The AstraZeneca vaccine uses a weakened and harmless version of a common virus which was found to be giving a cold to chimpanzees. The virus has been previously utilised to produce jabs against flu, Zika virus, and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).
Britain appears to be suffering from an escalating dog mess crisis, with local media outlets across the country reporting on the “plague of pooch poo bags” accompanying the coronavirus pandemic. The Gloucestershire Gazette on Friday said dozens of its readers had complained about local “poo
The vaccine, made in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, aims to make one billion doses in 2021. The UK has ordered 30 million doses of the vaccine which are expected to become available this summer if it receives regulatory approval. On average it
icture this: the very first celebratory night out you will have when the vaccine sets us free. Maybe you’re in a fancy restaurant, maybe your local pub. Cosy around a friend’s kitchen table, or on a packed dancefloor. What are you wearing?
Brussels will publish a revised regulation to potentially block vaccine exports out of the EU on Saturday, after an international outcry over its initial plans to erect an export border for doses on the island of Ireland. The European commission’s newly drafted
Canada’s Justin Trudeau and President Joe Biden plan to meet next month, the prime minister’s office said, following a call between the two leaders in which they agreed to join forces to combat coronavirus in North America. The White House said in a statement
As if the Boohoo online fashion company had not generated enough controversy in recent months, its bosses once again found themselves in the headlines last week for hosting a four-day meeting with suppliers in the luxurious surroundings of a Dubai hotel. The company’s top
India’s Covid-19 vaccine drive has been hampered by turnout as low as 22% in some states, as fears over the safety of the vaccine and the spread of misinformation has fuelled widespread hesitancy. On Saturday, India launched the world’s largest vaccination programme as it
Syria’s White Helmets, who rescue victims from the rubble of airstrikes, have added making personal protective equipment to their efforts saving lives in areas of the country outside Bashar al-Assad’s control. The civil defence service’s uniform-making unit has recently pivoted to manufacturing PPE
Hundreds of thousands of small businesses that were forced to close during the Covid-19 pandemic are expected to receive payouts on insurance claims worth more than £1bn after what was described as a “historic victory” at the supreme court. The Financial Conduct
The spread of new Covid-19 variants could make the second year of the virus even tougher, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned. Different variants of the disease have already been found in the UK and South Africa and a third variant has been located in Japan after authorities tested four arrivals
Israel has refused a request from the World Health Organisation (WHO) to immediately make Covid-19 vaccines available to Palestinian medical workers to avert a health disaster, citing shortages of the jabs for their own citizens. The refusal comes amid growing criticism from rights groups of the massive discrepancy between the vaccine
Savers who have lost track of pension and investment funds will have their money used for charitable causes that could aid Covid recovery efforts under government plans to expand its dormant asset scheme beyond bank accounts. The Reclaim Fund was established in
Chinese authorities refused the 10-member investigation team entry into the country at the last minute. China has said the team’s visas were not yet approved, as two of the scientists had already made their way to the country. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Chief
MPs have overwhelmingly backed sweeping new coronavirus lockdown laws as official figures showed a daily death toll from the disease of more than 1,000 for the first time since mass testing was introduced. MPs voted by 524 to 16 in favour of
India has granted emergency approval to both the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and the domestically developed Covaxin, signalling the start of one of the largest Covid-19 immunisation drives in the world. At a press conference on Sunday, the drugs controller general of India said
Israel is celebrating an impressive, record-setting vaccination drive, having given initial jabs of coronavirus shots to more than a 10th of the population. But Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza can only watch and wait. As the world ramps up what
Matt Hancock has confirmed more areas of England will be placed into the toughest level of coronavirus restrictions, as he warned: “We are going to have to take further action.” Following a meeting of the government’s coronavirus operations committee — chaired by Boris Johnson on Tuesday evening
Over half of public transport users in the UK say they will continue to avoid buses and trains after the pandemic is over in favour of cycling or walking, a study of consumer spending reveals. The Co-op’s annual ethical consumerism report, which
Officials in Gibraltar are making daily patrols of the territory’s Barbary macaque population amid fears that the iconic monkeys could be vulnerable to the coronavirus. The British overseas territory has been relatively spared by the virus, documenting about 1,000 confirmed cases and six deaths. But as
Boris Johnson will give another press conference today, it has been confirmed. The Prime Minister has spent the day in talks after the seriousness of the new strain of coronavirus caused dozens of European nations to issue a travel ban on flights from
Police will not set up roadblocks to stop people travelling out of tier 4 areas to areas of the country with lower coronavirus transmission rates, police leaders have said. Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said police would “step up visibility” to
Saudi Arabia blocked all travel to the country via air, land and sea, becoming the latest country to impose fresh travel curbs in response to the emergence of a new strain of the Coronavirus. The Saudi restrictions are scheduled to last a week, according to the official
Vaccinating the population against Covid-19 will cost up to £12bn, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has disclosed, amid details of tensions between health bodies over the rollout. The National Audit Office said the government would spend up to £11.7bn on purchasing and manufacturing Covid-19
A World Health Organization research mission to China is expected to arrive in Wuhan next month to investigate how the novel coronavirus jumped from animals to humans, and whether it emerged earlier or in a different place than originally thought. Fabian Leendertz, a biologist
The government’s test-and-trace programme to combat Covid-19 in England has repeatedly failed to meet targets for delivering test results and contacting infected people despite costs escalating to £22bn, a damning official report has revealed. The National Audit Office (NAO) has found that the centralised
The first of the 40 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines secured by the Government have been sent out to hospitals across the UK this week. Thousands of those at the top of the vaccination priority list are expected to receive the jab in the coming weeks.
Tens of millions of doses of the Covid-19 vaccine manufactured in Belgium will be flown to Britain by military aircraft to avoid delays at ports caused by Brexit, under contingency plans being developed by the government. Both the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)
Michael Gove has issued further clarification on what does, and does not, count as a substantial meal in pubs and bars – stating that he believes a “a couple of Scotch Eggs… with pickle on the side” would constitute a starter. Ministers have been
Nadhim Zahawi, the minister in charge of the coronavirus vaccine rollout, hinted that many venues would only accept customers who have a certificate of vaccination. The suggestion brings into question whether immunity passes will be issued to those who decide to take the jab. Speaking to
England will enter a stricter three-tiered system of coronavirus restrictions when the national lockdown ends on 2 December, Downing Street has confirmed. Boris Johnson is expected to reveal his plan for winter – including how families can mix with different households at Christmas
Donald Trump appears to have admitted that coronavirus is “running wild” across the US, in contrast with his statements throughout the election campaign that the country was “rounding the turn” on the pandemic. As new Covid infections in the US approached 200,000 a
Schools in England are facing an exodus of headteachers, with almost half considering leaving the profession after the pandemic, according to a new survey. Headteachers interviewed by the Guardian said they were stressed and exhausted because of the enormous pressures of dealing with
with gyms in England closed for the second time this year, neighbourly relations may have been strained by YouTube workouts and online high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. Is that thundering on the floor in the flat above ever going to stop, or
In the pandemic, our eyes are working harder than ever. With the majority of our communication nonverbal, and all but the upper third of our faces covered by masks, we are more reliant on them to express tone, emotion and even individuality,
An arthritis drug has reportedly been found to cut deaths by two-thirds in elderly Covid patients – with doctors claiming thousands of lives could be saved. The daily pill has been noted as a possibly powerful tool in fighting the virus, which
More than 60 leading retailers in the UK have said shops that are not allowed to trade before Christmas may never reopen. The group, comprised of business leaders from companies including Harvey Nichols, Burberry and Marks & Spencer, has called for all
Around 50 Conservative MPs have formed a backbench group to fight any further lockdowns, arguing they “risk being worse than the disease”. The Covid Recovery Group demands that Boris Johnson publish a cost-benefit analysis of the economic and wider health costs of restrictions continuing beyond the 2 December expiry
Deputy chief medical officer Professor Van-Tam dismissed the idea that England would be able to return to normality by spring following the announcement of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine’s success. During a briefing on Wednesday morning, Professor Van-Tam admitted that at this stage he and
GP services will be cut back well into 2021 so family doctors can immunise millions of people against coronavirus at new seven-day-a-week clinics, NHS England has said. Health leaders warned that surgeries will not be able to offer their full range of care for patients
Students in England will be given a six-day window next month in which to travel home before Christmas, with mass testing carried out on campus before they are allowed to leave. A mass exodus will take place on staggered departure dates set by
Coronavirus daily cases and deaths declined yesterday by 854 and 23, respectively. While this trajectory is encouraging, it comes after the Government’s scientists said the UK’s reproduction number remained above 1. The R number is a key indicator used to determine how quickly
