"Connecting Communities for COVID19 News" 18th Jan 2021
Isolation Tips
Covid-19: Lockdown could 'lose a generation' of young people
A "whole generation of young people" could be lost to education during the Covid-19 lockdown because they do not have access to digital learning, a leading charity warned. Schools have been closed to most children, meaning remote-learning at home with lessons via the internet. Rae Tooth, of the Villiers Park Education Trust, is concerned about children without computers. The government said it was providing thousands of laptops for pupils. Ms Tooth, chief executive of the Trust, told BBC Politics East that "digital poverty" hits the ability of children to learn if they have no access to the internet, (or can only access if via smartphones with small screens).
Covid-19: Rise in suspected child abuse cases after lockdown
The number of reported incidents of children dying or being seriously harmed after suspected abuse or neglect rose by a quarter after England's first lockdown last year, figures indicate. The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel received 285 serious incident notifications from April to September. This is an increase of 27% from 225 in the same period the previous year. The data also includes children who were in care and died, regardless of whether abuse or neglect was suspected.
Hygiene Helpers
COVID-19: More than half of over-80s have received vaccine as 140 jabs given a minute
More than half of over-80s in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, as the government has revealed that 140 jabs are being given out a minute. Sharing the news on Twitter, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "I'm delighted that over half of all over-80s have been vaccinated. "Each jab brings us one step closer to normal."
German minister says COVID curbs should be eased for vaccinated people
People who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 should be allowed to go to restaurants and cinemas earlier than others, a German minister said, contradicting other cabinet members who have so far opposed special freedoms for those inoculated. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the state had massively restricted people’s basic rights in order to contain infections and avoid overwhelming hospitals. “It has not yet been conclusively clarified to what extent vaccinated people can infect others,” Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. “What is clear, however, is that a vaccinated person no longer takes a ventilator away from anyone. This removes at least one central reason for restricting fundamental rights.”
COVID-19: Every UK adult could be offered a vaccine by mid-July - if these figures are anything to go by
For a few hours this week, we were given an insight into the closely-guarded secret at the centre of the UK's vaccination programme. It came courtesy of the Scottish government, which published its vaccination plan on Wednesday. The plan included detailed figures for the number of vaccines that would be supplied to Scotland by the UK each week until the end of May. The UK government objected, saying the publication of the figures would create difficulties for the pharmaceutical companies, and the offending page was quickly removed - but not before some clever internet users were able to save a copy.
Community Activities
Virtual library gives children in England free book access
Children in England will be able to access books online free during school closures via a virtual library. Internet classroom Oak National Academy created the library after schools moved to remote learning for the majority of pupils until February half-term. Formed with The National Literacy Trust, the library will provide a book a week from its author of the week. The aim is to increase young readers' access to e-books and audiobooks, particularly the most disadvantaged.
Bayer aims to help CureVac with COVID-19 vaccine output, says CEO
German pharmaceutical giant Bayer is examining whether it can help CureVac to produce its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, its chief executive was quoted as saying on Sunday. Though inoculation campaigns have started around the world using various COVID-19 vaccines, many countries say their ability to get shots into arms is being limited by lower than expected supplies owing to a shortage of production. “We are prepared to pull out all the stops for this,” Werner Baumann told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. “This is not primarily about financial considerations but about making the vaccine available as quickly as possible.” Bayer agreed this month to help fellow German company CureVac with development of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which is in late-stage clinical trials and has not yet been approved.
Thousands Take To Streets To Protest Over Vienna's New Lockdown Laws As Cases Spike Again
On Saturday, January 16, thousands of people marched through Vienna to protest against the restrictions kept in place to battle the novel coronavirus. According to the reports by CNA, the demonstrators chanted "Kurz Must Go" and "Make Influenza Great Again" during marches through the city centre. Also, the demonstrators were not seen wearing any mask. The protests began when Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his government discussed extending the existing lockdown in Austria. The lockdown includes movement restrictions and the closure of all non-essential businesses. However, no official announcement has come as of now. People took to their social media handles and shared image and videos from the protest march. Let’s have a look.
From hard lockdown to tactful reopening: How China bounced back from Covid
The smell, salty and pungent, wafts through the freshly paved streets near the gleaming new factory. The factory is owned by a company called Laoganma, which makes a piquant chili-and-soybean sauce famous across China for its power to set mouths watering. In a time of global pandemic, when the jobs of working people around the world hang in the balance, the factory’s scents signal opportunity. Since it opened in March, when China was still in the grip of Covid-19, the factory has struggled to find enough machinery operators or quality control technicians. Now workers are flocking to Changmingzhen, a once-quiet farming town ringed with green mountains and rice paddies, from which young people once fled for better jobs elsewhere.
Tonga's dog population surges as coronavirus restrictions keep foreign vets out of the country
While dog shelters were left empty and people in Australia had to wait months for a dog due to the surge in demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tonga's main island of Tongatapu has had the opposite problem. The closure of international borders meant foreign vets from South Pacific Animal Welfare (SPAW) couldn't run their free desexing programs in the country — and without a qualified vet in Tonga, there are now estimated to be more than 20,000 dogs on Tongatapu alone. Angela Glover, vice-president of the Tonga Animal Welfare Society, said the need for veterinary care has never been more urgent.
People from ethnic minorities far more hesitant to take coronavirus vaccine
Scientific advisers are concerned about the coronavirus vaccine uptake among black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, following the release of data from a new study. Research from the UK Household Longitudinal Study – which conducts annual interviews to gain a long-term perspective on British people’s lives – showed 72 per cent of black people said they were unlikely to have the jab. A report from Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) highlighted the persisting problems of structural, and institutional racism, and historic under representation in healthcare research, as driving the reduced levels of trust in the vaccination programme.
NHS heroes fear Government are using them as coronavirus vaccine 'guinea pigs'
NHS heroes have blasted the Government for using them as “guinea pigs” by denying them an early booster vaccine. Doctors, nurses and paramedics fighting Covid must wait three months like the rest of us for a second jab – instead of the three weeks recommended after manufacturer trials. But calls are growing for frontline heroes to get the booster within the 21 days vaccine maker Pfizer deems vital for best protection. The UK’s chief medical officers recommended the 12-week gap so more of the population can get some immunity from the first jab. Currently, the NHS is under severe strain with record numbers of Covid patients.
African Union vaccines to be allocated according to population
Millions of coronavirus vaccine doses secured by the African Union (AU) will be allocated according to countries’ population size, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday. Ramaphosa, who is the current AU chairman, said on Wednesday that vaccines from Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca would be available this year, but he did not specify how much each African country would get. No African countries have begun large-scale coronavirus vaccination campaigns and the AU’s 270 million shots, if administered two per person, would still only cover around 10% of the continent’s 1.3 billion people.
Working Remotely
WFH with children in the time of Covid makes the office look easy
The Institute for Fiscal Studies found that during the first lockdown, the number of parents in paid work fell, as did the number of hours they worked and the quality of their working time — or their uninterrupted work hours. “The vast majority of those interruptions were due to childcare and having kids at home,” said Alison Andrew, a senior research economist at the institute. In just 10 months, full-time office work has been replaced with the idea of “hybrid” working — some time at home, some in the office. That will not make the jobs easier to do, of course, especially while schools are closed, and it has raised concerns about the mental and physical wellbeing of staff.
Working from home is more complicated than we thought
Welcome to 2021, where huge numbers of us will continue to work from home. Even when the coast is completely clear again, many of us have been given or given ourselves permission to continue working at least partially from our own environs. And it's a worldwide phenomenon. A survey of civil servants in Ireland, for example, showed 88 per cent favoured working from home and believed they were as effective as they were in the office. An Otago University study of more than 2,500 Kiwis last May produced similar results. Nearly 40 per cent had never worked from home before and 89 per cent wanted to continue, at least part time.
Employees to have legal right to request home working, says Varadkar
In Ireland, a target to have 20 per cent of public servants working remotely on a more permanent basis can be achieved by the end of this year, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said. As part of plans announced on Friday the Government said it would legislate to give people the legal right to ask their employer to allow them to work from home beyond the end of the pandemic. Mr Varadkar said the arrival of Covid-19 had changed mindsets about the nature of work and accelerated the process greatly. The changes seen since the crisis began last March had allowed what might have been achieved in five to 10 years to be realised in a much shorter space of time, he said.
Virtual Classrooms
Virtual classroom at farm varsity opens
In India, HK Chaudhary, Vice-Chancellor of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University, inaugurated an ultra-modern virtual classroom facility yesterday. He said that under the prevailing circumstances, it would prove to be a boon to students sitting in the safe environs of their homes. They would no longer miss classes and would also attend virtual practicals too, he added.
Maharashtra educator gets award for novel teaching method in lockdown
A Maharashtra teacher, who did not allow coronavirus-induced lockdown to come in the way of continuing his classes for his students in rural areas, has won recognition for his efforts that involved use of conference calls and storytelling. Balaji Baburao Jadhav (35) has been selected for the Honey Bee Network Creativity Inclusive Innovation Award 2020. So far, Jadhav has received more than 70 state, national and international awards. "My project is followed in 20 districts of Maharashtra, 24 states in the country and 14 countries in the world. The benefit of people is my real satisfaction than an award," he said.
Public Policies
Amid COVID-19 surge, South Africa delays reopening schools
Faced with a rapid resurgence of COVID-19 overwhelming the country’s hospitals and driven by a more infectious variant of the virus South Africa has delayed reopening its schools. The variant is having far-reaching consequences for Africa’s most developed nation as several countries trying to prevent its spread have stopped or reduced flights with South Africa. South Africa has the highest prevalence of COVID-19 in Africa with a cumulative total of more than 1.3 million confirmed cases, including 36,851 deaths.
UK hopes to ease lockdown from March: minister
Britain’s government hopes to ease some lockdown restrictions in March as it presses ahead with Europe’s fastest rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday. The country, which also has Europe’s highest COVID-19 death toll, has been under national lockdown since Jan. 5, with schools closed for most pupils, non-essential businesses shut and people ordered to work from home where possible. “What we want to do is get out of this national lockdown as soon as possible,” Raab told Sky News television.
Austria extends COVID-19 lockdown, sees hard months ahead
Austria on Sunday extend its third COVID-19 lockdown into February, hoping to drive down infection rates despite an influx of variants that spread the coronavirus more easily. The goal is to let shops, museums and personal services like hairdressers reopen from Feb. 8, while the catering and tourism sectors will stay shuttered until at least March. “We have two to three hard months ahead of us,” Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told a news conference, flanked by regional leaders and health officials in a show of unity a day after thousands marched in Vienna to protest against restrictions.
France observes nationwide 6 p.m. curfew to slow coronavirus spread
Cities, towns and villages across France were practically empty on Saturday as residents stayed home and businesses shut to observe a nationwide curfew intended to help stem the spread of coronavirus, especially a more infectious variant. The virus has killed 70,000 people in France, the seventh highest toll in the world, and the government is particularly worried by the more transmissible variant first detected in Britain, which now accounts for about 1% of new cases. The curfew was brought forward two hours to 6 p.m. and will run until 6 a.m. In addition, from Monday anyone travelling to France from outside the European Union will have to show a negative test result and self-isolate for a week upon arrival.
Call on lockdown was not easy, assessed impact: PM
Recalling India’s fight against Covid-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the decision to go in for a nationwide lockdown in March 2020 was not easy as the government had assessed its impact on the economy and people’s livelihood and worked to devise welfare nets.
Scotland Covid vaccine plan that included exact numbers taken offline
Scotland’s plan for the distribution of coronavirus vaccinations has been taken offline after the UK government raised concerns that the document included sensitive details about vaccine supply. The plan, which was published on Wednesday evening but removed by Thursday morning, set out the exact numbers of vaccines from Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna the Scottish government expected to receive on a weekly basis up to the end of May, revealing two weeks when no AstraZeneca vaccine would be available. The UK government is reportedly furious at the publication of such detailed figures, amid anxieties it could lead to suppliers coming under pressure from other countries.
India launches vaccine drive as scepticism mounts
Narendra Modi has kicked off one of the world’s most ambitious inoculation drives in the midst of growing vaccine scepticism over the contentious approval of an indigenously developed jab. The Indian prime minister launched the campaign with an emotional live address on Saturday, saying “the nation has been desperately waiting for this moment” and warned against “false propaganda” about vaccine safety. India, a country of 1.4bn people, has the world’s second-highest number of coronavirus infections at 10.5m. Lockdowns have had limited effect in controlling the spread of the virus and contact tracing has faltered, making a successful inoculation programme essential. The first phase of the vaccination rollout targets 30m healthcare and frontline workers, with the goal of inoculating 300m people by July.
Covid: 10 new mass vaccination centres to open in England
Ten new mass Covid vaccination centres are to open in England from Monday, as the government bids to meet its target of offering 15 million people in the UK a dose by 15 February. Blackburn Cathedral and St Helens Rugby Ground are among the venues chosen to join the seven hubs already in use. NHS England said the new centres would offer "thousands" of jabs a week. It comes as a further 324,233 vaccine doses were administered across the UK, taking the total above 3.5 million.
As the latest figures were announced on Sunday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted his thanks to "everyone who is helping in this fantastic national effort".
COVID-19: Indonesia vaccine rollout bucks trend by targeting younger generations
With shaking hands, broadcast live to the nation, a doctor administered Indonesia's first COVID-19 vaccination. The recipient was President Joko Widodo, a man who hopes to get 181.5 million Indonesians vaccinated this year. It's a huge challenge, almost three times the population of the UK and so far one of the largest rollouts in the world. But the nation's vaccination drive, which started this week using CoronaVac, a jab from Chinese manufacturer Sinovac Biotech, bucks the current trend by injecting under-60s first.
Biden details 5-step COVID vaccine plan, names new lead for vaccines
President-elect Joe Biden revealed details of his $1.9 trillion stimulus plan, which includes an emergency vaccination and relief package to help see America through the COVID-19 pandemic, and today the former vice president presented a 5-point plan aimed at quickly ramping up vaccinations. "We're sparing no effort in getting Americans vaccinated," Biden said. "We remain in a very dark winter, the infection rate is up 34%, we see 3 or 4,000 deaths per day. Things will get worse before they get better." Biden named a new head for Operation Warp Speed, which promoted rapid vaccine development under President Donald Trump, though the Biden team will rename the effort. Biden said the Trump administration's efforts to roll out two approved COVID-19 vaccines, one from Pfizer and one from Moderna, was a dismal failure. He said he wanted to turn frustration into motivation and meet his goal of 100 million shots during his first 100 days in office.
EU countries decry ‘very short notice’ of delay in delivery of Pfizer vaccine
EU governments struggling with the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines have hit out at plans by Pfizer to delay supplies to European countries, including the UK, from next week. Germany’s health ministry said on Friday that it regretted the “unexpected and . . . very short notice” announcement, especially as the US pharmaceuticals company had promised “binding delivery dates” until the middle of next month. Health ministers from six Nordic and Baltic states also expressed “severe concern about the sustainability and credibility of the Covid-19 vaccination process” following the US company’s decision.
Maintaining Services
GPs ‘forced to bin leftover vaccines’ amid struggle to book exact number of Covid vaccine recipients
In the UK, GPs are being forced to bin leftover vaccines rather than give patients second doses or use them on staff, according to reports. Local NHS leaders are said to have issued the vaccine disposal instructions to doctors organising clinics. The revelation comes as Pfizer said there would be a short delay to UK orders of its vaccine. GPs are struggling to book the exact number of appointments to match the doses of the vaccine which needs to kept at -70c, which adds another layer of difficulty.
Covid-19: Critical care wards are full in hospitals across England
Ten hospital trusts across England reported having no spare critical care beds for most of last week. It comes as hospital waiting times, coronavirus admissions and patients requiring intensive care rises. Across all England's acute trusts the total number of critical care beds available is 5,503, with 4,632 in use on 10 January.
NHS England has not yet commented. Last year, hospitals added 39% more beds for seriously ill patients. The latest figures from NHS England show the number of trusts who were, on average, at full capacity in adult critical care rose from four to ten in the week to 10 January.
COVID-19: Some restrictions could go by March and vaccine should be offered to every adult by September
All UK adults should be offered the first dose of a COVID vaccine by September - with the hope some restrictions can be lifted by March, Dominic Raab has told Sky News. The foreign secretary said: "Our target is that by September to have offered all the adult population a first dose, if we can do it faster than that great but that's the roadmap." The target is more specific than the government's COVID-19 vaccine delivery plan, published a week ago, which said that level of protection should be provided "by the autumn".
Greece starts COVID-19 vaccinations among the elderly
Greece kicked off COVID-19 vaccinations among the elderly on Saturday, after first inoculating tens of thousands of frontline workers to fight the spread of the coronavirus. More than 75,000 healthcare workers and nursing home residents and carers have received the shot of the vaccine produced by Pfizer/BioNTech since Greece rolled out the plan along with other EU countries last month.
Reeling again from COVID-19, Amazonas gets respirators, oxygen from Brazil Air Force and Venezuela
The Brazilian jungle state of Amazonas received more emergency supplies of oxygen and respirators on Saturday, as the military and neighboring Venezuela scrambled to alleviate an unfolding humanitarian crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Air Force also said it had evacuated 12 patients from hospitals in the state capital Manaus to the northern city of Sao Luis overnight, with hospitals at breaking point with no oxygen supplies and overflowing intensive care wards. Mass graves were dug in Manaus during the first wave of the pandemic last year. Harrowing scenes are again emerging in the second wave, of doctors and relatives running out of supplies and equipment while trying desperately to keep patients alive. Brazil’s Air Force said on Saturday a second flight had landed in Manaus with eight tanks of liquid oxygen, following an earlier emergency delivery of five tanks, and the Navy said in a statement that it is sending 40 respirators.
Migrants forced to travel 85 miles for Home Office appointments as coronavirus cases soar
People are being forced to travel as far as 85 miles to attend Home Office appointments during the lockdown, prompting critics to claim the government is prioritising “distrust” of migrants over public health. Ministers are being urged to act after it emerged vulnerable asylum seekers and visa applicants have had to take long journeys on public transport in recent weeks in order to comply with Home Office rules. In March, substantive asylum interviews – during which the Home Office gathers information to determine whether someone should be granted asylum in the UK – were paused in response to the pandemic. Biometric appointments, where UK visa applicants submit their fingerprints as part of the application process, were also suspended during the first lockdown as visa application centres closed.
More than 800 chain restaurants, bars and cafes close for good as Covid-19 lockdowns bite sector
More than 800 chain restaurants, bars and coffee shops have closed since the start of the Covid pandemic, research compiled for the Evening Standard has found. Covid has wrought havoc on cashflows of leisure sector operators as they have been repeatedly forced to close or only open under tough restrictions to ensure social distancing. Data compiled for the Evening Standard showed that when administrations and Company Voluntary Arrangements are included, chains with 6231 outlets have been affected. That compares with 593 closed during the two previous years, which included the one-off corporate shakeups at Patisserie Valerie and The Restaurant Group accounting for nearly 150 closures.
India Kicks Off A Massive COVID-19 Vaccination Drive
Cheers erupted in hospital wards across India on Saturday as a first group of nurses and sanitation workers rolled up their sleeves and got vaccinated against COVID-19, at the start of what's likely to become the biggest national vaccination campaign in history. India aims to vaccinate 300 million people by July, though it could take an additional two or more years to inoculate all nearly 1.4 billion Indians. The shots are voluntary. Hospitals and clinics have been setting up and rehearsing for weeks. "A proud moment indeed! This is what we've been waiting for," Dr. R. Jayanthi, dean of the Omandurar Medical College in the southern city of Chennai, told local media moments after receiving her shot. "I'm truly a very privileged beneficiary today, and I'm feeling absolutely fine."
China builds hospital in 5 days as COVID-19 cases rise in Beijing
China on Saturday finished a five-day construction project on a 1,500-room hospital as clusters of COVID-19 spread in Beijing and the surrounding provinces.
The state of play: The facility is the one of six hospitals with a total of 6,500 rooms in the works in Nangong, the Xinhua News Agency said Saturday per AP reporting. They are all expected to be completed next week. China reportedly put roughly 28 million people on lockdown this week in the the Hebei provincial capital of Shijiazhuang.
Coronavirus in London: 1,300-body mortuary opens
A temporary mortuary that can hold up to 1,300 bodies has been opened in Ruislip, west London, as the capital faces a growing coronavirus death toll. London recently exceeded 10,000 Covid-related deaths, a figure mayor Sadiq Khan described as "heartbreaking". Four temporary mortuary sites were set up in London during the first wave of coronavirus, but were put on standby. The use of the Ruislip site has been called "a visual, sobering reminder" of the continuing cost of the pandemic. Westminster City Council chief executive Stuart Love, who is leading the London-wide response, added: "We want to give people hope but we are not there yet.
"From my point of view, we have built this really hoping it doesn't get used to its capacity.
Aviation industry risks collapse without 'urgent' support following travel curbs
The aviation industry risks collapse without “urgent” government support, industry groups have warned following the latest travel curbs. From Monday all travel corridors to the UK will be scrapped to prevent any further spread of the new strains of coronavirus.
Italy suspends flights from Brazil in response to new coronavirus variant
Italy is suspending flights from Brazil, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Saturday, in response to a new coronavirus variant. Anyone who has transited Brazil in the last 14 days is also prohibited from entering Italy, he said on Facebook, while people arriving in Italy from Brazil will be required to take a test for the virus.
"It is critical for our scientists to study the new strain. In the meantime, we are taking a very cautious approach", he said. Such rules will remain in place until Jan. 31, the order issued on Saturday by the health minister showed.
Spain rejects virus confinement as most of Europe stays home
While most of Europe kicked off 2021 with earlier curfews or stay-at-home orders, authorities in Spain insist the new coronavirus variant causing havoc elsewhere is not to blame for a sharp resurgence of cases and that the country can avoid a full lockdown even as its hospitals fill up. The government has been tirelessly fending off drastic home confinement like the one that paralyzed the economy for nearly three months in the spring of 2020, the last time Spain could claim victory over the stubborn rising curve of cases.
Infection rates ebbed in October but never completely flattened the surge from summer. Cases started climbing again before the end of the year. In the past month, 14-day rates more than doubled, from 188 cases per 100,000 residents on Dec. 10 to 522 per 100,000 on Thursday.
Coronavirus: Texas becomes first US state to administer 1m vaccine doses
Germany’s 2020 contraction shows economy in better shape than thought. Norwegian to abandon long-haul market as it fights for survival. France tightens Covid curfew and border controls.
Nigeria warns against fake COVID vaccines
Nigerian authorities have warned against fake coronavirus vaccines in the country where 10 million real doses of the shots are expected to arrive in March. “There are reports of fake vaccines in Nigeria,” Director General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food Drug and Administration Control (NAFDAC) Mojisola Adeyeye said on Friday. “NAFDAC is pleading with the public to beware. No COVID vaccines have been approved by NAFDAC. Fake vaccines can cause COVID-like illnesses or other serious diseases that could kill.” Nigeria’s anticipated vaccines add to 100,000 expected doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine although it was not specified which type of jab would be used for the 10 million doses. It was also unclear whether the batch would be financed by the African Union (AU) or as part of COVAX, which links the World Health Organization (WHO) with private partners to work for pooled procurement and equitable distribution.
Healthcare Innovations
CDC warns more infectious Covid-19 variant could dominate US by March
The new coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK could become the predominant strain in the US by March, according to a new model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC warned on Friday the B.1.1.7 variant was likely to spread rapidly across the US in the coming months. So far, 76 cases were identified in 10 US states, but scientists warn the actual number of B.1.1.7 cases is likely to be higher, as the US lags behind many other countries with its genomic sequencing to identify the variants. The CDC is now trying to expand sequencing to track the variant and other possible mutations.
Most hospitalized COVID-19 patients still have symptoms after 6 months
In their study, the researchers found that 76% of COVID-19 patients from a hospital in Wuhan, China, were still not symptom-free at a 6-month follow-up. The research, which appears in the journal The Lancet, identifies the most common symptoms that the study participants continued to experience. It also highlights the possible effects of COVID-19 on the participants’ cardiopulmonary health and identifies potential risk factors associated with the long-term effects of COVID-19.
Japan to study cases of people infected even after coronavirus vaccination
Japan plans to collect data from people who become infected with the novel coronavirus even after they receive vaccinations to assess how vaccines may help prevent the spread of the virus, sources close to the matter said on Sunday.
Inoculations are expected to start in Japan possibly in February. The health ministry will create a system to gather vaccination records of all infected people by adding checkboxes to a document that doctors are required to submit to public health centres when they confirm coronavirus infections, the sources said. The formats for reporting rubella and measles, other major communicable diseases, also have checkboxes for vaccination records.
Every adult in UK 'on track to get Covid jab by July', secret government data suggests
Every single British adult could have a Covid vaccine as early as July as the UK's race for immunisation picks up speed, secret Government data suggests. The Scottish Government came under fire earlier this week for publishing the closely guarded stats about the vaccine rollout on its website. The figures were deleted from the page after the UK Government complained that they created problems for pharmaceutical companies - but not before some quick-witted internet users saved a copy. They reveal Britain appears to be on target to deliver its promise of 15 million Covid vaccines for vulnerable people by mid-February.
Progress reported on one-dose J&J vaccine; COVID-19 reinfections seen as rare
The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Johnson & Johnson vaccine advancing through clinical trials
An experimental COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson produced protective antibodies against the novel coronavirus in 90% of 805 volunteers by 29 days, and that increased to 100% by day 57, according to data from an ongoing mid-stage study. Side effects such as fever, muscle aches and injection site pain resolved quickly, researchers reported on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. To be approved by regulators, the J&J vaccine must show efficacy as reflected by a lower risk of infections and severe disease in study participants who receive it compared to those who do not. Efficacy data from a large late-stage trial on the vaccine is due by February
