Coronavirus morning headlines as it is warned there are immense logistical challenges for vaccine rollout

pHere are the coronavirus morning headlines for Thursday, December 3, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of the quot;immense logistical challengesquot; in distributing the newly-approved coronavirus vaccine across the UK as it emerged that most care home residents will need to wait for their jab./p p The UK became the first country in the world to give the go-ahead to the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech on Wednesday, paving the way for vaccinations to start next week. a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/vaccine-coronavirus-lockdown-wales-vaccination-19382711 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/vaccine-coronavirus-lockdown-wales-vaccination-19382711How it will be rolled out in Wales./a /p pBut the recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises ministers across the UK, that care home residents and staff should be the top priority cannot yet be fully carried out./p pThe jab has to be stored at such low temperatures that it can only be moved a few times. Each pack of doses cannot be easily split and the 975 doses they contain would be too many for individual care homes, meaning the vaccine would be wasted./p pBoris Johnson acknowledged the quot;immense logistical challengesquot;, adding: quot;It will inevitably take some months before all the most vulnerable are protected - long, cold months./p pquot;So itapos;s all the more vital that as we celebrate this scientific achievement we are not carried away with over-optimism or fall into the naive belief that the struggle is over.quot;/p pThe first people to receive the jab from 50 hospital hubs next week would be the over-80s, care home staff and others identified by the JCVI who may already have a hospital appointment./p pBoth Pfizer and BioNTech have said the jab can be sent to care homes, as long as the vaccine travels for no more than six hours after it leaves cold storage and is then put in a normal fridge at 2C to 8C./p pThe UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, enough to vaccinate 20 million people with two doses, given 21 days apart./p pDespite the vaccine plans, Walesapos; chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherton warned that quot;it is still going to be a very difficult winterquot; and urged people to continue to follow the social distancing, hand-hygiene and other rules to stop the spread of coronavirus./p p He added that it would be quot;well into next yearquot; before most of the population are offered the vaccine. a data-content-type=live-event data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/coronavirus-wales-vaccination-live-vaccine-19382698 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/coronavirus-wales-vaccination-live-vaccine-19382698Read what he had to say at the briefing here./a/p h3Top doctor outlines potential side effects of new vaccine/h3 pThe good news is that very serious side effects from the new coronavirus vaccine are quot;extremely rarequot;, one of Walesapos; top doctors has confirmed./p p Dr Gillian Richardson, the co-chair of the Covid-19 vaccine programme board, said the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine set to be a data-content-type=live-event data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/coronavirus-wales-vaccination-live-vaccine-19382698rolled out across Wales/a is safe for use among the general population. /p pquot;As with any vaccine there are potential side-effects. Usually they are a sore arm and occasionally a raised temperature, but very serious side effects are extremely rare,quot; said Dr Richardson during the Welsh Governmentapos;s press conference on Wednesday./p pquot;And we know from the studies with the Pfizer vaccine that there are really good safety profiles, including for the elderly and for those who have clinical conditions./p p quot;So we are extremely pleased to be offering what we feel is a very safe vaccine to the Welsh population.quot; a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-vaccine-pfizer-side-effects-19385383 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-vaccine-pfizer-side-effects-19385383Read more about what she had to say here./a /p h3TUC calls for public health professionals to deliver vaccination programme/h3 pUnions are urging the Government to ensure the coronavirus vaccine programme is delivered by public health professionals rather than private contractors./p pThe TUC said it was important not to repeat quot;mistakesquot; of Test and Trace and personal protective equipment provision by outsourcing them./p pThe union organisation published plans it said the Government should follow to ensure effective distribution and take-up of the vaccine./p pThese included empowering local public health teams to take the lead, improving supply chains, making sure trained healthcare staff administer the vaccine, and building public trust, which the TUC said was likely to be maximised by a system designed and led by public health professionals./p pTUC general secretary Frances Oapos;Grady said: quot;We all have a shared interest in getting the vaccine programme right. Itapos;s our only shot at getting life back to normal, but that means learning the lessons from the failures of Test and Trace and PPE provision./p h3New travel rules for travelling to England/h3 pIt remains illegal to travel to parts of England from Wales without a reasonable excuse despite the English lockdown being lifted/p p Walesapos; a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/drakeford-travel-england-rules-coronavirus-19384012 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/drakeford-travel-england-rules-coronavirus-19384012new travel rules/a have been revealed in the latest coronavirus regulations. /p pThe Welsh Government cabinet met on Wednesday to decide on the latest travel restrictions as Englandapos;s lockdown came to an end./p pOver the past month travel over the border has been banned - except for essential purposes - due to Covid rules in England and Wales./p pTourism businesses had been pressing for answers from Welsh Government about what regulations would be in place when Englandapos;s lockdown ended./p p Now new coronavirus regulations published by Welsh Government have revealed the new restrictions. a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/drakeford-travel-england-rules-coronavirus-19384012 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/politics/drakeford-travel-england-rules-coronavirus-19384012Read the rules here/a. /p pUnder the rules coming into force from Friday at 6pm people will be able to travel between Wales and Tier 1 and Tier 2 areas of England./p pBut the regulations bar travel into Tier 3 zones like Bristol - unless it is for work or another essential purpose./p pIt means visitors from the Tier 1 and 2 areas of England can now take holidays in Wales./p pWhen it comes to Scotland people cannot travel from Wales to Level 3 or Level 4 areas of the country - and visitors from those areas cannot come here./p pThe whole of Northern Ireland is also restricted as they are currently in a new lockdown./p pA formal announcement and additional details are expected later today./p pHotels have already been closing in Wales due to a lack of clarity on the issue as well as the new rules over hospitality./p h3Latest cases for Wales/h3 pA further 51 people have died with coronavirus in Wales and more than 1,400 new positive cases have been confirmed./p pThe latest statistics released by Public Health Wales (PHW) on Wednesday show 1,480 people have tested positive for the virus in Wales in the last 24-hour period - a huge rise on 667 recorded on Tuesday./p pIt brings the number of positive tests since the outbreak began to 82,489, while 2,614 people have died with lab-confirmed coronavirus./p p The infection rate across Wales as a whole now stands at strong227.9/strong per 100,000 people based on the seven days up to November 29. This is an increase from 217.8 on Tuesday. a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-cases-infections-deaths-wales-19386898 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-cases-infections-deaths-wales-19386898Cases in your area here./a /p p strongBlaenau Gwent/strong remains the local authority in Wales with the highest infection rate in Wales with a seven-day rate of 453.8 cases per 100,000 population, up from 435.1 the day before. /p p strongTorfaen/strong is second with an infection rate of 402.3 cases per 100,000, down from 410.8 on Tuesday. strongNeath Port Talbot/strong is third with strong389.4/strong , up from 374 the day before. /p p strongCases in your area:/strong /p h3Butchers and cafe ordered to close/h3 p A cafe and a butchers shop in a town which has seen a huge increase in coronavirus cases have both been a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardigan-coronavirus-butchers-cafe-health-19385047 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cardigan-coronavirus-butchers-cafe-health-19385047ordered to shut with immediate effect./a /p p As a response to what a data-content-type=section-topic data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/all-about/ceredigionCeredigion/a Council has called a #x201C;serious and imminent threat to public health in the a data-content-type=section-topic data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/all-about/cardiganCardigan/a area#x201D;, they have used powers granted to them under the Health Protection Regulations 2020 to close Priory Cafe and T Samways butchers, both in Cardigan town centre. /p pThose powers allow them to #x201C;control premises, events and public places to help control coronavirus within their areas#x201D;./p p One of those areas is Cardigan, which has seen a a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/small-town-missed-first-wave-19355133huge rise in Covid-19 cases and infection rates/a in the past couple of weeks, including dozens of new cases in just a few days - something the council blamed on large social gatherings and parties labelled as #x2018;super-spreader#x2019; events. /p h3Entire school has had to close/h3 p A primary school in a data-content-type=section-topic data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/all-about/llanelliLlanelli/a has asked pupils to learn from home after a data-content-type=news data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link href=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/entire-llanelli-school-closed-due-19387488 title=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/entire-llanelli-school-closed-due-19387488staff shortages due to Covid-19./a /p pYsgol Gymraeg Dewi Sant on Bryndulais Avenue had a number of positive cases and as a result a number of staff and pupils have been told to self-isolate./p pThe number of staff members self-isolating has caused a shortage and as a result the entire school asked its 450 pupils to learn from home until the school reopens next week./p pBoth pupils and members of staff have tested positive for Covid-19 in recent weeks, however, the exact number of cases is not known./p