ireland has temporarily suspended the jab. Some anxiety about a new vaccine is understandable, and any suspected reactions should be investigated. But in the current circumstances we need to think slow as well as fast, and resist drawing causal links between events where none may exist. As Ireland’s deputy chief medical officer, Ronan Glynn, has stressed, there is no proof that this vaccine causes blood clots. It’s a common human tendency to attribute a causal effect between different events, even when there isn’t one present: we wash the car and the next day a bird relieves itself all over the bonnet. Typical. Or, more seriously, someone is diagnosed with autism after receiving the MMR vaccine, so people assume a causal connection – even when there isn’t one. And now, people get blood clots after having a vaccine, leading to concern over whether the vaccine is what caused the blood clots. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 15 March 2021
  25. News Article
    Homeless people will be prioritised for coronavirus vaccinations alongside adults in at-risk groups, the government has said. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said the decision would “save more lives among those most at risk in society”. It comes after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which said those experiencing rough-sleeping or homelessness were likely to have underlying health conditions and should be offered vaccinations alongside those in priority group six. "People experiencing homelessness are likely to have health conditions that put them at higher risk of death from COVID-19. He added: "This advice will help us to protect more people who are at greater risk, ensuring that fewer people become seriously ill or die from the virus." Read full story Source: The Independent, 11 March 2021
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