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| Covid live: Jonathan Van-Tam warns of ‘bumpy few months ahead’ as boosters recommended for over-40s in UK | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| England’s deputy chief medical officer warns of difficult Christmas period after advising over-40s in UK should be offered third dose of Covid vaccine | |
| One of the questions for England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, at that press briefing was around the ethics of using vaccine doses to deliver booster shots in a wealthy country like the UK, when there are developing nations struggling to even put one dose into people’s arms. He said: | |
| This is another key stat that Jonathan Van-Tam gave in his message – looking at the hospitalisation rates. Pippa Crear, political editor at the Daily Mirror, sums it up in one tweet: | |
| The precise numbers given were: | |
| England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, has said the country may still face “a bumpy few months ahead”. At this morning’s Downing Street briefing he said: | |
| England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, has made the following comments at a Downing Street briefing on the coronavirus. He was delivering his comments remotely from a clinical setting. The key points he made included: | England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, has made the following comments at a Downing Street briefing on the coronavirus. He was delivering his comments remotely from a clinical setting. The key points he made included: |
| Prof Wei Shen Lim of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) summed up his announcements like this. | Prof Wei Shen Lim of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) summed up his announcements like this. |
| I’ll have some quotes from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam in a moment, he is following the technical announcements with what he said were some “over-arching comments”. | I’ll have some quotes from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam in a moment, he is following the technical announcements with what he said were some “over-arching comments”. |
| Dr June Raine of the MHRA also spoke on the safety of vaccine delivery to younger people. She said: | Dr June Raine of the MHRA also spoke on the safety of vaccine delivery to younger people. She said: |
| There will be a difference with the dose of Moderna delivered as a booster, said Prof Wei Shen Lim of the JCVI. He said: | There will be a difference with the dose of Moderna delivered as a booster, said Prof Wei Shen Lim of the JCVI. He said: |
| Chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Prof Wei Shen Lim has just made the following announcement at a Downing Street press briefing: the booster jab programme in the UK is extended to people aged 40 to 49. Either Pfizer or Moderna can be used, regardless of the type of vaccine received for the first two doses. The gap again will be six months from the second dose of vaccine. | Chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Prof Wei Shen Lim has just made the following announcement at a Downing Street press briefing: the booster jab programme in the UK is extended to people aged 40 to 49. Either Pfizer or Moderna can be used, regardless of the type of vaccine received for the first two doses. The gap again will be six months from the second dose of vaccine. |
| Dr June Raine has just given an update in the UK from the perspective of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). She stated that the safety of vaccines is their top priority, and that they remain confident that the Covid vaccines available in the UK are “very effective and acceptably safe”. She said: | Dr June Raine has just given an update in the UK from the perspective of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). She stated that the safety of vaccines is their top priority, and that they remain confident that the Covid vaccines available in the UK are “very effective and acceptably safe”. She said: |
| In the UK, we are expecting shortly a press briefing from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, alongside chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Prof Wei Shen Lim and chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Dr June Raine. | In the UK, we are expecting shortly a press briefing from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, alongside chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Prof Wei Shen Lim and chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Dr June Raine. |
| The assumption is they are going to announce that booster jabs will be made available for the under-50s in the UK. | The assumption is they are going to announce that booster jabs will be made available for the under-50s in the UK. |
| The outsourcing company Serco said profits would be higher than expected in 2021 thanks to greater demand from the UK government for its Covid-19 services, including test and trace. | The outsourcing company Serco said profits would be higher than expected in 2021 thanks to greater demand from the UK government for its Covid-19 services, including test and trace. |
| Serco raised its full-year revenue guidance from £4.3bn to £4.4bn on Monday, helping underlying profits rise to at least £225m, up from previous forecasts of £200m. | Serco raised its full-year revenue guidance from £4.3bn to £4.4bn on Monday, helping underlying profits rise to at least £225m, up from previous forecasts of £200m. |
| The Hampshire-based company said the uplift could be explained by the fact the volume of its Covid-related work in the UK and Australia “have been higher, and have continued for longer, than we anticipated”. | The Hampshire-based company said the uplift could be explained by the fact the volume of its Covid-related work in the UK and Australia “have been higher, and have continued for longer, than we anticipated”. |
| Serco runs large parts of the UK’s largely privatised test-and-trace service, which is labelled NHS test and trace. The firm runs a fifth of Covid-19 testing sites and half the tier 3 contact tracers, who are mostly required to phone the contacts of people who have tested positive. | Serco runs large parts of the UK’s largely privatised test-and-trace service, which is labelled NHS test and trace. The firm runs a fifth of Covid-19 testing sites and half the tier 3 contact tracers, who are mostly required to phone the contacts of people who have tested positive. |
| That work was extended in June, when the company won a £322m contract to keep Covid-19 test centres running in England and Northern Ireland for another 12 months, with an option to add another six more. | That work was extended in June, when the company won a £322m contract to keep Covid-19 test centres running in England and Northern Ireland for another 12 months, with an option to add another six more. |
| Read more of Kalyeena Makortoff’s report here: Serco expects bigger profits thanks to Covid test-and-trace work | Read more of Kalyeena Makortoff’s report here: Serco expects bigger profits thanks to Covid test-and-trace work |
| Andrew Sparrow has just gone live with our UK politics live blog for the day. I’ll be continuing here with the top Covid lines from the UK and around the world. | Andrew Sparrow has just gone live with our UK politics live blog for the day. I’ll be continuing here with the top Covid lines from the UK and around the world. |
| Russian authorities have issued the latest Covid numbers from the country which has been in the grip of a coronavirus wave that led to the government calling a national paid week off work to try and break the chain of transmission. They are now waiting to see if has had an effect. | Russian authorities have issued the latest Covid numbers from the country which has been in the grip of a coronavirus wave that led to the government calling a national paid week off work to try and break the chain of transmission. They are now waiting to see if has had an effect. |
| Russia on Monday reported 1,211 deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, close to the all-time high of 1,241 reported last week. There were 38,420 new coronavirus cases. | Russia on Monday reported 1,211 deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, close to the all-time high of 1,241 reported last week. There were 38,420 new coronavirus cases. |
| “My aim is very clear: to get the unvaccinated to get vaccinated, not to lock up the unvaccinated,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told ORF radio as he explained Austria’s lockdown on the unvaccinated. | “My aim is very clear: to get the unvaccinated to get vaccinated, not to lock up the unvaccinated,” Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg told ORF radio as he explained Austria’s lockdown on the unvaccinated. |
| Many Austrians are sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom party, the third-biggest in parliament, which is planning a protest against the government’s coronavirus policies on Saturday. | Many Austrians are sceptical about vaccines, a view encouraged by the far-right Freedom party, the third-biggest in parliament, which is planning a protest against the government’s coronavirus policies on Saturday. |
| There has been a rise in first vaccinations since the unvaccinated were barred from places including restaurants, cafes, theatres and ski lifts last week. | There has been a rise in first vaccinations since the unvaccinated were barred from places including restaurants, cafes, theatres and ski lifts last week. |
| Police are conducting extra checks and interior minister Karl Nehammer said on Sunday they would check the vaccination status of all members of the public they interact with. | Police are conducting extra checks and interior minister Karl Nehammer said on Sunday they would check the vaccination status of all members of the public they interact with. |
| Francois Murphy reports for Reuters that there are widespread doubts including among Schallenberg’s conservatives and the police about whether this lockdown can be properly enforced. | Francois Murphy reports for Reuters that there are widespread doubts including among Schallenberg’s conservatives and the police about whether this lockdown can be properly enforced. |
| It can be hard to verify, for example, whether an unvaccinated person is on their way to work, which is allowed, or going to shop for non-essential items, which is not. | It can be hard to verify, for example, whether an unvaccinated person is on their way to work, which is allowed, or going to shop for non-essential items, which is not. |
| The UK’s vaccine advisers are understood to have approved the rollout of Covid booster jabs to people under 50, with a minister saying an announcement was due on Monday. | The UK’s vaccine advisers are understood to have approved the rollout of Covid booster jabs to people under 50, with a minister saying an announcement was due on Monday. |
| The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) was scheduled to set out the next steps in the booster programme “later today”, Oliver Dowden, the Conservative party co-chair, told Sky News. | The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) was scheduled to set out the next steps in the booster programme “later today”, Oliver Dowden, the Conservative party co-chair, told Sky News. |
| Dowden said: “It’s up to them but I would hope that we would see a further expansion of the booster rollout. But we’ll wait for their announcement.” | Dowden said: “It’s up to them but I would hope that we would see a further expansion of the booster rollout. But we’ll wait for their announcement.” |
| While Dowden did not set out what changes were expected, it is understood that the JCVI has already decided that the scheme for boosters – a third injection to top up potentially waning immunity – should be extended to younger age groups. | While Dowden did not set out what changes were expected, it is understood that the JCVI has already decided that the scheme for boosters – a third injection to top up potentially waning immunity – should be extended to younger age groups. |
| Those currently eligible for a booster, which is usually given six months after the second dose, include those aged 50 or over, or anyone younger seen as clinically very vulnerable to Covid. Others who are eligible include frontline health and care workers, or those who care for someone at high risk from Covid. | Those currently eligible for a booster, which is usually given six months after the second dose, include those aged 50 or over, or anyone younger seen as clinically very vulnerable to Covid. Others who are eligible include frontline health and care workers, or those who care for someone at high risk from Covid. |
| There is a separate programme of third injections for people who have a compromised immune system, for whom vaccines are often less effective. | There is a separate programme of third injections for people who have a compromised immune system, for whom vaccines are often less effective. |
| Read more of Peter Walker’s report here: UK vaccine advisers ‘set to approve Covid booster jabs for under-50s’ | Read more of Peter Walker’s report here: UK vaccine advisers ‘set to approve Covid booster jabs for under-50s’ |
| Germany’s coronavirus infection rate has risen to its highest level since the start of the pandemic, public health figures showed on Monday, as the three parties in talks to form a new government plan an expansion of measures to tackle the pandemic. | Germany’s coronavirus infection rate has risen to its highest level since the start of the pandemic, public health figures showed on Monday, as the three parties in talks to form a new government plan an expansion of measures to tackle the pandemic. |
| The seven-day incidence rate – the number of people per 100,000 to be infected over the last week – rose to 303 from 289 the previous day, figures from the Robert Koch Institute showed on Monday. | The seven-day incidence rate – the number of people per 100,000 to be infected over the last week – rose to 303 from 289 the previous day, figures from the Robert Koch Institute showed on Monday. |
| Paul Carrel notes for Reuters that the number of deaths increased by 43 to a total of 97,715. | Paul Carrel notes for Reuters that the number of deaths increased by 43 to a total of 97,715. |
| The three parties in talks to form a coalition plan to tighten proposed measures to tackle the spread of the new wave of infections, Greens co-leader Robert Habeck said before their plans go to parliament on Thursday. | The three parties in talks to form a coalition plan to tighten proposed measures to tackle the spread of the new wave of infections, Greens co-leader Robert Habeck said before their plans go to parliament on Thursday. |
| “We are expanding the toolbox compared to the proposals introduced in the first reading,” Habeck told broadcaster ARD. The measures will include contact restrictions, an amendment seen by Reuters showed. | “We are expanding the toolbox compared to the proposals introduced in the first reading,” Habeck told broadcaster ARD. The measures will include contact restrictions, an amendment seen by Reuters showed. |
| Florida lawmakers will meet on Monday for a week-long special legislative session called by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, with the goal of thwarting coronavirus vaccine mandates imposed by businesses or government agencies. | Florida lawmakers will meet on Monday for a week-long special legislative session called by the Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, with the goal of thwarting coronavirus vaccine mandates imposed by businesses or government agencies. |
| DeSantis recently announced he is running for re-election in 2022 but is seen by many as a potential presidential candidate in 2024 – particularly if Donald Trump decides not to run again. | DeSantis recently announced he is running for re-election in 2022 but is seen by many as a potential presidential candidate in 2024 – particularly if Donald Trump decides not to run again. |
| The special legislative session will be about “a combination of policy and politics”, said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, adding that DeSantis is following Trump’s lead in being staunchly against mask and vaccine mandates. | The special legislative session will be about “a combination of policy and politics”, said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, adding that DeSantis is following Trump’s lead in being staunchly against mask and vaccine mandates. |
| According to an agenda released by the governor’s office, a body of legislators dominated by Republicans will consider four bills to impose penalties on businesses and local governments that require workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. | According to an agenda released by the governor’s office, a body of legislators dominated by Republicans will consider four bills to impose penalties on businesses and local governments that require workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. |
| “No cop, no firefighter, no nurse, nobody should be losing their job because of these jabs,” DeSantis said in a media release, echoing a previous plea for first responders from other states to relocate to Florida if they do not wish to be vaccinated by mandate. | “No cop, no firefighter, no nurse, nobody should be losing their job because of these jabs,” DeSantis said in a media release, echoing a previous plea for first responders from other states to relocate to Florida if they do not wish to be vaccinated by mandate. |
| “We’re going to be striking a blow for freedom,” DeSantis said. | “We’re going to be striking a blow for freedom,” DeSantis said. |
| Read more here: Florida lawmakers’ special session aims to thwart Covid vaccine mandates | Read more here: Florida lawmakers’ special session aims to thwart Covid vaccine mandates |