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Latest coronavirus news from 7 a.m. on December 7th
First Pfizer / BioNTech vaccinations will be administered in the UK from Tuesday
The Britain is preparing to administer the first doses of Coronavirus vaccination developed by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech tomorrow, less than a week after the vaccine was temporarily approved for emergency use. The first doses of the vaccine were delivered to hospitals on Sunday, where the first vaccinations will take place tomorrow in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, Vaccinations are carried out at 50 hospital centers. The first people to receive the shots are expected to be the elderly who are already attending hospital outpatient appointments and those who are discharged home after being hospitalized. Other people over 80 are also invited to visit hospitals to get the injection, and nursing home providers can book appointments for their staff. Unused appointments are offered to healthcare workers who are at greatest risk of becoming seriously ill with covid-19. The elderly, residents and nursing home workers, as well as health and social workers on the front lines will be the most first got the vaccine in Scotland. In Wales, health and social workers are on the front lines likely to come firstwhile in Northern Ireland there are nursing home residents and healthcare workers likely to be prioritized.
“As a doctor, this is a really exciting moment,” said Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director. “NHS staff at vaccination centers across the country have worked tirelessly to get us ready to start vaccinating on Tuesday,” he said outside Croydon University Hospital in London yesterday – – one of the first to receive the vaccine. However, Powis warned that the distribution of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine would be a “marathon, not a sprint” and that it would take “many months” to vaccinate everyone.
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Another potential barrier to widespread vaccination is Vaccine hesitate. More than one in three (35 percent) said they do in a recent UK survey by market research firm Opinium The coronavirus vaccine is unlikely to be taken when it becomes available. One in five (20 percent) said it is unlikely to be taken when it is available and the government recommends taking it.
Other coronavirus news
More than 23 million people in Southern California were taking one strict new lockafter the state a Record daily increase in new coronavirus cases on Friday with 25,068 newly confirmed infections. On Saturday, the state reported that only 12.5 percent of the intensive care beds were available. People need to stay at home and minimize contact with people from other households. The new rules came into effect on Sunday and will remain in effect for at least three weeks.
Serum Institute of India, the Indian manufacturer of a vaccine candidate being developed by the Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University, applied for approval of the emergency vaccine in India Today a government official said Reuters. Pfizer filed for emergency approval for its vaccine in India over the weekend, according to the same government official.
Coronavirus deaths
The global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 1.53 million. The number of confirmed cases is loud. More than 67.2 million Johns Hopkins Universityalthough the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest information on the coronavirus from New Scientist
Minimize your risk: If you are planning on meeting people during the holiday season, there are many ways you can reduce the risk of the coronavirus spreading, writes Clare Wilson.
Important information about the coronavirus
Everything you need to know about the pandemic
Where did the coronavirus come from? And other Covid-19 questions were answered
What is covid-19?
You could be spreading the coronavirus without even realizing you have it
Which Covid-19 treatments work and how close are we to achieving more?
What does it take to bring a Covid-19 vaccine into the world?
What to read, see and hear about coronavirus
Race against the virus: chasing a vaccine is a Channel 4 documentary that tells the story of the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of the frontline scientists.
The New York Times assesses the progress of various vaccine candidates and potential drug treatments for Covid-19 and rates them for effectiveness and safety.
People from COVID-19 is a project shedding light on the experiences of key frontline workers in the UK’s fight against coronavirus through social media.
Belly Mujinga: In Search of Truth is a BBC Panoramic investigation into the death of covid-19 transport worker Belly Mujinga after being reported coughed and spat on by a customer at Victoria Station, London.
Coronavirus, explained on Netflix is a short documentary series that explores the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, efforts to fight it, and ways to manage mental health.
New Scientist Weekly provides updates and analysis on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic. Every week on our podcast, specialist journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest scientific stories that hit the headlines – from technology and space to health and the environment.
COVID-19: The Pandemic That Should Never Have Happened And How To Stop The Next One by Debora Mackenzie is about how the pandemic happened and why it will happen again if we don’t do things differently in the future.
The rules of contagion is about the new science of contagion and the surprising forms of our life and behavior. The author Adam Kucharski is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK. In his book, he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.
Previous updates
ROBYN BECK / AFP via Getty Images
December 4th
U.S. coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths hit new records every day
The The United States saw record increases every day in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths yesterday. There were 217,664 new cases, 100,667 people hospitalized with the virus and 2,879 people who died from Covid-19 – – All record numbers since the epidemic began. US health advisor Anthony Fauci warned that the situation would worsen in the coming weeks. “I think January is going to be terrible because the Thanksgiving wave will be overlaid on the Christmas flood,” said Fauci Newsweek. “It is quite possible that January could be the worst,” he said.
California, where hospital admissions have increased 86 percent in the past 14 days, is one of the youngest US states introduce new restrictions. Yesterday, state governor Gavin Newsom announced a new home stay order, restrictions on business and non-essential travel. “This is the toughest moment since the pandemic began,” Newsom said at a press conference. “Lives are lost if we don’t do more than ever before. We are urged to do everything in our power to make the tough choices that will be required to face this,” he said.
Other coronavirus news
Great Britain R number – – The average number of people each person will contract coronavirus – – fell slightly to between 0.8 and 1.0 last official estimatefrom 0.9 to 1.0 in the previous week. This is likely to represent the situation two or three weeks ago due to a time lag in the data used to model the R. The latest figures also suggest that the number of new infections is decreasing by 1 to 3 percent every day. The numbers are in line with the latest results from a random EU swab test survey National Statistics Office (ONS). The ONS estimates that there were 25,700 new coronavirus cases per day in England in the week ending November 28, up from 38,900 in the week ending November 14.
London is Risk of being moved in by the current Tier 2 restrictions The decline in confirmed cases is starting to slow down, particularly in the outskirts, according to Kevin Fenton, London’s director of public health in England. “If we want to avoid being included in Tier 3, it’s important that we keep transmission down,” he told the Evening standard.
Switzerland tightened restrictions as coronavirus cases in the country remain at a high level identified by the country’s health minister as “Very Worrying”. The government said ski resorts should be able to stay open to local tourists with security measures. Germany, France and Italy ski lifts are closing over Christmas, and France said it will also introduce border controls to stop people traveling from France to Switzerland from skiing.
Coronavirus deaths
The global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 1.51 million. The number of confirmed cases is loud. More than 65.4 million Johns Hopkins Universityalthough the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest information on the coronavirus from New Scientist
Stay positive: Lockdown restrictions in winter seem to be a little apprehensive, but we can counter that by taking into account the mindset of people who are used to long, dark winters, says health psychologist Kari Leibowitz.
Virginia Mayo / AP / Shutterstock
3rd of December
UK hospitals are expected to receive the first vaccines in front of nursing homes
The first batch of Vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech was sent to Great Britain from Belgium today. The distribution of the vaccine will be “an immense logistical challenge,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a briefing yesterday. The order in which people are vaccinated is recommended by the Joint Vaccination and Vaccination Committee (JCVI) but ultimately determined by the UK Government. Yesterday the JCVI recommended that priority be given to nursing home residents and their carers. However, due to the strict storage requirements of the newly approved Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, the government announced that it would be delivered to hospitals first, with nursing home staff, NHS staff and patients likely to receive the first doses. “As soon as it is legally and technically possible to bring the vaccine to nursing homes, we will do so,” said Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s assistant medical director, at the same press conference as Johnson. “However, this is a complex product with a very fragile culture. This is not a yogurt that can be taken out of the refrigerator and put back in several times. “
JCVI vice chairman Anthony Harnden told BBC Radio 4 Nursing home residents and their carers continue to have priority. “The clear list that we have made is a list of priorities in terms of vulnerability,” he said. “I think the very short-term practical difficulties of getting this out of this from a storage perspective shouldn’t make us all lose sight of the fact that these care home residents and their staff are our top priority – – and it is entirely possible that the nursing home staff could be vaccinated at a local hospital. “
Other coronavirus news
The US regulators are expected to meet Emergency approval from a Vaccine developed by US pharmaceutical company Moderna on December 10th. They will meet again on December 17th to discuss the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which was temporarily approved for emergency use in the UK yesterday. U.S. health advisor Anthony Fauci told Fox News that he thought UK regulators have been too quick to give approval the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. “We have the gold standard of a regulatory approach with the [US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)]”He said.” The UK hasn’t done it that carefully and they have a few days to go, “Fauci said. Calling the FDA approval process” the right way, “adding that” we’re really looking at the data very carefully to guarantee the American public that this is a safe and effective vaccine. “
The US reported See daily increases in coronavirus cases and hospital stays yesterday. New cases increased by 195,695 and 100,226 people were hospitalized with covid-19 – – the highest numbers since the beginning of the pandemic. The US also recorded 3,157 new deaths from the disease yesterday, the highest number of daily Covid-19 deaths since its previous high of 2,607 on April 15.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is studying the potential use of digital vaccination certificates for travelers, Reuters reported. The WHO does not recommend the use of “immunity passports” for people who have recovered from Covid-19 or who have been infected with the coronavirus in the past. It is still not clear how long vaccine-induced immunity to Covid-19 could last.
IBM researchers uncovered a global phishing campaign The target group are organizations working on coronavirus vaccines Supply chains that they say are government protected.
Coronavirus deaths
The global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 1.49 million. The number of confirmed cases is loud. More than 64.7 million Johns Hopkins Universityalthough the true number of cases will be much higher.
PFIZER HANDOUT / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
2. December
The world’s first UK government granted temporary approval of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine
The UK government is the first in the world to do this Give the Temporary approval of Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for emergencies. The UK has pre-ordered 40 million doses – enough for a maximum of 20 million people as it is a two-shot vaccine – and may start vaccinating people as early as next week. To distribute the vaccine, Pfizer designed Special cardboard boxes that can be packed with dry ice so that the vaccine doses can be kept at -70 ° C during transport. They can then be stored in a normal refrigerator for up to five days.
This afternoon the Joint Vaccination and Vaccination Committee (JCVI) published its advice Who gets priority for the vaccine. It was recommended that priority be given to home residents and their carers first, then to frontline health and social workers and people 80 and over. Next up are people aged 75 and over, followed by people aged 70 and over and people who are at extreme clinical risk. The vaccine is not given to pregnant women or most children under the age of 16 because there are no safety data for these groups.
Further details are few and far between. The announcement was made by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs in one short press releaseThis confirmed: “The government today adopted the recommendation from the Independent Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) to approve Pfizer-BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine. This follows months of rigorous clinical studies and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine meets its strict safety, quality and efficacy standards. “
The MHRA received the data from Pfizer and BioNTech on November 23, which is expected to be thousands of pages. In one Explanation Agency director June Raine said, “We were able to move development forward as quickly as possible. This was done using a process called rolling verification. That doesn’t mean any corners have been cut – none at all. “
The information has also been checked by another independent advisory body, the UK Commission for Medicinal Products for Human Use. Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the panel’s expert working group, said his group had called for the use of “a wide range of experts” in their research and worked with “unprecedented raw data”. He said the group was advising NHS colleagues on stability issues related to distributing the vaccine at extremely low temperatures telegraph reported today.
Emergency uses usually only use safety, but the vaccine has also been reportedly tested for effectiveness. “At this stage, it’s very, very important that people don’t start hoping too soon for the speed at which we can get this vaccine out.” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Other coronavirus news
A revised three tier system with coronavirus restrictions came into force in England Today it marks the end of the country’s second nationwide lockdown. Under the New rulesMost of England is under tier two and tier three, which means people are still prohibited from meeting people from other households indoors.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has ordered the authorities to start voluntary mass vaccinations with the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine next week. He said Russia will have 2 million cans of the two-dose batch ready in the next few days.
Coronavirus cases in Poland have exceeded 1 million today, according to the Ministry of Health. Poland has one Lack of doctors and medical careThis makes it difficult to fight the country’s second wave of coronavirus.
Coronavirus deaths
The global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 1.48 million. The number of confirmed cases is loud. More than 64.0 million Johns Hopkins Universityalthough the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest information on the coronavirus from New Scientist
How does China beat Covid-19?: In China, the country at the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, there are few cases and deaths left. How did it do that and are the official figures trustworthy?
Did the locks work in Europe?: Many European countries are exiting a second lockdown, but each had different strategies – did they work and could they have been avoided?
Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto / PA Images
December 1
European regulator delayed evaluation of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has delayed evaluation of coronavirus vaccines is being developed for regulatory approval by the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer in collaboration with the German biotechnology company BioNTech and the US pharmaceutical company Moderna. This could reduce the spread of vaccines in Europe. The EMA announced that it would make a decision on the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine on December 29 and make a separate decision on January 12 on a similar mRNA-based vaccine being developed by the US company Moderna. Both vaccines were submitted for government emergency approval this week and were originally scheduled to be assessed by the EMA on December 22nd Financial Times. In a statement, Pfizer and BioNTech said if their vaccine is approved by the EMA on December 29, it will could possibly be introduced in Europe before the end of this year. The UK drug and health products regulator could make a decision on the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine this week.
A panel of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is ready to give advice on who should be prioritized in the US launch of a potential coronavirus vaccine. Public health officials have stated that healthcare workers should be the first to receive the vaccine, followed by the elderly and other vulnerable groups and key workers. However, it is up to each state to decide how a vaccine is distributed. US Secretary of Health Alex Azar has suggested the first people could vaccinated before Christmas. The vaccine candidates Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna are both under review for emergency approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Other coronavirus news
Britain has No plans to introduce so-called “vaccination certificates” To give people vaccinated against the coronavirus access to places like pubs and restaurants as soon as a vaccine is widely available, UK Minister Michael Gove said today. “Let’s get stuck. That’s not the plan,” Gove told the BBC’s breakfast show. Gove responded to comments from Nadhim Zahawi, a minister charged with overseeing the introduction of a coronavirus vaccine in England. He told the BBC yesterday with the government “testing the technology” to provide some sort of “immunity” passport that would give people access to restaurants, bars, and movie theaters and develop a way for people to let their GPs know about it “Of course, individual companies can decide who to allow and why, but the most important thing we should do is focus on getting the vaccine up and running,” Gove said today. Although there are a number of coronavirus vaccine candidates Has been shown to be very effective in preventing disease, it is not yet known whether a vaccine is available can stop people from spreading the virus for others and thus whether vaccination records would be of any use.
Are MPs Vote today via a stricter three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions due to go into effect tomorrow after England’s nationwide lockdown ends. The new measures are expected to be adopted.
Coronavirus deaths
The global Covid-19 death toll has exceeded 1.47 million. The number of confirmed cases is loud. More than 63.4 million Johns Hopkins Universityalthough the true number of cases will be much higher.
Important information about the coronavirus
Everything you need to know about the pandemic
Where did the coronavirus come from? And other Covid-19 questions were answered
What is covid-19?
You could be spreading the coronavirus without realizing you have it
Which Covid-19 treatments work and how close are we to achieving more?
What does it take to bring a Covid-19 vaccine into the world?
What to read, see and hear about coronavirus
Race against the virus: chasing a vaccine is a Channel 4 documentary that tells the story of the coronavirus pandemic through the eyes of frontline scientists.
The New York Times evaluates the progress of various vaccine candidates and potential drug treatments for Covid-19 and rates them for effectiveness and safety.
People from COVID-19 is a project shedding light on the experiences of key frontline workers in the UK’s fight against coronavirus through social media.
Belly Mujinga: In Search of Truth is a BBC Panoramic investigation into the death of Covid-19 transport worker Belly Mujinga after she was reported coughed and spat on by a customer at Victoria Station, London.
Coronavirus, explained on Netflix is a short documentary series that explores the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, efforts to fight it, and ways to manage mental health.
New Scientist Weekly provides updates and analysis on the latest developments in the Covid-19 pandemic. Every week on our podcast, journalists from the magazine discuss the biggest scientific stories that hit the headlines – from technology and space to health and the environment.
COVID-19: The Pandemic That Should Never Have Happened And How To Stop The Next One by Debora Mackenzie is about how the pandemic happened and why it will happen again if we don’t do things differently in the future.
The rules of contagion is about the new science of contagion and the surprising forms of our life and behavior. The author Adam Kucharski is an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK. In his book, he examines how diseases spread and why they stop.
OLI SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images
30th of November
Coronavirus cases in England have decreased during the nationwide lockdown
Coronavirus infections in England decreased by about 30 percent after three weeks of the country’s second nationwide lockdown preliminary results from a random swab test survey of researchers at Imperial College London. The study found that the prevalence of infections fell from about 1,320 infections per 100,000 people between October 16 and November 2 to about 960 per 100,000 people between November 13 and 24. It treasured England R number Be 0.88, add to UK government data last week, who estimated the UK’s R-number to be 0.9 to 1.0. An R number below 1.0 indicates that the epidemic is shrinking. The decline in the number of infections is not uniform. “There’s a mixed picture across the country,” said Simon Clarke of the University of Reading in one Explanation. “Infections decrease faster in the north, but not as quickly in the Midlands, the south or in London. This likely reflects the fact that much of the north was subject to stricter restrictions prior to the lockdown, and should be a warning to MPs and councilors campaigning for their local areas to be upgraded to lower levels, “Clarke said.
England was locked again on November 5th and is due to move into a three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions from December 2nd. Under the updated three-tier system of restrictionsDer größte Teil Englands wird unter Tier 2 und Tier 3 eingestuft, was bedeutet, dass es Menschen weiterhin untersagt ist, Menschen aus anderen Haushalten in Innenräumen zu treffen.
Andere Coronavirus-Nachrichten
Es wurde festgestellt, dass ein vom US-amerikanischen Pharmaunternehmen Moderna entwickelter Coronavirus-Impfstoffkandidat einen Wirksamkeit von 94 Prozent in vollständigen Ergebnissen aus der Phase-III-Studie des Unternehmens. Das Ergebnis basiert auf insgesamt 196 symptomatischen Coronavirus-Fällen unter den 30.000 Studienteilnehmern. Die Hälfte der Teilnehmer erhielt ein Placebo anstelle des Impfstoffs, und nur 11 der symptomatischen Coronavirus-Fälle traten in der geimpften Gruppe auf. Einer der Studienteilnehmer in der Placebogruppe starb an Covid-19. Der Impfstoff basiert auf a neuartige mRNA-TechnologieEbenso wie der Impfstoff, der vom US-amerikanischen Pharmaunternehmen Pfizer in Zusammenarbeit mit dem deutschen Biotechnologieunternehmen BioNTech entwickelt wird. Pfizer und BioNTech veröffentlichten am 18. November vielversprechende vollständige Ergebnisse ihrer Phase-III-Coronavirus-Impfstoffstudie, die eine Wirksamkeit von 95 Prozent zeigten, und beantragten kurz darauf bei der US-amerikanischen Food and Drug Administration die Genehmigung für den Notfall. Moderna ist auch Einreichung für die behördliche Notfallgenehmigungin den USA und in Europa.
EIN vorbereitende Studie fanden heraus, dass bevölkerungsweite Coronavirus-Tests in der Slowakei in Kombination mit anderen Kontrollmaßnahmen sehr erfolgreich waren, um die Infektionsprävalenz im Land rasch zu senken. Die Slowakei war das erste Land, das im Oktober Massentests mit Antigen-Schnelltests durchführte. Das Vereinigte Königreich plant auch Massentests um zu versuchen, Infektionen zu kontrollieren, bis ein Impfstoff verfügbar wird.
Coronavirus Todesfälle
Die weltweite Zahl der Todesopfer bei Covid-19 hat 1,46 Millionen überschritten. Die Zahl der bestätigten Fälle beträgt laut. Mehr als 62,9 Millionen Johns Hopkins Universität, obwohl die wahre Anzahl der Fälle viel höher sein wird.
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
27. November
Die R-Zahl in Großbritannien liegt nach der jüngsten Schätzung zwischen 0,9 und 1,0
The letzte Schätzung des Vereinigten Königreichs R-Nummer – Die durchschnittliche Anzahl der Personen, die jede Person mit Coronavirus infiziert, ist auf 0,9 bis 1,0 gesunken Zum ersten Mal seit Mitte August. “Es wird immer deutlicher, dass sich die in den letzten Wochen umgesetzten strengeren Maßnahmen auswirken”, sagte Liam Smeeth von der London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in a Erklärung. „Eine Phase abgestufter Maßnahmen im Dezember ist jetzt gerechtfertigt, um zu Weihnachten eine soziale Vermischung zu ermöglichen, die für viele so wichtig ist. Ich vermute, dass ein weiterer Leistungsschalter im Januar oder möglicherweise im Februar erforderlich sein könnte, da Weihnachten die Übertragungsraten so stark unter Druck setzen wird “, sagte Smeeth.
Seine Kommentare finden sich in Dokumenten der Wissenschaftlichen Beratergruppe für Notfälle (SAGE) der Regierung vom 5. November wieder heute veröffentlicht. „An vielen Feierlichkeiten sind Familien und Haushalte beteiligt, die im ganzen Land oder international reisen. Wenn es regionale Unterschiede in der Prävalenz gibt, kann dies zu einer Infektion von Gebieten mit hoher bis niedriger Prävalenz führen “, warnte SAGE.
Der SAGE-Bericht fügte hinzu, dass eine erhöhte Übertragung von einer kurzen Zeit der Entspannung, wie sie im Rahmen der erwartet wird UK Weihnachtsplan, könnte möglicherweise durch „Umsetzung ausreichend restriktiver Maßnahmen von ausreichender Dauer vor und / oder nach dem Ereignis“ kompensiert werden. It said preliminary modelling suggests that for each day that measures are relaxed, five days of stringent measures would be required to keep the epidemic in check. However, it added: “Given the potential for increased inter-generational mixing and the exposure of more vulnerable people, compensating before the increased period is greatly preferable. A period of high transmission during December will bring forward any rise in infection during January.”
Other coronavirus news
Coronavirus cases and hospitalisations in the US continued to surge over the Thanksgiving holiday. There were 110,611 new cases recorded in the US on Thursday and 1232 new deaths. On the same day 90,481 people were hospitalised with covid-19, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
In Denmark, there are concerns that farmed mink infected with the coronavirus may have escaped and could spread the virus to wild animals. Sten Mortensen, veterinary research manager at the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration, told the Wächter that a few thousand mink escape from farms every year and that there is a risk 5 per cent of those that escaped this year were infected with covid-19.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.43 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 61.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine: Doubts have been raised over the positive results released earlier this week by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford from trials of their coronavirus vaccine. Here’s what you need to know.
Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP/Shutterstock
26 November
Most of England to be put under the two strictest levels of restrictions next week
UK health minister Matt Hancock revealed which parts of England will be under which tier of restrictions after the nationwide lockdown ends on 2 December. The toughest measures will be applied to the parts of the nation where cases and pressure on the NHS are highest, Hancock told parliament today. Specifically, the government will use five criteria to decide the tier for each area, which will be reviewed every 14 days. These include case rates across all age groups, case rates in people over 60, the rate at which cases are rising or falling, the test positivity rate and the estimated pressure on the NHS in a particular area. “The current epidemiological evidence and clinical advice shows that we must make the tiers tougher than they were before to protect the NHS through the winter months and avert another national lockdown,” Hancock added.
Under the Neue Regeln, about 55 million people will remain banned from meeting those from other households indoors – under tier two and tier three rules. Approximately 23 million people will be under the highest level of restrictions – tier three – including the cities of Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. This means they will only be allowed to meet people from other households in certain outdoor public spaces, such as parks, with a maximum group size of six. Only the Isle of Wight, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly are under tier one rules, meaning that people will be allowed to mix with people from other households indoors in groups of no more than six. Gyms and hairdressers will be allowed to open across England.
Other coronavirus news
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, an African Union agency, said that mass vaccination against the coronavirus is unlikely to start in countries in Africa until halfway through next year. “We are very concerned as a continent that we will not have access to vaccines in a timely fashion,” said the agency’s director John Nkengasong at a news conference. “It will not be, in my view, up to [the] middle of next year before we truly start to get vaccination into Africa,” he said. The US, Germany and the UK have plans to start rolling out vaccines schon im nächsten Monat. Nkengasong said there will also be key logistical problems to overcome in many African countries, particularly those with hot climates and challenges with supplying electricity, since most vaccines need to be kept cool.
The covid-19 pandemic could set back gains in gender equality, according to a report by UN Women. With more people around the world staying at home due to lockdowns and other restrictions, the need for household chores has increased, says the report. But analysis of data from 38 countries suggests that, while all people have increased their unpaid workloads, “women are still doing the lion’s share”. The report also found that women are taking on a greater intensity of care-related tasks compared to men. “Everything we worked for, that has taken 25 years, could be lost in a year,” UN Women deputy executive director Anita Bhatia told the BBC.
Germany will extend its partial lockdown until at least 20 December and will limit private gatherings to a maximum of five people from up to two different households. German chancellor Angela Merkel said the goal is to push the number of new coronavirus cases in each region of the country below 50 per 100,000 people per week. Ab heute, only two of the country’s 16 federal states have case rates below this level. “We have to continue to pursue this goal,” Merkel told journalists in Berlin today.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.42 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 60.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Preventing the next pandemic: The coronavirus pandemic is still raging, but the clock is ticking towards the next big virus threat – can we track it down before it makes the leap from animals to humans?
Guy Bell/Shutterstock
25 November
Government science advisers warn UK Christmas plan likely to lead to rise in cases
Scientists advising the UK government warned that its plan to relax restrictions during Christmas is likely to result in a rise in coronavirus cases, hospitalisations and deaths. “It is likely to lead to a third wave of infection, with hospitals being overrun, and more unnecessary deaths,” Andrew Hayward at University College London, a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told the BBC’s Newsnight programme. Graham Medley at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also a member of SAGE, told the Wächter that the relaxation of rules could lead to further lockdown measures being needed in the new year. “I think it is inevitable that if a lot of people do take that risk, even if it is a small risk, then we end up with a lot of people in hospital and potentially having to take measures in January to lock down again,” said Medley.
Under the government’s new guidance, people across the UK will be allowed to gather in three-household groups of unlimited size for a five-day period around Christmas. “All the governments agreed that we should balance the need to protect public health with also allowing people to be with their loved ones,” sagte cabinet office minister, Michael Gove.
Other coronavirus news
Senior US health adviser Anthony Fauci urged people in the country to avoid gathering for Thanksgiving, in line with US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advice. “Keep the gatherings, the indoor gatherings, as small as you possibly can. We all know how difficult that is, because this is such a beautiful, traditional holiday. But by making that sacrifice, you are going to prevent people from getting infected,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America programme today. “A sacrifice now could save lives and illness and make the future much brighter as we get through this,” said Fauci. “We’re going to get through this. Vaccines are on the horizon,” he added.
EIN study that analysed coronavirus genome sequences from 46,723 people with coronavirus around the world found that none of the mutations identified are causing the virus to spread more quickly. The researchers discovered 12,706 positions in the genome with mutations. “Fortunately, we found that none of these mutations are making covid-19 spread more rapidly, but we need to remain vigilant and continue monitoring new mutations, particularly as vaccines get rolled out,” Lucy van Dorp at University College London, one of the lead researchers on the study, said in a Erklärung. The study is published in the journal Naturkommunikation.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.41 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 59.9 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva
24 November
Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine candidate is 95 per cent effective, says Russia
The Russian government says preliminary results from trials of its coronavirus vaccine candidate Sputnik V have shown it to be more than 95 per cent effective after two doses. This is an increase from the 92 per cent effectiveness reported for the Sputnik V vaccine earlier this month. The latest results are based on a trial in about 19,000 volunteers. Sputnik V is based on similar viral vector technology to that used in the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine candidate, which early results indicate may be up to 90 per cent effective. But a full comparison between the two vaccines will only be possible when all the data is released, said Ian Jones at the University of Reading, UK, in a Erklärung.
Each dose of the vaccine would cost less than $10, according to the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). “It’s more than twice as cheap as other vaccines that have the same efficacy levels,” the head of RDIF, Kirill Dmitriev, told a briefing.
Other coronavirus news
UK health minister Matt Hancock said it is possible some social distancing measures could remain in place as vaccines are rolled out, until it is determined how effective they are at preventing coronavirus transmission in addition to preventing symptomatic covid-19. Hancock was speaking during a joint session of the UK health and science committees today. He also said the NHS should routinely test people for illnesses such as flu after the coronavirus pandemic, and that he thinks the UK’s culture of “soldiering on” and going to work while ill should end.
The UK government announced it will introduce a new “test and release” system in England on 15 December, which will allow passengers arriving from certain high-risk countries to end their quarantine early if they test negative for the coronavirus after five days of quarantine. Passengers will be required to book their tests with a provider from a government approved list and to pay for their own tests. The new system “will give passengers the confidence to book international trips in the knowledge that they can return home and isolate for a shorter period if they have received a negative test”, the government said in a statement.
A Microsoft Excel error that resulted in 15,841 cases not being immediately referred to the contact tracing system in England between 25 September and 2 October may have been linked to 125,000 subsequent cases and 1500 deaths, according to Modellieren by researchers at the University of Warwick, UK.
There were 2466 deaths involving covid-19 in England and Wales in the week up to 13 November, accounting for 20.1 per cent of all deaths that week in England and Wales, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics. This is an increase from the previous week, during which 1937 people died from covid-19.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.40 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 59.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
John Cairns/Jenner Institute
23 November
Oxford vaccine researcher says UK is on track to vaccinate high-risk groups in December
People in high-risk groups in the UK may be able to get a coronavirus vaccine by December, with doses for the wider public being made available by next spring, said Adrian Hill at the University of Oxford today. Hill is the head of the institute behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine candidate, which may be up to 90 per cent effective according to preliminary results published today. “I think we are on track for the timeline […] to start getting this vaccine rolled out from December,” said Hill. “Hopefully there will be a vaccine available for all adults, but that’s likely to be springtime rather than in January.” In addition to the UK, governments in the US and Germany are also preparing to start vaccinating some people in December.
The UK has pre-ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate, as well as 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine candidate and 5 million doses of Moderna’s candidate. “The bulk of the vaccine rollout programme will be in January, February, March. And we hope sometime after Easter things will be able to start to get back to normal,” UK health minister Matt Hancock sagte heute. It isn’t yet clear how long any immunity generated by coronavirus vaccines might last.
COVAX – a global coronavirus vaccine allocation coalition with the World Health Organization – has been working to discourage governments from hoarding vaccines and ensure the most vulnerable groups in each country are vaccinated first. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is already part of COVAX, which aims to distribute about 2 billion doses to 92 low- and middle-income countries at a maximum price of $3 per dose. In one Erklärung today, AstraZeneca said it will seek an emergency use listing from the WHO to accelerate access to its vaccine candidate in low-income countries.
Other coronavirus news
UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced more details about England’s planned return to a three-tier system of coronavirus restrictions, after the nationwide lockdown ends on 2 December. Parliament will vote on the plan later this week. Under the new system, more areas will be placed in the higher tiers compared to before the current nationwide lockdown. On Thursday, the government will confirm which regions will fall under which tiers. This will be based on analysis of cases among all age groups, particularly those above 60, as well as the rate at which cases are rising and falling and the current and projected pressure on the NHS in the region, Johnson told parliament today, which is in line with advice from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. Johnson also revealed plans for a programme of mass testing, similar to that which took place as part of a pilot in Liverpool, to be rolled out in all tier-three areas in England after the lockdown ends. Johnson said rapid coronavirus tests are already being deployed in the NHS and in care homes, with the goal of allowing every care home resident to have two visitors who can be tested twice a week by the end of the year.
Covid-19 hospitalisations continue to surge in the US, with a new record of 83,870 people hospitalised with the disease in the country on Sunday. Da waren reports of crowding in US airports ahead of Thanksgiving this week, despite the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently warning against travel for the national holiday. Senior US health adviser Anthony Fauci warned yesterday that spikes in cases would not become evident until weeks after Thanksgiving. Er sagte CBS this could create a “very difficult” situation as winter approaches.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.39 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 58.8 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Odds of dying: During the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, the infection fatality rate – how many infected people die – may have been 1 per cent for high-income countries with older populations.
Hurdles to ending the pandemic: Promising early results from vaccine trials offer hope of defeating covid-19, but vaccines may be less effective in the real world and people’s safety concerns could hamper take-up.
JEANNE ACCORSINI/SIPA/Shutterstock
20 November
NHS England’s draft plan aims for widespread vaccination of adults by start of April
A draft of NHS England’s plan for the roll-out of a coronavirus vaccine aims for widespread vaccination of all willing adults in England by early April, if sufficient doses and other crucial supplies are available. Under NHS England’s draft covid-19 vaccine deployment programme, which was outlined in a leaked document dated 13 November seen by HSJ, most doses of the potential vaccine would be administered between early January and mid-March, at a rate of between 4 and 5 million each week. The vaccinations would take place at thousands of “community mass vaccination sites” arranged by local GPs, with additional “large scale mass vaccination centres” in stadiums and conference centres. Priority will be given to healthcare workers and care home residents who would start to be vaccinated in early December, followed by people aged 80 and above, those in their seventies and those in their late sixties. Adults under 50 could start getting vaccines late January, with the majority vaccinated in March. The draft plan relies on more than 7 million doses of a vaccine being available in December. The document does not mention which vaccine will be used, and it is not known how many doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available by then. The document also includes very little detail about how the NHS will surmount the significant logistical problems with delivering vaccines that require strict temperature-controlled supply chains.
US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and German company BioNTech said they applied to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today for emergency use authorisation for their coronavirus vaccine candidate in the US. This week, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be 95 per cent effective in phase III clinical trials. The UK government has pre-ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccines, and recently secured an initial agreement with US pharmaceutical company Moderna for 5 million doses of their vaccine candidate, which preliminary results indicate is almost 95 per cent effective.
Other coronavirus news
Coronavirus infections in England may be levelling off, according to the latest results of a random swab testing survey by the Office for National Statistics. Estimated daily new infections in England decreased slightly to 38,900 new cases per day during the week ending 14 November, compared to 47,700 during the previous week. “These numbers would be the first where we might hope to see the national lockdown beginning to impact,” said James Naismith at the University of Oxford in a Erklärung. “We know that social restrictions are the most effective way to bring down the number of new infections.”
The World Health Organization has advised that Ebola treatment remdesivir should not be used in people hospitalised with covid-19. The FDA approved remdesivir for use in people over 12 who are hospitalised with covid-19 last month. “The trials reported to date have shown no impact of remdesivir on survival,” said Martin Landray at the University of Oxford in a Erklärung. “This is a drug that has to be given by intravenous infusion for 5 to 10 days and costs around £2000 per course. So remdesivir is not cheap, it is not convenient, and it has no impact on the mortality among the people at highest risk.”
Personal protective equipment ordered by the UK government may have come from factories using North Korean slave labour, the Wächter berichtet.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people in the US not to travel for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.36 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 57.1 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images
19 November
‘Substantial risks’ with socialising over Christmas, warns UK science adviser
Menschen Mischen from different households during the Christmas period poses “substantial risks”, particularly for older people who are more vulnerable to severe covid-19, a scientist advising the UK government has warned. Socialising during the holidays is likely to result in increased contact between younger generations “with high incidence of infection”, and older people, said Andrew Hayward at University College London, who is a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. “My personal view is we’re putting far too much emphasis on having a near-normal Christmas,” Hayward told BBC Radio 4. “We know respiratory infections peak in January so throwing fuel on the fire over Christmas can only contribute to this.” England entered a four-week nationwide lockdown on 8 November, which is due to end on 2 December. Next week, the UK government is expected to set out proposals for easing restrictions in December.
The city of Hull currently has the highest infection rate in England at 751 per 100,000 people, compared to 274 per 100,000 across England as a whole. Local MPs have asked the UK government for help, including support from the military to carry out mass testing in the city. Last week, the military was deployed to help the NHS with mass testing in Liverpool. The government said its coronavirus task force would discuss response measures with leaders in Hull.
Other coronavirus news
Preliminary results suggest an arthritis drug may improve outcomes in severe covid-19. The findings, which have not yet been published or peer-reviewed, indicate that critically ill covid-19 patients treated with Roche’s anti-inflammation drug Actemra are more likely to survive after being admitted to hospital for covid-19. The drug, also called tocilizumab, is one of several being evaluated as part of the REMAP-CAP trial, led in the UK by researchers at Imperial College London and the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre. Other studies have shown mixed results on the effectiveness of tocilizumab in covid-19 patients, said Athimalaipet Ramanan at the University of Bristol in a Erklärung.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine candidate is safe and induces an immune response in people in their 60s and 70s, according to results from a phase II trial published in the Lanzette. The results are based on a study in 560 volunteers. The findings are significant, because the risk of severe covid-19 increases with age. Data from on-going phase III trials will reveal whether the vaccine candidate can prevent people from becoming ill with covid-19.
The number of covid-19 patients in US hospitals has doubled in the past month, with new record daily numbers of hospitalisations reported every day this week. Almost 77,000 people were hospitalised with the covid-19 in the US as of Tuesday and more than 250,000 people have died from the disease in the country since the start of its epidemic.
Coronavirus deaths
The worldwide covid-19 death toll has passed 1.35 million. The number of confirmed cases is more than 56.4 million, according to Johns Hopkins Universität, though the true number of cases will be much higher.
Latest on coronavirus from New Scientist
Getting a vaccine to the world: Once a coronavirus vaccine is approved, the race is on to overcome the biggest logistics challenge in history to distribute it around the globe.
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