A summary of today's developments
- School districts in Florida may impose mask mandates, a judge said, ruling that the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order banning the mandates. The Leon county circuit judge John Cooper agreed with a group of parents who claimed in a lawsuit that DeSantis’ order is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
- Early data from Israel suggests that people given both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech are almost six times more likely to contract the Delta Covid variant and seven-fold more likely to have symptomatic disease than those who had previously recovered, according to data from the largest real-world study comparing natural immunity gained from earlier infection with inoculation.
- Production of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines at a plant of partner Rovi in Spain can continue after an initial assessment, the EU drugs regulator said, as it continues its investigation of a contamination incident which saw Japan suspend the use of 1.63m doses of the jabs after about 4,700 shots from the potentially contaminated batches were used.
- Canada’s Liberal party has said that if re-elected they would provide C$1 billion to help the 10 provinces create vaccine passports for people to prove they had been inoculated against Covid-19 as the governing party seeks to make vaccination a dividing election issue.
- Italy announced a return of some coronavirus restrictions to Sicily, the first time such measures have been reimposed on a regional level since the start of summer. From Monday, masks would again be required outdoors as well as indoors on the island and restaurant diners will be limited to groups of four
- The US supreme court’s conservative majority allowed evictions to resume across the US, putting millions at risk of homelessness and blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Two UK government advisers reportedly said that prime minister Boris Johnson has privately accepted an average of 1,000 Covid-related deaths in the UK per week and would “only consider imposing further restrictions if that figure looked like it could rise above 50,000” per year.
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Denmark is to lift all Covid restrictions by 10 September, health officials have said, saying the virus no longer posed “a threat to society” due to the country’s broad vaccination coverage.
- Two-thirds of countries imposed restrictions on the media amid Covid, with freedom of expression “the biggest human rights casualty of the pandemic”, according to a report by campaigning organisation Article 19.
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Secondary school and college pupils will need to wear face masks in communal areas outside of their classrooms yet again in areas of the south west of England as extra support was pledged in response to a rise in coronavirus cases.
PA Media reports that the Department of Health and Social Care said that from today, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Devon, Plymouth and Torbay local authority areas – which have seen a rise in cases – would get help to increase vaccine and testing uptake, and deliver more public health messaging.
Although schools will return from next week as planned, students in secondary schools and colleges will again need to wear face masks in communal areas after the guidance was scrapped on 19 July. The new measures are expected to be in place for five weeks, with the impact monitored.
It comes after new figures showed growing numbers of local areas - including in the South West - were recording their highest rates of new cases of Covid-19 since comparable records began, as the third wave of coronavirus continues to pick up pace across the country.
Florida schools can mandate masks, judge rules
School districts in Florida may impose mask mandates, a judge said Friday, ruling that the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order banning the mandates.
The Leon county circuit judge John Cooper agreed with a group of parents who claimed in a lawsuit that DeSantis’ order is unconstitutional and cannot be enforced.
The news came as it emerged that some Florida districts are asking the public to conserve water because it’s in short supply to keep hospitals provided with all the liquid oxygen they need to help Covid patients breathe, as well as utilities which need it for water processing.
The governor’s order gave parents the sole right to decide if their child wears a mask at school. Cooper said DeSantis’ order “is without legal authority”.
His decision came after a three-day virtual hearing, and after at least 10 Florida school boards voted to defy DeSantis and impose mask requirements with no parental opt-out.
Italy has announced a return of some coronavirus restrictions to Sicily, the first time such measures have been reimposed on a regional level since the start of summer.
AFP reports that from Monday, masks would again be required outdoors as well as indoors on the island and restaurant diners will be limited to groups of four following an increase in cases of Covid-19.
“I have just signed a new decree which makes Sicily a yellow zone,” said health minister Roberto Speranza. “It is confirmation that the virus is not yet defeated.”
Sicily will be classed as “yellow”, the second lowest level in a four-level classification system based on rates of Covid-19 infections and hospital admissions. For two months, all Italy’s regions have been classed as the lowest risk “white”, but the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant has sparked concern.
Since early August, Italy has required proof of vaccination, recent recovery from coronavirus or a negative test for people wanting to dine indoors or enter museums and sports events. The so-called green pass will also become compulsory for teachers and on trains and planes from 1 September.
However, further measures were considered necessary in Sicily, where vaccination rates are lower than the national average and where crowds have flocked for the summer season.
Librarians in Grenoble, Lyon, Toulouse and La Rochelle have been striking over the controversial French health pass.
Huffington Post reports that one of the groups in Lyon said the mandatory requirement for the pass sanitaire to enter libraries is a “discriminatory and unequal measure” applied in “a desire to force a part of the population” to get vaccinated.
Others fear of the effects the exclusion of marginalised audience from access to cultural institutions could have, the website reported.
They have also criticised an apparent double standard since bookstores, university libraries, specialised libraries and some leading state archive libraries do not require the health pass – which requires people to have their vaccine or Covid status proven to enter a number of public buildings and services, Huffington Post reported.
In Grenoble, librarians have striked on multiple days this week, with a majority of libraries in the city closed yesterday as a result. The local group said:
[The sanitary pass is] “in total contradiction with the conception of the profession. A public service must be free and open to all, without discrimination. We would like to point out that our action only concerns access to our establishments and is in no way a position concerning vaccination.
Ministers should be planning for a huge rise in Covid cases as schools return, the government’s scientific advisers have warned, as debate continues over whether all older children should be offered a Covid vaccine, my colleagues Richard Adams and Sally Weale report.
Canada’s Liberal party has said that if re-elected they would provide C$1 billion to help the 10 provinces create vaccine passports for people to prove they had been inoculated against Covid-19.
“Proof of vaccination systems ensure Canadians can be confident that those around them are fully vaccinated, in addition to providing businesses with important and clear guidance around how to reopen safely,” the Liberals said.
Polls show the Liberals, led by prime minister Justin Trudeau, are narrowly ahead of their Conservative rivals, Reuters reports. The election is on 20 September.
The question of vaccines is being used by the Liberal as a potential wedge issue in the election. The Conservatives, led by Erin O’Toole, are not requiring inoculations for their candidates and has espoused his respect for personal health decisions while suggesting that rapid testing is an alternative to vaccine passports.
Trudeau admitted today that all Liberal candidates are not yet vaccinated – though they intend to swiftly – while he also faced criticism that the news event where he was speaking clearly breached Ontario state limits on no more than 25 people gathering inside.
He said recently at a rally:
You deserve better, you deserve a government that’s going to continue to say get vaccinated. And you know what, if you don’t want to get vaccinated, that’s your choice. But don’t think you can get on a plane or a train besides vaccinated people and put them at risk.
The C$1bn would help cover costs incurred by the provinces for creating vaccine passports for people wishing to enter nonessential businesses or public spaces. Some provinces, including Quebec, have already said they plan to set up such a system.
Earlier this month, the Liberal government said it would soon require all federal public servants and many other workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Under one of the world’s strictest vaccine policies for transportation, the mandate would also include air, train and cruise ship travellers.
The International Air Transport Association told the Wall Street Journal it was unaware of any other country in the world banning unvaccinated passengers from planes, as Trudeau proposes.
“Vaccinations should not be a prerequisite for restarting international air travel …alternative solutions must be offered to those who are unable to get vaccinated,” the trade group said.
Share prices hit fresh records on Wall Street after the head of the US central bank, Jerome Powell, expressed concern about rocketing Covid-19 infections and gave no new clues on when the Federal Reserve would start to ease back on its stimulus programme.
Half of children aged 12 to 17 have received at least their first vaccination dose against Covid-19, and the age group is seeing the fastest growth rate in vaccinations, the White House has said.
“We have now hit a major milestone in our effort to vaccinate adolescence, 50% of 12 to 17 year olds now have at least their first shot,” White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said, according to Reuters. “And in fact the vaccination rate among adolescents is growing faster than any other age group.”
Updated
Production of Moderna Covid-19 vaccines at a plant of partner Rovi in Spain can continue after an initial assessment, the EU drugs regulator has said, as it continues its investigation of a contamination incident.
Yesterday, Japan suspended the use of 1.63m doses of the Moderna vaccine, with the company saying contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue on one of the production lines at its contract manufacturing site in Spain run by Rovi.
About 4,700 shots from the potentially contaminated batches were used before they were suspended yesterday, after “foreign substances” were found in opened vials on 16 August.
A health ministry official said the company Takeda only reported the issue to the government yesterday because it needed time to gather information on which vials were affected and where they were in the country, the official said.
The European Medicines Agency told Reuters:
Covid-19 vaccine production in Rovi is able to continue, following a preliminary risk assessment of the information received so far. An investigation into the root cause is ongoing. EMA will be able to provide more information as the investigation progresses.
Updated
The EU has moved to reinstate Covid travel restrictions like quarantine and testing requirements for unvaccinated citizens of the US and five other countries, two diplomats told Reuters.
EU countries are set to start a procedure to remove the US from a list of countries whose citizens can travel to the 27-nation bloc without additional Covid restrictions.
The non-binding list currently has 23 countries on it, including Japan, Qatar and Ukraine, but some of the 27 EU countries already have their own limits on US travellers in place.
One diplomat said other countries that would be removed from the safe travel list were Kosovo, Israel, Montenegro, Lebanon and North Macedonia, Reuters reports.
The decision on new EU travel restrictions for foreigners would become final on Monday should no EU country object, the sources, as well as two more EU officials added.
The list is compiled on the basis of Covid-19 situation in each country, as well as reciprocity. Despite EU calls, the US does not allow European citizens to visit freely and the bloc has been divided between those pushing for equal treatment and those more reliant on tourism and reluctant to restrict US travellers.
UK reports 100 deaths and 38,046 new cases
In the UK, there were another 38,046 people who tested positive for Covid in the past 24 hours. In the last seven days 239,237 people tested positive for the virus - a rise of almost 20,000 from the week before.
Figures showed 100 people were reported to have died within 28 days of a positive test.
There were 55,140 first jabs given yesterday, while 144,936 people got their second vaccine dose. This means 78% of UK adults are now fully vaccinated.
Updated
Today so far...
- Early data from Israel suggests that people given both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech are almost six times more likely to contract the Delta Covid variant and seven-fold more likely to have symptomatic disease than those who had previously recovered, according to data from the largest real-world study comparing natural immunity gained from earlier infection with inoculation.
- The US supreme court’s conservative majority allowed evictions to resume across the US, putting millions at risk of homelessness and blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
- Two UK government advisers reportedly said that prime minister Boris Johnson has privately accepted an average of 1,000 Covid-related deaths in the UK per week and would “only consider imposing further restrictions if that figure looked like it could rise above 50,000” per year.
- The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation insisted it would not be “bounced” into recommending jabs for younger children in the UK, suggesting that reports plans were already afoot may have been incorrect amid serious political pressure to sanction the move.
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China’s health authority said the recent Covid outbreak has been “effectively under control”, as it reported 32 new cases of confirmed infections – among them 30 were imported.
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Denmark is to lift all Covid restrictions by 10 September, health officials have said, saying the virus no longer posed “a threat to society” due to the country’s broad vaccination coverage.
- Two-thirds of countries imposed restrictions on the media amid Covid, with freedom of expression “the biggest human rights casualty of the pandemic”, according to a report by campaigning organisation Article 19.
China’s health authority has said the recent Covid outbreak has been “effectively under control”, as it reported 32 new cases of confirmed infections – among them 30 were imported.
Mi Feng, the spokesperson for the National Health Commission said on Friday that the number of confirmed cases began to fell for the first time on 16 August. The trend had lasted for the last 11 days, he said.
The latest round of outbreak began in late July. More than 1,200 people have been confirmed infected in an outbreak that officials said was mainly driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant, which was brought in from abroad and caused a cluster in the eastern city of Nanjing.
The outbreak disrupted much of citizens’ daily lives. Transport routes in several cities were shut down, and millions were back at strict quarantine. In Wuhan, where the first cases were registered in late 2019, for example, authorities tested all 11 million residents.
The recent outbreak also ignited a debate inside China over how its once-successful “zero tolerance” policy. Some, including the highly-respected Shanghai infectious diseases expert Zhang Wenhong, argued that China should now learn to live with the virus. But others, including the former health minister, Gao Qiang, argued fiercely against it.
The strict measures appeared to have yielded some good results. On Monday, Beijing reported no new locally transmitted symptomatic Covid cases for the first time since July. Experts said that it was yet another sign that Beijing’s “zero tolerance” approach was unlikely to be changed.
A group of teachers from the radical National Coordination of Education Workers (CNTE) union in Mexico has prevented the country’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador from entering a building to deliver his daily press conference in the southern state of Chiapas.
According to reports, the teachers were demanding safer conditions for the start of in-person classes amid concerns over Covid, among other longstanding industrial demands and controversial recent reforms. With demonstrators surrounding his car, López Obrador appeared reluctant to depart from his vehicle and walk to the Ministry of Defense building.
In a live-stream hastily broadcast to the press conference, with irritating feedback López Obrador said he would not accede to the protesters’ demands, who should instead negotiate with the education minister.
I would like the teachers of Chiapas, the grassroots, to analyse this situation if what they are doing is correct and if I deserve to be given this treatment. We are going to be here as long as necessary, I ask people not to be impatient or worry about anything, I have a clear conscience and I am also used to facing these types of issues. For the dignity of the presidential inauguration, I cannot submit to anyone’s blackmail.
He added: “They have a right to protest. We will respect that ... We are offering them dialogue. I will stay here as long as necessary.”
Trabajadores de salud, miembros de la CNTE y normalistas protestan e impiden el paso de camioneta de AMLO a instalaciones militares en Chiapas. #Video: Especial https://t.co/KqGsXKOYWL pic.twitter.com/2GUcsc5oih
— El Universal (@El_Universal_Mx) August 27, 2021
#VideosLaJornada A su llegada a la séptima Región Militar, en #TuxtlaGutiérrez, #Chiapas, donde sería #LaMañanera, @lopezobrador_ se encontró con cientos de manifestantes, en su mayoría integrantes de la #CNTE, quienes lo bloquearon por más de dos horas → https://t.co/NSDf3qtCQP pic.twitter.com/9i7yDbl9SJ
— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) August 27, 2021
Updated
Here’s a bit more related to the early data from Israel showing that people who recovered from Covid may face a significantly lower risk from the Delta Covid variant than those fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
Bloomberg reported at the weekend on the growing concern that vaccinated people may be more vulnerable to serious illness than previously thought, with a lack of scientific studies leaving policymakers in a quagmire.
“We have to be humble about what we do know and what we don’t know,” said Tom Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the head of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives, told the website. “There are a few things we can say definitively. One is that this is a hard question to address.”
“It is generally the case that we have to make public health decisions based on imperfect data,” Frieden said. “But there is just a lot we don’t know.”
Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco: said: “It’s quite clear that we have more breakthroughs now. We all know someone who has had one. But we don’t have great clinical data.”
Here’s the full story on the US supreme court’s conservative majority allowing evictions to resume across the US, blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The court’s action ends protections for roughly 3.5m people in the US who said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to Census Bureau data from early August, the Associated Press reports.
The court said late Thursday in an unsigned opinion that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which reimposed the moratorium 3 August, lacked the authority to do so under federal law without explicit congressional authorization.
The justices rejected the administration’s arguments in support of the CDC’s authority. “If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it,” the court wrote.
This data from Israel follows criticism of the US centers for disease control (CDC) after it stopped collecting data on breakthrough Covid cases. It tracks only breakthrough cases that lead to hospitalisation and death, writes science writer Yasmin Tayag, which it does by gathering data from state health departments.
However, only 25 states report some data on breakthroughs, and only 15 of those states update it regularly, according to a recent analysis of state data. Therefore, it leaves the US stumbling in the dark with the growing issue, she adds.
The Israeli real-world study also raises questions over data from the CDC that 99.99% of people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 have not had a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalisation or death.
Pfizer vaccine recipients seven times more likely to get symptomatic Delta than recoverers - Israeli data
Bloomberg reports that early data from Israel shows that people who recovered from Covid may face a significantly lower risk from the Delta Covid variant than those fully vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
The groundbreaking findings – which could influence public health policies around the globe – from the largest real-world study comparing natural immunity gained from earlier infection with the protection provided by one of the most effective jabs showed that reinfections were much less common among those who had caught Covid.
The data, posted as a preprint article on medRxiv, has not yet been reviewed by other researchers, and therefore should be treated with some caution. The results contrast with earlier studies suggesting immunisation offered better protection than prior infection, though those studies did not assess the Delta variant, Bloomberg reported.
However, the results were stark. People given both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech were almost six times more likely to contract Delta and seven-fold more likely to have symptomatic disease than those who had previously recovered.
“This analysis demonstrated that natural immunity affords longer lasting and stronger protection against infection, symptomatic disease and hospitalisation due to the delta variant,” the researchers said.
Protection from an earlier infection also wanes significantly with time, the analysis suggested.
The study will raise serious questions over the decision of the US Food and Drug Administration to award the Pfizer jab full approval this week.
It comes after a Science Magazine report last week suggested breakthrough infections were far more common than the term suggests, with 60% of hospitalised patients with Covid in Israel fully vaccinated despite 78% of those 12 and older in the country being fully vaccinated.
The sheer number of vaccinated Israelis means some breakthrough infections were inevitable, and the unvaccinated are still far more likely to end up in the hospital or die. But Israel’s experience is forcing the booster issue on to the radar for other nations, suggesting as it does that even the best vaccinated countries will face a Delta surge.
Now, the effects of waning immunity may be beginning to show in Israelis vaccinated in early winter; a preprint published last month by physician Tal Patalon and colleagues at KSM, the research arm of MHS, found that protection from Covid-19 infection during June and July dropped in proportion to the length of time since an individual was vaccinated. People vaccinated in January had a 2.26 times greater risk for a breakthrough infection than those vaccinated in April. (Potential confounders include the fact that the very oldest Israelis, with the weakest immune systems, were vaccinated first.
Updated
Denmark to lift all Covid restrictions in fortnight, minister says 'epidemic under control'
Denmark is to lift all Covid restrictions by 10 September, health officials have said, saying the virus no longer posed “a threat to society” due to the country’s broad vaccination coverage.
AFP reports that more than 70% of Danes are fully vaccinated and that it was one of the first countries to introduce a partial lockdown in March 2020, shutting down schools and non-essential businesses and services.
It has relaxed and reinforced its measures throughout the pandemic, and in April introduced a “corona passport” – showing one has been vaccinated against, have previously been infected with or have tested negative for Covid – granting holders access to businesses like restaurants, cinemas, gyms and hair salons.
That requirement, already lifted in some places such as museums on 1 August, will end in more places on 1 September, though it will still be required to enter nightclubs and other large events until 10 September. Masks have not been mandatory on public transport since 14 August.
“The epidemic is under control, we have record vaccination levels. That is why, on 10 September, we can lift the special rules we had to introduce in the fight against Covid-19,” health minister Magnus Heunicke said.
However, he stressed that “the epidemic is not over” and said the government “will not hesitate to act quickly if the pandemic once again threatens the essential functioning of society”.
Denmark is among the least hard hit countries in western and northern Europe. There have been 341,549 infections and 2,573 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country of 6 million since the pandemic began.
It comes as Danish lawmakers voted through an emergency law which would effectively end a strike among more than 6,000 nurses over pay which has postponed tens of thousands operations and other treatments.
The move effectively forces through the 5.02% wage increase over the next three years, which the nurses had already rejected – rare in a country where There have been 341,549 infections and 2,573 coronavirus-related deaths reported in the country since the pandemic began.
“I am deeply disappointed that the parliament is ending the conflict, but not taking the necessary political responsibility to rectify decades of unfair wages,” said Grete Christensen, the head of the nurses union.
Updated
Britain’s pig producers are warning that healthy animals may end up being culled if the government does not take urgent action to deal with shortages of workers at abattoirs and meat-processing plants.
Meat-processing plants were first hit by a staff shortage during the coronavirus pandemic, when many of the eastern European workers employed in the sector returned to their home countries, and have not returned.
As many as 70,000 pigs that should have already been taken to slaughter are stranded on UK farms, according to the industry trade body the National Pig Association (NPA).
The excess numbers of pigs on UK farms is growing by 15,000 each week, the NPA said, with about a quarter fewer pigs leaving for slaughter than would be expected in normal times.
Pigs that are ready for slaughter but are stuck on farms require feeding and housing, causing difficulties for farmers. These large pigs are growing by about a kilogram a day, according to the NPA.
Updated
Nicola Sturgeon has announced a new daily record of Covid infections in Scotland – 6835 overnight, “by far the highest number so far”, she said at her regular briefing, although she stressed there had also been a record number of tests done yesterday.
There are 479 people in hospital, compared with 312 last Friday. Despite the current surge in cases, which health officials believe is partly driven by the return of Scottish schools after the summer holidays, Sturgeon insisted “we are not currently considering a circuit breaker lockdown”.
But she stressed the “vital importance” of everyone playing their part, whether businesses encouraging workers and customers to wear face coverings indoors and supporting home working where possible, or individuals self-testing regularly, isolating if they become unwell and following the few rules that remain in place.
She said she hoped that the JCVI would “quickly” give advice to vaccinate 12-16 year olds, given the fact it was happening elsewhere across the world, and that Scottish schools are now back. Clinical director Jason Leitch praised how quickly 16 and 17 year olds had come forward for their vaccines.
Two-thirds of countries imposed restrictions on the media amid Covid, with freedom of expression “the biggest human rights casualty of the pandemic”, according to a report by campaigning organisation Article 19.
When the pandemic hit, states across the globe responded by presenting a false dichotomy between human rights and public health, shutting down public discussion and scrutiny over key decisions in the name of crisis-management.
Expression was the biggest human rights casualty of the pandemic: two-thirds of the world’s states put restrictions on media; many countries implemented states of emergency that were counter to human rights standards; and the flow of information came under tight control, as many governments took more interest in controlling the narrative around the pandemic than controlling the pandemic itself.
The global state of freedom of expression continues to deteriorate and is now at its lowest score in a decade. Even more concerningly, 2020 saw significant drops in protest and public participation indicators – two key elements of freedom of expression and democracy as a whole.
Two-thirds of the world’s population – 4.9bn people – are living in countries that are highly restricted or in crisis: more than at any time in the last decade.
Article 19 executive director Quinn McKew said:
The pandemic has brought the world to a tipping point where governments and private actors face a stark choice. They must either commit to building a world based on rights to expression and information or they must become bystanders to the rapid decline in the freedoms which sustain robust and engaged societies.
The analysis revealed in the Global Expression Report this year shows unequivocally that public participation took a back seat during 2020: governments made decisions without consultation, undermined oversight, centralised powers, and limited accountability. They blatantly used the pandemic to give new life to an old arsenal of tools to repress expression, including blanket bans on protests, censorship and the suspension of right to information mechanisms.
1 in 70 people in England had Covid last week, up from 1 in 80
Around one in 70 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to August 20, up from one in 80 in the previous week, according to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics. One in 70 is the equivalent of about 756,900 people.
In Wales, around one in 120 people are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to August 20, up from one in 130 in the previous week and the highest level since the week to 12 February. In Northern Ireland the latest estimate is one in 40, up from one in 50 in the previous week and the highest level since estimates began in October 2020, PA Media reports.
For Scotland, the ONS estimates that around one in 140 people had Covid-19 in the week to August 20, up from one in 200 in the previous week. All figures are for people in private households.
The percentage of people testing positive for Covid-19 is estimated to have increased in south-east England and the West Midlands, the ONS said. There are signs of a levelling off in north-west England and in Yorkshire and the Humber, while the trend for all other regions is uncertain.
Yorkshire and the Humber had the highest proportion of people of any region likely to test positive for coronavirus in the week to August 20: around one in 55. North-west England had the second highest estimate: around one in 60. South-west England had the lowest estimate: around one in 110.
When modelling the level of Covid-19 infections among different age ranges in England, the ONS said rates have increased for those from school year 12 to age 24 and for 50 to 69-year-olds, with early signs of an increase for those aged 70 and over.
There was a decrease for those aged between two and school year six, and for those aged 25 to 34. The trend is uncertain for all other age groups. Around one in 30 people from school year 12 to age 24 are estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week to 20 August: the highest positivity rate for any age group.
Updated
Growing numbers of local areas across the UK are recording their highest rates of new cases of Covid-19 since comparable records began, as the third wave of coronavirus continues to pick up pace across the country, new figures show.
But unlike the first and second waves of coronavirus cases, the third wave has yet to cause a similarly sharp rise in the number of hospital cases and deaths, PA Media reports. A total of 6,906 patients with Covid-19 were in hospital in the UK as of 25 August. This is a long way below the 39,254 patients who were in hospital at the peak of the second wave on 18 January - the highest for any day since the start of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the average number of UK deaths reported each day of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 currently stands at 110. This compares with a peak of 1,248 on January 23.
PA Media reports:
Parts of Scotland, Wales and south-west England are all experiencing case rates higher than at any point since mass testing was first introduced in summer 2020, while areas of Northern Ireland hit a new peak in recent days.
The figures come amid warnings of a further increase in the spread of the virus in coming weeks, with pupils either back at school or soon to return, a bank holiday weekend about to begin in all nations except Scotland, and a busy calendar of sport and music events likely to attract large crowds.
Analysis of the latest data for new cases of Covid-19, compiled by the PA news agency, shows that:
- In Scotland, 14 out of 32 local authorities are currently experiencing their highest rates on record, with West Dunbartonshire in front on 790.1 cases per 100,000 people for the week to August 22, followed by East Dunbartonshire (668.5) and East Renfrewshire (651.7). Scotland’s overall rate of new cases is also at a record level, at 431.5 per 100,000.
- Three areas of Wales are currently at a record high: Pembrokeshire (407.1), Powys (292.4) and Ceredigion (286.7). Wales as a whole is currently recording 354.8 cases per 100,000 people - the highest rate since January 11.
- Mid & East Antrim is the only area in Northern Ireland currently with record case rates (590.9), but Fermanagh & Omagh (1,047.4) and Derry City & Strabane (968.2) currently have the two highest rates in the whole of the UK, and both areas hit a new peak in recent days. Northern Ireland’s overall rate stands at 629.3, the highest since January 5.
- In England, five areas are currently seeing record-high rates. Four are in the South West: Cornwall & Isles of Scilly (828.1), Sedgemoor in Somerset (747.7), West Devon (741.0) and Torridge in Devon (618.5). Ryedale in North Yorkshire is also at a record high of 390.1. England as a whole has the lowest rate of the four nations, at 331.4 - the highest since July 25.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has insisted it would not be “bounced” into recommending jabs for younger children in the UK, suggesting that reports plans were already afoot may have been incorrect.
The Times cited a source close to the expert advisory group who said:
The committee would rather go slowly and retain public confidence in this and other vaccination campaigns rather than be bounced by politicians ... There is a lot of political pressure on the JCVI to vaccinate healthy teenagers but if we get this wrong, people die and it compromises other vaccination campaigns ... The JCVI has a clear framework for making decisions and has been protecting people for 60 years.
The JCVI are aware of the impatience of ministers, from media reports and civil servants, but it will continue to simply consider the risks and benefits to individuals and move “at the speed of science”, the Times reports.
A senior government source told the paper:
Boris wants to crack on with it. Everyone wants to get on with it. We’re increasingly an outlier, there’s frustration with the JCVI. It’s like a black box, nobody knows what’s going on in there. One small organisation is hindering the entire vaccination programme. We’re at risk of losing the gains we’ve made in vaccinating people.
The JCVI moved to “refresh” the membership of its Covid subcommittee in recent weeks, with one prominent critic of Covid jabs for children, Prof Robert Dingwall, leaving the body.
UK government cost-benefit analysis to accept 1,000 Covid-related deaths a week average - report
Two government advisers have told i news that prime minister Boris Johnson has privately accepted that there could be at least 30,000 further Covid-related deaths in the UK over the next year.
Johnson would reportedly “only consider imposing further restrictions if that figure looked like it could rise above 50,000”, with the government adopting a cost-benefit analysis on whether to impose restrictions which takes into account the economic impact.
However, Downing Street denied it had set any “acceptable level” of Covid deaths, the paper reported.
One of the sources source told i:
The prime minister is minded to implement another lockdown or new restrictions only if the figure of annual deaths looks like it’s going to go above 50,000. That means deaths from Covid of 137 a day, or just under 1,000 a week.
However, it won’t be an immediate reaction. A sustained rate of death of around a 1,000 a week for two or three weeks will, though, lead to discussion on restrictions being reimposed. Unfortunately, prime ministers have to weigh up the cost of saving lives to the impact on the economy. No one wants to talk about that’s how it works.
Prof Graham Medley, the chair of the government’s pandemic modelling group Spi-m and member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told i that the government would have carried out a cost benefit analysis of attempts to save each life.
Decisions about how much to intervene to improve public health are always difficult for governments. Measures such as vaccinating children against meningitis or imposing speed limits on roads reduce death and disease, but also cost money and limit freedoms.
Finding the balance is one of the hardest decisions for governments, but is essentially what we vote politicians to do. In normal times, it is possible to use calculations of, say, cost per life saved, to provide some framework to guide decisions. In the UK, if an intervention costs less than £30,000 per year of life saved, then it is usually accepted in terms of healthcare.
As we move out of the Covid emergency and into more normality, then it is going to be particularly challenging for government to decide what measures are needed and when to introduce them. Science cannot make these judgments.
Hello and greetings to everyone reading, wherever you are in the world. Mattha Busby here to take you through the next few hours of global Covid developments. Thanks to my colleague Robyn Vinter for covering the blog up until now. Please feel free to drop me a line on Twitter or message me via email (mattha.busby.freelance@guardian.co.uk) with any tips or thoughts on our coverage.
Updated
Summary
That’s it from me today. Time to hand over to my colleague, Mattha Busby.
Here’s a brief roundup of what’s been happening over the past 24 hours:
- Thailand will lift most coronavirus restrictions on retail and dining from next month and permit gatherings of up to 25 people in Bangkok and other high-risk areas, its Covid-19 taskforce said on Friday.
- Taiwan has reported no Covid-19 infections for the second time this week.
- People in Australia aged 12 to 15 will be able to book Covid-19 vaccinations from 13 September, after technical advice confirmed they are eligible for Pfizer.
- Fatigue and shortness of breath still afflict many patients a year after their hospitalisation for Covid-19, according to a Chinese study calling for a better understanding of the pandemic’s long-term health effects.
- The World Health Organization’s pandemic programme plans to ship 100m doses of China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm Covid-19 shots by the end of next month, mostly to Africa and Asia, despite concerns over the efficacy of the shots, which have been turned down or paired with boosters from western manufacturers by some of the recipient countries.
- The number of coronavirus patients in US hospitals breached 100,000 on Thursday, the highest level in eight months, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, as a resurgence of Covid-19 spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant strains the nation’s health care system.
- New Zealand has extended its national lockdown until Tuesday after 70 new cases were reported, with regions south of Auckland moving to level 3 after then. Auckland and the neighbouring Northland region are expected to remain in level 4 lockdown for another two weeks.
- The chances of developing dangerous blood clots after being infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 far outweigh the risks of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, according to the largest study of its kind, Guardian science correspondent Natalie Grover reports.
- Sydney’s Covid-19 cases slightly eased on Friday but still hovered near record levels at 882 cases recorded in New South Wales as the Australian federal government looks to press states to stick to a national reopening plan once the country reaches a 70%-80% vaccination rate.
- An award-winning BBC radio presenter died due to complications of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination, a UK coroner has concluded. Lisa Shaw, 44, died in May, just over three weeks after she had her first dose of the jab, an inquest in Newcastle heard.
- Social care managers in England fear an “exodus” of staff by the autumn. A survey of a 1,000 care managers found that a third (32.8%) have already had staff quit or handed in their notice over the vaccine requirement.
- The UK government has successfully resisted disclosure of potentially explosive WhatsApp messages between ministers and Boris Johnson about decisions to send hospital patients into care homes without first testing them for Covid.
- The German city-state of Hamburg is to allow hairdressers, clubs, restaurants and religious institutions to prevent unvaccinated adults or those who have not built up immunity Covid infection from entering, in what reportedly marks a policy first for the country.
- EU countries that decide to administer booster shots may face increased legal risks because the additional dose has not yet been given emergency recommendation by the EU drugs regulator, the European Commission said.
- An Arkansas jail physician defended the prescribing of widely used anti-parasite medicine ivermectin to prisoners for Covid after criticism. He said he was “fighting like we’re at the beaches of Normandy” to avoid letting inmates go to hospitals with “blue lips”.
Updated
Former Italian prime minister and billionaire media mogul Silvio Berlusconi is back in hospital for tests, his spokesman confirmed on Friday.
“Hospitalisation was required for a thorough clinical evaluation,” he told AFP, after media reports that the 84-year-old was admitted to Milan’s San Raffaele hospital on Thursday.
Berlusconi has been in and out of hospital all year due to complications relating to a coronavirus infection that hospitalised him for 11 days last September.
The former premier dominated public life in Italy for decades and he remains a member of the European parliament (MEP) for his Forza Italia party.
But he been set back by a string of health issues in recent years, including open heart surgery in 2016.
Updated
In the UK, Primark changing rooms at two London stores will become vaccination clinics this bank holiday weekend.
Shoppers can turn up without an appointment and get a first or second dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine, NHS England said.
The popular clothing chain store has partnered with the NHS, Haringey council and Westminster city council to host its first Covid-19 vaccination clinics in the capital, PA Media reports.
The jabs will be on offer to anyone aged 16 and over at the Oxford Street East and Wood Green Primark stores on Saturday.
Health professionals will be on hand to talk to anyone with concerns, and people are reminded that second doses will only be given a minimum of eight weeks after the first.
The move comes as efforts continue to get more young people vaccinated. The latest analysis shows that more than a third of young adults in most cities in England have not had a first dose of a Covid vaccine.
Dr Vin Diwakar, the medical director for the NHS in London, urged people to “add this very important item to the top of their shopping list – get vaccinated”.
He said:
It is fantastic that over a million young Londoners have had the vaccine, but it is vital that all get vaccinated to protect themselves from the harm coronavirus can cause even at their young age, as well as preventing transmission to more vulnerable friends and family.
Kari Rodgers, UK retail director for Primark, said pop-up clinics have worked well in other stores.
Following the success of the vaccination clinics in our stores in Bristol and Birmingham, we’re pleased to be able to offer people in London the opportunity to get their vaccine this weekend at our Wood Green and Oxford Street (East) store,” she said.
Wherever we can, we try to support important local community initiatives and we’re really pleased that we can play a small part in supporting the work of the NHS by making it even easier for people to get their vaccine.
Jabs will be on offer at Primark’s Oxford Street East store on Friday and Saturday between midday and 5pm, and at the Wood Green branch on Saturday between 10am and 6pm.
Updated
More details here on Thailand’s plan to lift Covid-19 restrictions from Reuters:
Thailand will lift most coronavirus restrictions on retail and dining from next month and permit gatherings of up to 25 people in Bangkok and other high risk areas, its Covid-19 taskforce said on Friday.
Easing restrictions and adjusting measures were necessary to revive the economy safely, the taskforce said, as the country battles its worst coronavirus outbreak and struggles to ramp up vaccinations, with only one in 10 people inoculated so far.
From 1 September, shopping malls, salons, barber shops, foot massages and sports fields in 29 high-risk provinces including Bangkok, are allowed to resume operations, while restaurants can open to diners, the taskforce said.
Authorities asked business operators to ensure service staff are fully vaccinated and regularly tested with antigen kits, and to require customers to show proof of vaccination and negative tests.
Thailand reported 18,702 new cases and 273 new deaths on Friday, among some 1.14 million cases and 10,587 deaths overall, the overwhelming majority since April.
It is currently struggling with the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus, which has resulted in a record number of deaths during August.
Taskforce spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan told a briefing:
We need to adjust the way we handle and live with the disease safely … by adjusting strategy and build confidence so disease control measures are in line with reviving the economy safely.
Updated
Taiwan has reported no Covid-19 infections for the second time this week.
Taiwan has been making Medigen, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines available after an outbreak started in May, while facing intensifying military threats from China.
For more background, Helen Davidson in Taipei wrote this piece on Wednesday about Taiwan’s work to tackle the May outbreak.
In case you missed it earlier, New Zealand will remain in a full lockdown until midnight on Tuesday, with regions south of Auckland moving to level 3 after then, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has announced.
Russia on Friday reported 798 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours as well as 19,509 new cases, including 1,509 in Moscow, Reuters reports.
Official case numbers have been gradually falling since a surge of infections that was blamed on the contagious Delta variant peaked in July.
Updated
An intense surge in Covid cases is pushing the US state of Oregon’s healthcare system to the brink as mostly unvaccinated patients fill up hospitals and nearly all available ICU beds in the state are occupied.
Oregon has more people hospitalised than at any other point in the pandemic, which officials attribute to the hyper-contagious Delta variant and low vaccination rates in some regions. The state’s governor has dispatched about 1,500 national guard troops to hospitals in the state and reinstated a mask mandate.
Updated
Rock band Kiss have cancelled a performance after frontman Paul Stanley tested positive for Covid-19.
The chart-topping group was supposed to appear in Pennsylvania, US, on Thursday but pulled out due to the virus, PA Media reports.
Stanley, 69, is fully vaccinated, as is “everyone on the entire tour, both band and crew”, Kiss said in a statement.
The band said more information on future show dates would be released as soon as possible.
The statement said:
The band and their crew have operated in a bubble independently to safeguard everyone as much as possible at each show and in between shows.
The tour also has a Covid safety protocol officer on staff full-time that is ensuring everyone is closely following all CDC guidelines.
Stanley told fans he is “fine”, describing the diagnosis as “absolute nonsense”.
He tweeted:
PEOPLE!!! I am fine! I am not in ICU! My heart allows me to do 26 miles a day on my bike! I don’t know where this came from but it’s absolute nonsense.
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) August 26, 2021
The more contagious Delta variant of the virus has led to a spike in cases across the US, hampering the live entertainment industry’s recovery.
At the beginning of summer Covid-19 appeared to be on the retreat in America, however it has made a deadly return.
The daily average of new cases as of August 25 was 152,341, according to official figures.
Musicians including Stevie Nicks, Garth Brooks and Nine Inch Nails have all axed their performances for the rest of the year, citing concern over the Delta variant.
Updated
Health officials in the UK are braced for a bank holiday surge of coronavirus cases as about 500,000 people head to music festivals and millions more venture to the tourism hotspots.
Cases in Cornwall and Devon have reached record levels as infection rate among teenagers saw five-fold increase after the Boardmasters festival this month.
Although the vaccination programme is helping to suppress large numbers of deaths and serious illness, officials warned on Thursday that parts of the NHS are battling “unprecedented high-level demand” and that more cases could disrupt the return of schools next week.
People in Australia aged 12 to 15 will be able to book Covid-19 vaccinations from 13 September, after technical advice confirmed they are eligible for Pfizer.
But the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has warned that, given supply constraints, Pfizer doses should be prioritised for young adults. And the government should also consider offering older Australians choice of vaccine before vaccinating teenagers.
Updated
Half of hospitalised Covid patients still have symptoms a year later, study finds
Fatigue and shortness of breath still afflict many patients a year after their hospitalisation for Covid-19, according to a Chinese study calling for a better understanding of the pandemic’s long-term health effects.
About half of patients discharged from hospital for Covid still suffer from at least one persistent symptom – most often fatigue or muscle weakness – after 12 months, said the study published in British medical journal the Lancet today, as reported by Agence France-Presse.
The research, the largest yet on the condition known as “long Covid”, added that one in three patients still have shortness of breath a year after their diagnosis. That number is even higher in patients hit more severely by the illness.
The Lancet said in an editorial published with the study:
With no proven treatments or even rehabilitation guidance, long Covid affects people’s ability to resume normal life and their capacity to work.
The study shows that for many patients, full recovery from Covid-19 will take more than 1 year.
The study followed nearly 1,300 people hospitalised for Covid between January and May 2020 in the central Chinese city of Wuhan – the first place affected by a pandemic that has since infected 214 million people worldwide, killing more than 4 million.
The share of observed patients with at least one symptom decreased from 68% after six months to 49% after 12 months.
Respiratory discomfort increased from 26% of patients after six months to 30% after 12 months, it said.
It found affected women were 43% more likely than affected men to suffer from fatigue or persistent muscle weakness, and twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression.
But it said 88% of patients who worked before their diagnosis had returned to their jobs a year later.
The study adds to previous research that warned authorities in different countries they must be prepared to provide long-term support to health workers and patients affected by Covid.
“Long Covid is a modern medical challenge of the first order,” the editorial said, calling for more research to understand the condition and better care for patients who suffer from it.
Updated
Myanmar will vaccinate the minority Rohingya people against the coronavirus in Rakhine state, a spokesman for its ruling military council said on Friday.
Spokesman Zaw Min Tun told a news conference the minority were “our people as well” adding, “we will not leave anyone behind” in the vaccination programme. He referred to the Rohingya as Bengali.
Thailand will ease Covid-19 restrictions on retail and dining, its Covid-19 taskforce said today.
A spokeswoman for the taskforce did not say when the restrictions would be eased.
Updated
Researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) have created a mask using silver and copper nanolayers that neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, the university said in its official gazette on Thursday.
UNAM said that if the viral concentration was high, the virus disappeared by more than 80% in about eight hours and if the viral load was low, in two hours none of the virus RNA was detected.
UNAM is calling the triple-layered antimicrobial mask SakCu; Sak means silver in Mayan and Cu is the chemical symbol for copper.
The university said:
Upon contact with the silver-copper nanolayer, the SARS-CoV-2 membrane breaks and its RNA is damaged.
Thus, even if SakCu is disposed of improperly, it will not be a problem as it does not remain contaminated, like many of the masks that are thrown away.
The mask is reusable and can be washed up to 10 times without losing its biocide properties.
Updated
A contaminant found in a batch of Moderna Inc’s COVID-19 vaccines delivered to Japan is believed to be a metallic particle, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported, citing sources at the health ministry.
The NHK, in a report published late on Thursday, cited ministry sources as saying the particle reacted to magnets and was therefore suspected to be a metal. Moderna has described it as “particulate matter” that did not pose a safety or efficacy issue.
Spanish pharma company Rovi, which bottles Moderna vaccines for markets other than the United States, said the contamination could be due to a manufacturing issue in a production line and that it was conducting an investigation.
The ministry has said the suspension of the Moderna batches was a precaution, but it prompted several Japanese companies to cancel worker vaccinations and the European drugs regulator to launch an investigation.
India has asked the states of Kerala and Maharashtra to consider night curfews in areas with high Covid-19 case numbers as the country reported more than 40,000 new infections for two days in a row on Friday.
Cases fell to a five-month-low of 25,166 in the middle of the month but have risen sharply in the last three days, mainly in Kerala that recently celebrated a big festival during which families typically come together.
India reported 44,658 new Covid-19 infections on Friday, taking the total to 32.6 million, the most in the world after the US. Deaths rose by 496 to 436,861.
Kerala, on India’s southern tip, has accounted for nearly 60% of the new cases in the past week and more than half of the total active cases, followed by 16% in the western state of Maharashtra.
The ministry of home affairs said in a statement on Thursday evening after its secretary held a meeting with the two states:
More efforts would be required to arrest the increase in infections. This would require adequate intervention in geographical areas having higher infection, through measures such as contact tracing, vaccination drives and Covid-appropriate behaviour.
The ministry also said that the states had been asked to “explore the possibility of placing night curfew in areas of high positivity” and assured additional supplies of vaccines.
India has so far administered more than 611m vaccine doses, giving at least one dose to more than half of its 944 million adults and the required two doses to about 15%.
Updated
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority is allowing evictions to resume across the US, blocking the Biden administration from enforcing a temporary ban that was put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The court’s action late Thursday ends protections for roughly 3.5 million people in the US who said they faced eviction in the next two months, according to Census Bureau data from early August.
The court said in an unsigned opinion that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which reimposed the moratorium on 3 August, lacked the authority to do so under federal law without explicit congressional authorisation. The justices rejected the administration’s arguments in support of the CDC’s authority.
“If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it,” the court wrote.
Updated
At first glance it looked like a pretty perfect day in the self-styled surfing capital of the UK. The sandy beaches were packed, the pubs, cafes and shops humming.
Look at little closer, though, and it became clear all was not quite right. A tapas bar was closed because a team member had tested positive; a surf shop shut its doors at lunchtime because of staff shortages; a scribbled note stuck on the window of a fudge shop summed up the problem – “Covid in Newquay is on the increase” – and urged customers to wear a mask and socially distance.
Updated
Many countries with already high vaccination rates are considering offering people an additional coronavirus vaccine dose. But are booster shots necessary? And what about the issue of vaccine equity? The Guardian’s Natalie Grover examines the costs and benefits of possibly introducing a third jab.
Hawaii was once seen as a beacon of safety during the pandemic because of stringent travel and quarantine restrictions and overall vaccine acceptance that made it one of the most inoculated states in the US.
But the highly contagious delta variant exploited weaknesses as residents let down their guard and attended family gatherings after months of restrictions and vaccine hesitancy lingered in some Hawaiian communities, AP reports.
Now, the governor is urging tourists to stay away and residents to limit travel, and leaders are reimposing caps on sizes of social gatherings.
“Not only was I afraid of the needles and just putting it off, putting it off, but I didn’t have enough information about the vaccine and that distrust was just very real,” said Perreira-Keawekane.
She now plans to get vaccinated. Still, she doesn’t consider herself pro-vaccine, or anti-vaccine.
“Having to choose one or the other is the root of trauma for native people,” she said. “You can shout data at the top of your lungs, but if it has nothing to do with people we know, it’s not real.”
Overall, 62.1% of Hawaii is fully vaccinated. But Hawaiians have among the lowest rates; estimates show it’s at about 40%.
Native Hawaiians make up about 21% of the state’s population, and from the start of the pandemic until July 10, 2021, they accounted for 21% of cases as well. But from July 11, 2021, to Aug. 16, 2021, that figured increased to 28%, according to state data.
Honolulu Emergency Services Department Director Jim Ireland said that on a recent morning, there were four Covid-19 patient 911 calls in a row for Nanakuli, a community that’s home to many Native Hawaiians. He noted that vaccination rates are lower on the west side of Oahu.
Earlier in the pandemic, Native Hawaiians had among the lowest rates of infection and embraced safety measures such as trading honi, a traditional forehead-to-forehead greeting, for elbow bumps or shakas from a distance.
That changed around May during the time of year when people celebrate graduations and weddings.
“I do think that it’s sad and kind of a little bit ironic that luau, in a lot of cases, have become places where people get sick,” said state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole.
Keaweaimoku Kaholokula, chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the University of Hawaii’s medical school, said he didn’t expect some Hawaiians to shun the vaccine. “It’s very American, which is ironic – very individualistic – to behave this way,” he said.
“I think our people need to remember that a part of our culture is protecting each other over our own self-interest,” he said.
Updated
Summary
That’s it from me, Helen Livingstone, for today. I’m handing over to my UK colleague, Robyn Vinter.
Here’s a brief roundup of what’s been happening over the past 24 hours:
- The World Health Organization’s pandemic programme plans to ship 100m doses of China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm Covid-19 shots by the end of next month, mostly to Africa and Asia, despite concerns over the efficacy of the shots, which have been turned down or paired with boosters from western manufacturers by some of the recipient countries.
- The number of coronavirus patients in US hospitals breached 100,000 on Thursday, the highest level in eight months, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, as a resurgence of Covid-19 spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant strains the nation’s health care system.
- New Zealand has extended its national lockdown until Tuesday after 70 new cases were reported, with regions south of Auckland moving to level 3 after then. Auckland and the neighbouring Northland region are expected to remain in level 4 lockdown for another two weeks.
- The chances of developing dangerous blood clots after being infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 far outweigh the risks of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, according to the largest study of its kind, Guardian science correspondent Natalie Grover reports.
- Sydney’s Covid-19 cases slightly eased on Friday but still hovered near record levels at 882 cases recorded in New South Wales as the Australian federal government looks to press states to stick to a national reopening plan once the country reaches a 70%-80% vaccination rate.
- An award-winning BBC radio presenter died due to complications of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination, a UK coroner has concluded. Lisa Shaw, 44, died in May, just over three weeks after she had her first dose of the jab, an inquest in Newcastle heard.
- Social care managers in England fear an “exodus” of staff by the autumn. A survey of a 1,000 care managers found that a third (32.8%) have already had staff quit or handed in their notice over the vaccine requirement.
- The UK government has successfully resisted disclosure of potentially explosive WhatsApp messages between ministers and Boris Johnson about decisions to send hospital patients into care homes without first testing them for Covid.
- The German city-state of Hamburg is to allow hairdressers, clubs, restaurants and religious institutions to prevent unvaccinated adults or those who have not built up immunity Covid infection from entering, in what reportedly marks a policy first for the country.
- EU countries that decide to administer booster shots may face increased legal risks because the additional dose has not yet been given emergency recommendation by the EU drugs regulator, the European Commission said.
- An Arkansas jail physician defended the prescribing of widely used anti-parasite medicine ivermectin to prisoners for Covid after criticism. He said he was “fighting like we’re at the beaches of Normandy” to avoid letting inmates go to hospitals with “blue lips”.
Updated
On the lighter side of the news, New Zealand police have shut down a one-person anti-lockdown protest in central Auckland.
Police said officers went to Queen Street on Friday after hearing a demonstration was being planned, but only one person arrived with the intention of protesting, Newshub reported.
“Police have been in the area and have spoken to one person who arrived intending to attend the protest. Police spoke to the individual who was encouraged to comply with alert level four restrictions and chose to leave,” a spokesman said.
The chances of developing dangerous blood clots after being infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 far outweigh the risks of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines, according to the largest study of its kind, Guardian science correspondent Natalie Grover reports.
The sweeping analysis used data from more than 29 million people in England to compare both vaccines with infection from Sars-Cov-2. It weighed up rates of hospital admission or death from blood clots, as well as other blood disorders, within 28 days of either a positive test or receiving the first jab.
Lead author Julia Hippisley-Cox, professor of clinical epidemiology and general practice at the University of Oxford, said: “People should be aware of these increased risks after Covid-19 vaccination and seek medical attention promptly if they develop symptoms, but also be aware that the risks are considerably higher and over longer periods of time if they become infected with Sars Cov-2.”
The findings were based on data from electronic health records collected between 1 December 2020 and 24 April 2021. In addition to thrombocytopenia (a condition characterised by low platelet counts) and blood clots, the researchers also looked at certain other risks, including CVST (blood clots in the brain) and ischaemic stroke (a blood clot or blockage that cuts off the blood supply to the brain).
The World Health Organization’s pandemic programme plans to ship 100m doses of the Sinovac and Sinopharm Covid-19 shots by the end of next month, mostly to Africa and Asia, in its first delivery of Chinese vaccines, a WHO document shows.
Reuters reports that the Chinese shipments will help the sputtering global Covax vaccine sharing programme which is far behind its pledge to deliver 2bn doses this year following supply problems and export curbs imposed by major producer India.
It could also boost Beijing’s vaccine diplomacy efforts despite concerns over the efficacy of the Chinese shots, which have been turned down or paired with boosters from Western manufacturers by some of the recipient countries.
Of the 100m Chinese vaccines, half will be provided by Sinopharm and half by Sinovac, with deliveries planned for “July to September 2021”, a WHO document dated 29 July says.
About 10 million Sinopharm shots had been shipped by mid-August, a spokesperson for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), which co-leads COVAX along with the WHO, told Reuters.
Sinopharm, Sinovac and China’s trade ministry did not respond to requests for comment about when the Chinese vaccines would be delivered.
The Chinese vaccines have been allocated to 60 countries, mostly in Africa, which is expected to receive a third of the 100m doses.
However, not all countries want the Chinese vaccines.
South Africa is listed by Covax as one of Africa’s largest recipients of Chinese shots with an allocation of 2.5m Sinovac doses, but a senior health official told Reuters the country was currently unable to accept the vaccines.
“There is not enough information on effectiveness against the Delta variant and there is no data on Sinovac in populations with HIV,” said Nicholas Crisp, a deputy director-general in the health department who is overseeing the vaccine rollout.
“We have not accepted the COVAX Sinovac because it is premature in our evaluation and planning process,” he told Reuters.
Sinovac did not immediately respond to a request for comment about South Africa’s stance.
Nigeria, the main recipient of Chinese shots in Africa under Covax with an allocation of nearly 8m Sinopharm doses, has approved that vaccine but has called it a “potential” option for the country’s inoculation campaign.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Livingstone.
The World Health Organization’s pandemic programme plans to ship 100 million doses of China’s Sinovac and Sinopharm Covid-19 shots by the end of next month, mostly to Africa and Asia, despite concerns over the efficacy of the shots, which have been turned down or paired with boosters from Western manufacturers by some of the recipient countries.
The number of coronavirus patients in US hospitals breached 100,000 on Thursday, the highest level in eight months, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, as a resurgence of Covid-19 spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant strains the nation’s health care system.
New Zealand has extended its national lockdown until Tuesday after 70 new cases were reported, with regions south of Auckland moving to level 3 after then. Auckland and the neighbouring Northland region are expected to remain in level 4 lockdown for another two weeks.
- Sydney’s Covid-19 cases slightly eased on Friday but still hovered near record levels at 882 cases recorded in New South Wales as the Australian federal government looks to press states to stick to a national reopening plan once the country reaches a 70%-80% vaccination rate.
- An award-winning BBC radio presenter died due to complications of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination, a UK coroner has concluded. Lisa Shaw, 44, died in May, just over three weeks after she had her first dose of the jab, an inquest in Newcastle heard.
- Social care managers in England fear an “exodus” of staff by the autumn. A survey of a 1,000 care managers found that a third (32.8%) have already had staff quit or handed in their notice over the vaccine requirement.
- The UK government has successfully resisted disclosure of potentially explosive WhatsApp messages between ministers and Boris Johnson about decisions to send hospital patients into care homes without first testing them for Covid.
- The German city-state of Hamburg is to allow hairdressers, clubs, restaurants and religious institutions to prevent unvaccinated adults or those who have not built up immunity Covid infection from entering, in what reportedly marks a policy first for the country.
- The number of people hospitalised with Covid-19 in the US has risen above 100,000 for the first time since January, when the mass vaccination campaign was just getting under way.
- EU countries that decide to administer booster shots may face increased legal risks because the additional dose has not yet been given emergency recommendation by the EU drugs regulator, the European Commission said.
- An Arkansas jail physician defended the prescribing of widely used anti-parasite medicine ivermectin to prisoners for Covid after criticism. He said he was “fighting like we’re at the beaches of Normandy” to avoid letting inmates go to hospitals with “blue lips”.
