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Found 2,335 results
  1. News Article
    How much of a threat does the emergence of Omicron pose to the NHS? Among hospital bosses there is a curious combination of apprehension that the new variant could lead to a surge in infections but also a battle-weary belief, born of negotiating the previous waves of Covid-19, that they can handle a potentially major rise in people seriously ill with the disease. “Trusts are already making contingency plans for what would happen if there were to be a significant spread of this variant and it turned out that the symptoms and disease produced as a result is as serious as with the Delta variant,” said Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents health service trusts in England. He added: “If it turns out that this variant does evade vaccines then clearly the NHS will see a significantly higher caseload than it has at the moment.” Hopson pointed out that when the second wave was at its worst in January, hospitals in England were treating 34,000 people with Covid. On Monday, it was far, far fewer – just 6,094. He said: “The chief executive of a district general hospital told me today that they were going through plans for how they would expand critical care capacity, and their general respiratory support capacity, because that’s exactly what they needed to do last January when we had over 34,000 cases. A return to that number of hospital beds taken up with Covid patients would again force hospitals to cancel planned operations, he said. “If we get anywhere near the 34,000 cases we saw in January, then something would have to give. Elective surgery could be cancelled. As we saw last January, we would need to prioritise [care] on the basis of clinical need.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 November 2021
  2. News Article
    The inquiry into the government’s handling of the Covid pandemic should look at the “mishandling” of the NHS 111 service, families bereaved during the crisis have said. In a scathing report, the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said the service was inappropriately used to “alleviate the burden on the NHS” with “horrific” consequences. The report, based on a survey of families, said many believed that the service “failed to recognise how seriously ill their relatives were and direct them to appropriate care”. They argue that the service was also quickly “swamped” during the first wave despite the addition of 700 new call handlers, many of who were making life or death decisions with just 10 weeks training. The phone line is one of a number of areas the groups want the government’s inquiry to cover. Other areas include No 10’s level of pandemic preparedness, particularly PPE shortages, as well as an investigation into the disproportionate impact on ethnic minority groups and those with disabilities. Read full story Source: The Independent, 30 November 2021
  3. News Article
    Two specialist Covid vaccination clinics for people with learning disabilities are to be held in Leicestershire. Local health bosses said the sessions would provide a calm environment, longer appointment times and extra support. They will take place at Loughborough Hospital later and at Leicester's Peepul Centre on 15 December. Pre-booked visitors can receive their first, second or booster jabs. Sam Screaton, learning disability vaccination clinical lead at the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust, said: "It is extremely important to us to ensure the Covid-19 vaccines and boosters are accessible to everyone. "All staff working at these clinics will go the extra mile to ensure patients feel comfortable, calm and able to have the vaccine." Read full story Source: BBC News, 30 November 2021
  4. News Article
    The government has been warned that changes to covid-related infection prevention and control guidance will not enable a ‘rapid’ increase in the NHS’ capacity to tackle the elective care backlog and could pose significant ‘risks’. Trust leaders have been told they no longer have to segregate patients into separate pathways according to “high”, “medium”, or “low” risk of covid-19 in updated IPC guidance issued by the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and UK Health Security Agency. Following this guidance means the treatment of every patient without symptoms of a respiratory illness will be subject to the same precautions – such as one, rather than two, metre physical distancing. This, in theory, could create more capacity to treat larger numbers of patients. A subsequent letter from NHS England highlighting the changes said: ”This guidance supports efficient delivery of NHS services to meet wider patient needs, via the return to pre-COVID-19 social distancing and standard IPC measures for patients who do not have infectious respiratory diseases.” However, NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson told HSJ that many trusts are currently losing between 10 and 20% of their capacity due to “essential” IPC measures, and would not be able to abandon this approach quickly. He said: “There is a conception in some people in central government’s minds that by having got this guidance changed, we are now going to see a rapid recovery of activity levels and we’ll be able to more successfully manage the infection risk. That’s what people need to be realistic about – there is a risk here." Read full story Source: HSJ, 29 November 2021
  5. News Article
    The UK's Health Security Agency says its analysis of English data shows Covid vaccines are safe in pregnancy, reinforcing international evidence. The agency found similar rates of stillbirths and preterm births for vaccinated and unvaccinated mothers. Researchers say women should feel confident the jabs will help protect them and urge more to take them. Their report shows just 22% of women who gave birth in August had had at least one jab. Since mid-April, mothers-to-be have been offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna jab, with the second dose recommended eight weeks after the first. But women first eligible for vaccination were more likely to be older or have an underlying medical condition - putting them at higher risk of premature births, researchers say. Meanwhile, studies suggest about one in five women admitted to hospital with the virus have their babies delivered early and some of these babies need special intensive care. And evidence suggests the risks of stillbirths are higher if a woman has Covid in pregnancy. UKHSA immunisation head said the new information on safety was reassuring. "Every pregnant woman who has not yet been vaccinated should feel confident to go and get the jab and that this will help to prevent the serious consequences of catching Covid in pregnancy," she said. Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 November 2021
  6. News Article
    When the UK’s jab programme began, expectant mothers were told to steer clear – so Samantha decided to wait until she had had her baby. Two weeks after giving birth, she died in hospital from Covid. Samantha was unvaccinated – she had received advice against getting jabbed at an antenatal appointment. When the Covid vaccine programme began in the UK on 8 December 2020, pregnant women were told not to get vaccinated. But in October 2020, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) published guidance warning that “intensive care admission may be more common in pregnant women with Covid-19 than in non-pregnant women of the same age” and that pregnant women with Covid were three times more likely to have a preterm birth. Further evidence emerged in 2021 indicating that pregnant women were particularly vulnerable to Covid, especially in their final trimester. Research from the University of Washington, published in January, found that pregnant women were 13 times more likely to die from Covid than people of a similar age who were not pregnant. But throughout February and March, the JCVI’s scientists did not appear especially concerned about examining the case for vaccinating pregnant women. Priority in the early stages of the vaccine programme was being given to older people, so many pregnant women remained towards the back of the queue. The maternity campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed said: “If you look at who was on the Covid war cabinet and leading the daily briefing, it was nearly all men,” says Joeli Brearley, its founder. “Pregnant women were treated as if they were very similar to the general population, rather than being seen as a special cohort that needs special consideration. They were just not a priority.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 23 November 2021
  7. News Article
    Advice on how new mothers with sepsis should be treated is to change after two women died of a herpes infection. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says viral sources of infections should be considered and appropriate treatment offered. This comes after the BBC revealed one surgeon might have infected the mothers while performing Caesareans on them. The East Kent Hospitals Trust said it had not been possible to identify the source of either infection. Kimberley Sampson, 29, and Samantha Mulcahy, 32, died of an infection caused by the herpes virus 44 days apart in 2018, shortly after giving birth by Caesarean section. Their families were told there was no link between the deaths but BBC News revealed on Monday that both operations had been carried out by the same surgeon. Documents we uncovered showed that the trust had been told two weeks after the second death that "it does look like surgical contamination". Edward Morris, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, which set standards in maternity care, said routine investigation and management of maternal sepsis "should always consider viral sources of infection, and appropriate changes should be instituted to support earlier diagnosis and treatment". Medics treating Ms Sampson and Mrs Mulcahy assumed they were suffering from a bacterial infection and didn't prescribe the anti-viral medication that may had saved their lives. The Royal College said the two deaths should be "fully investigated" as "surgical infection appears to be a significant possibility". But BBC News has learned that the East Kent Hospitals Trust, which treated both women, never told the coroner's office that the same surgeon had carried out both operations or that an investigation they had ordered had suggested the virus strains the two women had died from appeared to be "epidemiologically linked". Read full story Source: BBC News, 23 November 2021
  8. News Article
    The UK government was not properly prepared for a pandemic like COVID-19, a new report has found. The report by the National Audit Office (NAO) said the government lacked detailed plans on shielding, job support schemes and school disruption. The spending watchdog added that lessons needed to be learned. In response, the government said the unprecedented pandemic had challenged health systems around the world - not just the UK. The NAO said preparations for a flu pandemic or highly infectious diseases like Ebola were prioritised over diseases with similar characteristics to Covid. The watchdog said the UK government did not have specific plans to tackle a disease like COVID-19, which has a lower mortality rate than Ebola but has the ability to spread in communities with asymptomatic infected people. The report suggests the government had some mitigations in place for a pandemic, like a stockpile of personal protective equipment, but it lacked preparation for "wide-ranging impacts" coronavirus and other pandemic-inducing viruses can have on society and the economy. A government spokesperson said: "We have always said there are lessons to be learned from the pandemic and have committed to a full public inquiry in spring. "We prepare for a range of scenarios and while there were extensive arrangements in place, this is an unprecedented pandemic that has challenged health systems around the world." Labour's shadow Cabinet Office minister Fleur Anderson, said the report showed "Conservative ministers failed to prepare and they failed the public". Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 November 2021
  9. News Article
    The NHS has been given the green light to offer people living with HIV the first "long-acting injectable" to keep the virus at bay. Charities have hailed the "incredible news" which offers an alternative to adults living with HIV who have to take daily antiretroviral drugs. Many people living with HIV can keep the virus at very low levels by taking antiretroviral tablets each day. These drugs keep the number of virus particles in the blood - also known as the viral load - so low that it cannot be detected or transmitted between people. But now an estimated 13,000 people will be eligible for the injectable treatment in England which means they no longer need daily treatment but will have two injections every two months. This means they can reduce the days they receive treatment from 365 to 6 per year. Meindert Boysen, deputy chief executive NICE, said: "Despite scientific advances HIV is still incurable, but the virus can be controlled by modern treatment. However, for some people, having to take daily multi-tablet regimens can be difficult because of drug-related side effects, toxicity, and other psychosocial issues such as stigma or changes in lifestyle." "We're pleased therefore to be able to recommend cabotegravir with rilpivirine as a valuable treatment option for people who already have good levels of adherence to daily tablets, but who might prefer an injectable regimen with less frequent dosing." Read full story Source: 18 November 2021
  10. News Article
    Researchers have launched a major clinical trial investigating whether people on long-term immune-suppressing medicines can mount a more robust immune response to COVID-19 booster jabs by interrupting their treatment. The VROOM trial will have implications for people on immune-suppressing medicines, who are among the millions of clinically vulnerable patients advised to ‘shield’ during the pandemic. The study is funded by an NIHR and the Medical Research Council (MRC) partnership, and led by a team at the University of Nottingham. Approximately 1.3 million people in the UK are prescribed the immune-suppressing drug methotrexate for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, and skin conditions such as psoriasis. Many of them were among the 2.2 million clinically extremely vulnerable people advised to shield during the first phase of the pandemic, depending on specialist advice and on their risk factors. While methotrexate is effective at controlling these conditions and has emerged as first line therapy for many illnesses, it reduces the body’s ability to generate robust responses to flu and pneumonia vaccines. Researchers will recruit 560 patients currently taking methotrexate, to investigate whether taking a two week break in this drug immediately after they receive the COVID-19 booster jab improves their immune response to vaccination, while preventing flare-ups of their long-term illness. The study will take between one to two years to complete. All participants will have had the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine as their third jab, as part of the national vaccination programme against COVID-19. Professor Andy Ustianowski, NIHR Clinical Lead for the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme and Joint National Infection Specialty Lead, said: “Although the vaccine rollout has saved many lives and helped drive down the effects of the pandemic, there are still groups of vulnerable people who can’t always mount robust immunity against the virus. " “It’s important to establish if people can safely improve protection from their booster jabs by taking a break from their immune-supressing medicines, and this pivotal study will help develop our understanding of immune responses in people taking this widely prescribed medicine." Read full story Source: NIHR, 12 November 2021
  11. News Article
    Politicians and doctors in Germany have called for urgent action to control the spread of COVID-19 after a record number of cases were reported on 11 November. Germany had 50 196 new confirmed Covid cases on 11 November, up from 39 676 cases on 10 November and 9658 on 1 November, showed figures from the Robert Koch Institute. A total of 235 Covid related deaths were reported on 11 November, up from 23 on 1 November. Speaking in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, the federal vice chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that immediate steps must be taken to “winterproof” Germany against what is being described as the nation’s fourth wave of Covid-19. Scholz will meet next week with the prime ministers of Germany’s 16 states to discuss new measures to fight the pandemic. “The virus is still with us and threatens the health of citizens,” Scholz said, adding that efforts must be intensified to convince unvaccinated Germans to become fully vaccinated and encourage those already vaccinated to have the booster shot." Everything must be done, he said, to ensure “that millions of citizens get a booster—that is the task of the next weeks and months.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 12 November 2021
  12. News Article
    Pfizer’s oral antiviral drug paxlovid significantly reduces hospital admissions and deaths among people with COVID-19 who are at high risk of severe illness, when compared with placebo, the company has reported. The interim analysis of the phase II-III data, outlined in a press release, included 1219 adults who were enrolled by 29 September 2021. It found that, among participants who received treatments within three days of COVID-19 symptoms starting, the risk of covid related hospital admission or death from any cause was 89% lower in the paxlovid group than the placebo group. Commenting on the announcement, England’s health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, said, “If approved, this could be another significant weapon in our armoury to fight the virus alongside our vaccines and other treatments, including molnupiravir, which the UK was the first country in the world to approve this week.” Read full story Source: BMJ, 8 November 2021
  13. News Article
    Long waiting times in emergency departments are becoming normal, with some patients spending days in A&E wards before they can be moved into other hospital beds, emergency physicians have warned. Leaders of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) and the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) said that some hospitals had effectively run out of space, meaning patients could not receive the right care until a bed became free. NHS figures for September show that 5,025 patients waited for more than 12 hours to be admitted to hospital in England. That is only 1% of the 506,916 admitted via A&Es, but it is more than 10 times as many as the 458 waiting more than 12 hours in September 2019 and nearly twice as many as the January peak of 2,847. Scientists at the Zoe Covid study said last week that UK cases of coronavirus may have peaked. But the React study at Imperial College found that the R number was between 0.9 and 1.1 with Covid cases at their highest levels. Pressures on hospitals have prompted the Royal College of Nursing to call for a return to compulsory mask-wearing, while Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said that ministers should reimpose a legal obligation to wear masks on public transport, allowing police to enforce the law. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 November 2021
  14. News Article
    Frontline NHS staff in England will have to be fully vaccinated against Covid, the health secretary has announced. A deadline is expected to be set for 1 April next year to give unvaccinated staff time to get both doses, Sajid Javid told the Commons. Between 80,000 and 100,000 NHS workers in England were unvaccinated, said Chris Hopson, head of NHS Providers. Thursday is the deadline for care home workers in England to get vaccinated. The government's decision follows a consultation which began in September and considered whether both the Covid and flu jabs should be compulsory for frontline NHS and care workers. Mr Javid said the flu vaccine would not be made mandatory. There will be exemptions for the Covid vaccine requirement for medical reasons, and for those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients in their work, he added. In a statement to MPs, Mr Javid said: "Having considered the consultation responses, the advice of my officials and NHS leaders including the chief executive of the NHS, I have concluded that all those working in the NHS and social care will have to be vaccinated." "We must avoid preventable harm and protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and of course protect the NHS itself." Read full story Source: BBC News, 9 November 2021
  15. News Article
    More than 11,000 people who died from Covid probably caught the deadly virus while in hospital for other reasons, it has emerged. Freedom of information requests to NHS trusts across England has revealed as many as one in eight people who have died in hospital from coronavirus during the pandemic actually arrived free of the virus. An investigation by the Daily Telegraph has revealed 11,688 people are listed by the NHS as either probably or definitely catching the virus which killed them while in hospital. Probable cases are those who tested positive at least eight days after admission, while definite cases require the patient to not have tested positive until they had been on the wards for at least 15 days. The figures emerged as the government was expected to announce it will be mandatory for all NHS staff to be vaccinated against Covid by next spring. Read full story Source: The Independent, 9 November 2021
  16. News Article
    Saiqa Parveen was eight months pregnant and weeks from welcoming her fifth daughter to the world, but died of Covid after putting off getting the coronavirus jab. Her family have now issued an emotional plea for pregnant women to get vaccinated. Parveen, 37, had planned to delay having the jab until her baby was born, her family said, but she was admitted to hospital with breathing difficulties in September and put on a ventilator. A decision was taken by medical staff at Good Hope hospital in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, to deliver the baby by emergency caesarean section. Parveen died on 1 November after spending five weeks in intensive care. Asked what her last words were, her husband Gahfur said: “She couldn’t even talk. She couldn’t breathe properly … She couldn’t talk.” He added: “I’m going to pass this message to the whole world, I just beg all people to get the vaccine, otherwise it’s very hard for them. It’s a very deadly disease, you know. She planned so many things, and this disease didn’t give her a chance.” Covid vaccines are recommended for pregnant women. In a letter to midwives, obstetricians and GP practices in July, the chief midwife for England, Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, said all healthcare professionals had “a responsibility to proactively encourage pregnant women” to get vaccinated. Parveen chose not to have the vaccine, but concerns have been raised that pregnant women are being turned away from vaccine clinics despite clinical advice. Members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation told the Guardian that they were urging ministers to focus more on pregnant women because only about 15% in the UK have been fully vaccinated. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 7 November 2021
  17. News Article
    The first pill designed to treat symptomatic Covid has been approved by the UK medicines regulator. The tablet - molnupiravir - will be given twice a day to vulnerable patients recently diagnosed with the disease. In clinical trials the pill, originally developed to treat flu, cut the risk of hospitalisation or death by about half. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the treatment was a "gamechanger" for the most frail and immunosuppressed. In a statement he said: "Today is a historic day for our country, as the UK is now the first country in the world to approve an antiviral that can be taken at home for Covid." Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 November 2021
  18. News Article
    A special Crown Office unit set up to probe Covid-linked deaths is considering 827 cases in Scotland's hospitals, latest figures show. The unit was set up to consider the circumstances of Covid-linked deaths such as those in care homes. But the prosecution service has also received reports of hundreds of hospital-related virus deaths. Prosecutors will eventually decide if these deaths should be the subject of a fatal accident inquiry or prosecution. As of 7 October, Crown Office figures show Scotland's biggest hospital, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, has the highest number of reported Covid-linked deaths at 113. This was followed by the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and Glasgow Royal Infirmary which both had 71 Covid-related deaths referred to the Crown Office. The figures do not include deaths at home addresses or hospices, or where a care home resident died in hospital after contracting COVID-19 in a home. Read full story Source: BBC News, 4 November 2021
  19. News Article
    Mandatory Covid vaccinations will be imposed on NHS staff, despite fears it could cause a workforce exodus, The Independent understands. Sources have confirmed the government is expected to make an announcement tomorrow on plans to make jabs a condition of employment for the 1.3 million NHS staff in England. Ministers are likely to delay the new requirement until next spring, after health bosses raised concerns over the impact it would have on NHS staffing levels during this winter. Earlier this week. NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts in England, warned the imposition of vaccinations could drive staff out of the NHS. Around 100,000 workers are yet to have a Covid vaccination. Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, warned the government needed to acknowledge the risk to patient safety if thousands of unvaccinated NHS staff opted to leave their jobs rather than have the vaccine. Read full story Source: The Independent, 3 November 2021
  20. News Article
    Planned operations including ”priority two” procedures were postponed at short notice at one of England’s largest hospital trusts earlier this week due to rising covid compounding other operational pressures, HSJ understands. Several sources said Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust cancelled the large majority of elective operations scheduled for Tuesday 2 November due to rising occupancy in intensive care and throughout the trust, particularly linked to increasing numbers of covid patients. The postponed operations included ‘priority two’ cases, which must be undertaken within one month to avoid further harm and deterioration, a well placed source told HSJ. The trust said it did not, however, cancel ‘priority one’ urgent operations, which must be performed within 72 hours. It said most elective operations resumed on Wednesday as pressure had “eased a little” since Tuesday. Some daycase surgery was also postponed, it said, as areas had to be repurposed for emergency care. One concerned family member of a Leeds patient whose operation was cancelled, who contacted HSJ, said: ”My relative is on the cardiology list and might not be fit enough for the op if there are further delays — that could be fatal.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 4 November 2021
  21. News Article
    Mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for all health service staff should be delayed until spring to enable the health service to get through the busy winter period, an NHS leader has urged. Ministers have been considering whether or not to introduce mandatory jabs for all NHS staff in England. Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid said last week he is ‘leaning towards’ making the jabs compulsory as there are about 100,000 NHS workers not fully vaccinated. NHS Providers chief executive Chris Hopson said that if the government was to press ahead, it should delay until April to ensure the NHS can get through the ‘difficult winter’. Plans for mandatory jabs for staff who work or volunteer in care homes in England were announced in June, with an 11 November deadline for staff to have had both doses of vaccine, unless medically exempt. However, Loss of vaccine-hesitant staff may compromise patient safety. Mr Hopson cited cases in Cornwall where NHS staff have been drafted in to help the social care sector. "If we lose large numbers of unvaccinated staff, particularly over the winter period, then that also constitutes a risk to patient safety and quality of care," he told BBC Breakfast. "We know that we’ve got a very, very difficult winter coming up and we know the NHS is going to be absolutely at full stretch. ‘So it makes sense to set the deadline once that winter period has passed. We know that January, February and often early March is very busy, so that’s why we’re saying that an April 2022 deadline is a sensible time.’ Read full story Source: Nursing Standard, 1 November 2021
  22. News Article
    It is coming up to a year since the first mRNA vaccines were approved for use against COVID-19, and almost seven months since they were approved for expectant mothers. The initial government advice was was that they should hold off getting a jab, but since more data has become available, medical experts have been encouraging women to get vaccinated. But there has been no big government awareness campaign, despite pregnant women being identified as a vulnerable group. The proportion of fully vaccinated pregnant women in the UK is as low as 15% (in the US, it is more than twice that, at 33.8%). That such a small porportion of pregnant women are fully vaccinated in the UK, seven months after vaccines were approved for them, is nothing short of a scandal. And more women and their babies are at risk of dying because of it. Recent figures for England show that one in six critically ill patients are unvaccinated pregnant women with Covid. Of the 20 pregnant women requiring the highest level of life-saving care, 19 were unvaccinated and one had received one dose. These are frightening statistics, but on their own they do not seem to be enough to persuade pregnant women to get vaccinated. In order to do that, it’s important to understand why we are seeing such high levels of hesitancy... Read full story Source: The Guardian, 29 October 2021
  23. News Article
    Covid booster jabs are now being given at walk-in clinics in England as the NHS aims to increase vaccine uptake before what is expected to be a challenging winter. From Monday, anyone in an eligible group who had their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least six months ago can turn up at one of hundreds of sites to get their top-up without making an appointment. The walk-in centres are also offering vaccinations to 12- to 15-year-olds. The move follows criticism of the booster campaign, with only about half of the 12 million people in England eligible so far for a third vaccine dose having received one. The vaccine rollout to teenagers has lagged behind that of countries including France, Italy and Spain. People entitled to a booster jab are: those aged 50 and over, people who live and work in care homes; frontline health and social care workers; people aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts them at high risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19; those aged 16 and over who are a main carer for someone at high risk from the virus, and; people aged 16 and over who live with someone who is more likely to get infections. Nikki Kanani, a GP and the deputy lead for the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “NHS staff are making it as easy as possible for people to get their top-up vaccination, and from today people can now go online, find their nearest site and go and get their booster without delay. “The booster is not just nice to have. It is really important protection ahead of what we know will be a challenging winter.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 1 November 2021
  24. News Article
    Deborah Birx, who was the White House coronavirus response coordinator under President Donald Trump, has told a congressional inquiry that at least 129 000 lives could have been saved if his administration had provided adequate testing and properly communicated the gravity of the situation to the public. But the election year “just took people’s time away and distracted them from the pandemic,” she told the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis. “I felt like the White House had gotten somewhat complacent through the campaign season.” Asked if Trump did everything he should have to counter the pandemic, she said, “No. And I’ve said that to the White House. I believe I was very clear to the president in specifics of what I needed him to do.” “If we had fully implemented the mask mandates, the reduction in indoor dining, the getting friends and family to understand the risk of gathering in private homes, and we had increased testing, then we probably could have decreased fatalities by 30-40%.” That would amount to at least 129 000 preventable covid deaths over the course of the Trump presidency, which saw roughly 429 000 reported deaths attributed to the coronavirus." Read full story Source: BMJ, 28 October 2021
  25. News Article
    The laboratory at the centre of the Covid testing fiasco returned just four positive results out of more than 2,400 tests sent to it from one city, the Guardian has learned, raising questions about why it was not discovered sooner. The positivity rate of just 0.2% from Sheffield tests sent to the Wolverhampton lab run by Immensa contrasts sharply with the national rate of about 5-8% at the time of the scandal. Data released under freedom of information laws by Sheffield city council showed there were four positive results, 2,391 negative and 13 void results processed by the lab from 1 September until it was suspended in mid-October. The disclosure also shows the scandal covers local authorities as far away from Wolverhampton as Yorkshire, with the UK Health Security Agency refusing to disclose which areas are affected beyond saying they are mostly in south-west England. One expert suggested there should have been about 200 positive results based on prevalence figures from the time. Kit Yates, a senior lecturer in mathematics at Bath University, said the country needed to see a full list of all the walk-in/drive in centres that were affected. “It’s all well and good notifying those people who were tested, but because of the nature of this communicable disease, this scandal now reaches well beyond those people,” he said. “The public deserve to know if their area was affected.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 27 October 2021
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