3rd Dec 2020 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=153 lockdown_exit

Lockdown Exit

BBC Many businesses are getting ready to welcome back customers after four weeks of closure. When Englands new tier system comes into force on Wednesday shops gyms and personal care services like hairdressers can reopen if they are Covidsecure. But pubs and bars in tier three will be unable to open and only if they serve a substantial meal under tier two. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-55139049 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Guardian Englands high streets were back in business on Wednesday but shoppers returned slowly with queues outside only a few stores such as Primark and Debenhams which had announced it was going into liquidation the day before. Nonessential stores in England reopened after the monthlong lockdown brought in by the government in its latest effort to control the spread of Covid19. The number of shoppers out and about on English high streets retail parks and in shopping centres on Wednesday was up 85 on the same day a week before but the expected rush to make up for lost time did not materialise numbers were still down by 22 on last year. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/02/queues-form-as-england-high-streets-reopen-after-lockdown 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

9News.com.au The Woodville Pizza shop worker who misled contact tracers will not be charged. South Australias Assistant Police Commissioner Peter Harvey said the facts of the original phone conversation between contact tracers and the man a Spanish national cannot be used in court. In short the evidence compiled by police has been judged not to succeed if they took the case to court. https://www.9news.com.au/national/south-australia-coronavirus-news-pizza-worker-will-not-be-charged/68c1b4bc-9303-4fd5-ad08-2d9b7b09eb23 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

SBS News No criminal charges will flow from misleading information given to South Australian health officials which sparked last months shortlived statewide lockdown as a cluster of coronavirus case emerged in Adelaide. Police have conducted an investigation into a man who initially told contact tracers he had only picked up a takeaway meal from a venue known to be a coronavirus hotspot but later conceded he had worked at the business. His initial information prompted SA to be placed into a sixday lockdown amid fears of growing community transmission with officials later cutting that short to just three days after the fresh information was revealed. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/no-charges-for-pizza-bar-worker-who-misled-south-australian-authorities-sparking-coronavirus-lockdown 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

Financial Times Australia has exited its first recession in almost three decades with the economy growing by a better than expected 3.3 per cent in the September quarter reflecting authorities adept handling of the Covid19 pandemic. A boom in household spending drove the recovery as the easing of social distancing restrictions prompted a 7.9 per cent jump in spending on goods and services in the third quarter. However the damage wrought by stringent lockdowns was expressed in the annual growth figure which showed economic activity fell 3.8 per cent in the year to end September. https://www.ft.com/content/ac98dd24-9edb-4618-a9af-5ab4cf892262 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

RNZ In New Zealand a global survey by HSBC bank showed nearly twothirds of local firms were doubtful they would return to preCovid levels of profitability in the next year. That compared with 55 percent of businesses globally. The survey showed local firms were also less optimistic about the prospect of sales growth in the next 12 months. HSBC interim chief executive Rob Roughan said New Zealand businesses had performed well given that firms overseas were able to trade normally throughout the pandemic. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/431973/covid-19-economic-effects-expected-to-endure-in-new-zealand 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

Reuters India Ukraine has lifted weekend lockdown restrictions in place to fight the spread of the coronavirus pandemic but is still considering whether to introduce a tighter lockdown at a later stage Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on Wednesday. The government last month introduced a lockdown at weekends closing or restricting most businesses except essential services such as grocery shops pharmacies hospitals and transport. https://in.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-ukraine/ukraine-scraps-weekend-lockdowns-against-covid-pandemic-pm-idINKBN28C1U3?il=0 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

Daily Mail Initial batches of the PfizerBioNTech jab are already heading to Britain after it was approved by UK regulators. Vaccine will be distributed at hospitals first and then GPs and city hubs in stadiums and conference centres. The UK has ordered 40million doses in total with 10m due by the end of 2020 and the rest coming next year https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9010097/Pfizer-jab-distributed-hospitals-GP-surgeries-stadiums.html 2nd Dec 2020

Lockdown Exit

The Sydney Morning Herald Berlin is racing to open six mass vaccination centres capable of handling up to 4000 people per day by midDecember the project coordinator says as the city waits for authorities to approve the first vaccines. An empty trade fair hall two airport terminals a concert arena a velodrome and an ice rink will be turned into six vaccination centres where city officials plan to administer up to 900000 shots against the coronavirus in the first three months. https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/berlin-plans-six-mass-covid-19-vaccination-centres-handling-4000-people-a-day-20201127-p56ieb.html 27th Nov 2020

Exit Strategies

Bloomberg CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. are preparing to administer Covid19 vaccines in tens of thousands of nursing homes and assistedliving facilities across the country with shots possibly rolling out in just weeks. Federal advisers on Tuesday urged that residents at longterm care centers be first in line for the Covid shots along with atrisk healthcare workers. In making the recommendation the advisers said the move would be wellsupported by a new partnership formed between the Department of Health and Human Services and pharmacy companies to vaccinate at the centers. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-02/cvs-walgreens-bracing-to-give-covid-19-shots-at-nursing-homes 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

MSN.com Private U.S. companies have the right under the law to require employees to get vaccinated against COVID19 but are unlikely to do so because of the risks of legal and cultural backlash experts said. Companies are still in the early stages of navigating access and distribution of vaccines against the disease caused by the novel coronavirus but inoculation is considered the key to safely resume operations at crowded warehouses factory lines and on sales floors. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-employers-could-mandate-a-covid-19-vaccine-but-are-unlikely-to-do-so-experts/ar-BB1byTrI 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

MSN.com President Vladimir Putin said Russia should begin general vaccination of the population against Covid19 next week the same day the U.K. became the first western country to approve a vaccine for use. Lets take this first step Putin told officials Wednesday during a video conference on the opening of Covid19 hospitals built by the Defense Ministry. More than 2 million doses of Russias Sputnik V vaccine will be ready for use within the next few days and this gives us the opportunity to start vaccination on a mass scale he said. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/putin-orders-start-of-mass-covid-19-shots-hours-after-u-k/ar-BB1bz1CG 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters British Prime Minister Boris Johnson might be persuaded to take a COVID19 vaccination on television to show it is safe but he would not have one before those in greater need his press secretary said on Wednesday. Johnson 56 who spent time in intensive care earlier this year after contracting COVID19 has hailed the UK approval of Pfizer Incs vaccine as a global win and ray of hope amid a pandemic that has hurt the economy and upended normal life. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-vaccine-jo-idUSKBN28C1P4 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Mirror Online Boris Johnson has urged Brits not to get their hopes up for getting the new coronavirus vaccine soon. It comes after vaccine chiefs announced the priority list for vaccinations which puts elderly people in care homes and their carers at the front of the queue. The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation JCVI updated the list of priorities today after the vaccine was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority MHRA. First in line will be care home residents and carers followed by people over 80 and frontline health and care workers. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/covid-19-vaccine-dont-your-23103580 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Aberdeen Evening Express Vaccinating elderly residents against Covid19 in more than 1000 care home across Wales presents challenges that are difficult to overcome the health and social care minister has said. Vaughan Gething said problems with the transportation and storage of the Pfizer vaccine as it needs to be kept below 70C meant it would be difficult to vaccinate vulnerable care home residents. He said that when the Oxford vaccine was approved for use it would be a better option as it could be more easily stored. https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/uk/welsh-care-home-residents-unlikely-to-get-covid-19-vaccine/ 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

BBC Canadas federal government will spend C100bn 77bn 58bn to kickstart the countrys postpandemic economy. It is the largest economic relief package for our country since the Second World War Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said. The wideranging plan includes targeted relief for hardhit business sectors investments in longterm care homes and distribution of a Covid19 vaccine. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-55139229 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters Italians will not be able to attend midnight mass or move between regions over the Christmas period a top health ministry official said on Wednesday as the country battles high coronavirus infection rates and deaths. Italy has been reporting more daily COVID19 fatalities than any other European nation in recent weeks and while the increase in new cases and hospital admissions is slowing the government is worried about gatherings over Christmas. The existing restrictions which have put much of the industrial north under partial lockdown and limited business activity are due to expire on Thursday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy/italys-health-minister-hopes-first-covid-19-vaccines-can-start-in-january-idUSKBN28C14F 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK Austria on Wednesday chose a middle way in its standoff with neighbouring countries on whether skiing over Christmas is safe by letting resorts reopen on Christmas Eve but making ski holidays virtually impossible. In an apparent concession to Rome Berlin and Paris which had expressed concern about crossborder trips Austria also said it was introducing a new quarantine requirement for anyone arriving from their countries and many more. As of Monday shops museums and libraries in Austria will be allowed to reopen and primary schools will return to inperson learning. Christmas markets however will remain banned. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-austria/austrian-schools-shops-to-reopen-as-lockdown-eases-ski-opening-looms-idUKKBN28C1QB?il=0 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Reuters UK Governments across Europe are trying to navigate between avoiding spreading the coronavirus over the Christmas holiday season and allowing people to celebrate with family and friends. This articles sums up some of the measures that will be adopted for yearend festivities by some European countries https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-holidays/factbox-not-so-merry-christmas-looms-for-coronavirus-hit-europe-idUKKBN28C220 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Daily Mirror In England hundreds of thousands of volunteers will be called upon to deliver a mass roll out of the coronavirus vaccine according to reports. The NHS recruited more than 750000 people in April with duties to include delivering goods to the elderly and taking patients for hospital appointments. But with the vaccine which could be approved by next week seen as the best shot at stamping out Covid19 for good they are now reportedly set to be trained up to administer the actual jabs. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-volunteers-trained-up-give-23101386 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Deutsche Welle Germanys federal and state governments came up with their national vaccination strategy early in November. It aims to build up infrastructure as quickly as possible to enable massvaccination programs. The work is a little complex and ad hoc not least because as the 15page document concedes its not yet clear which vaccines will be available when and in what quantities. But the plans main aim is to avoid the opposite scenario that a working vaccine cannot be distributed to the people because the logistics are lacking. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-how-germany-is-preparing-for-a-vaccination-drive/a-55741314 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Sky News Boris Johnson could take the coronavirus vaccine live on TV his press secretary has suggested. Allegra Stratton the former journalist who will lead the new Downing Street briefings left open the possibility as a way to convince people to get the jab. A plan is being drawn up on how to distribute the PfzierBioNTech vaccine now it has been given the green light by the UKs medicines regulator with the first doses administered next week. It comes as a YouGov poll of more than 5300 people found one in five have reservations over its safety. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-boris-johnson-could-take-coronavirus-vaccine-live-on-tv-12149181 2nd Dec 2020

Exit Strategies

Mirror Online More than 750000 volunteers recruited in April are being called upon to deliver the jabs as well as deal with any adverse effects as the NHS prepares dozens of mass vaccination centres https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nhs-volunteers-trained-up-give-23101386 2nd Dec 2020

Partisan Exits

Reuters The European Union criticised Britains rapid approval of Pfizer and BioNTechs COVID19 vaccine on Wednesday saying its own procedure was more thorough after Britain became the first western country to endorse a COVID19 shot. The move to grant emergency authorisation to the PfizerBioNTech vaccine has been seen by many as a political coup for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who has led his country out of the EU and faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic. The decision was made under an ultrafast emergency approval process which allowed the British drugs regulator to temporarily authorise the vaccine only 10 days after it began examining data from largescale trials. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-eu/eu-criticises-hasty-uk-approval-of-covid-19-vaccine-idUSKBN28C12X 2nd Dec 2020

Partisan Exits

AlJazeera Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the countrys authorities to begin mass voluntary vaccinations against COVID19 from next week onwards. The move announced on Wednesday came after Russia said last month that its domestically produced Sputnik V vaccine was 92 percent effective at protecting people from COVID19 according to interim results. The country will have produced two million doses of the vaccine within the next few days Putin said noting that teachers and medics will be the first to receive shots. Lets agree on this you will not report to me next week but you will start mass vaccination lets get to work already he told Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. The Kremlin earlier gave assurances that Russians were first in line to be vaccinated with Moscow also discussing supply deals with other countries. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/2/putin-orders-start-of-russias-mass-covid-vaccination-programme 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters Germany will extend restrictive measures designed to stem a tide of new COVID19 infections until Jan. 10 Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday after talks with German state leaders. The measures which had been due to expire on Dec. 20 include keeping restaurants and hotels shut and limiting private gatherings to five people from two households. The states will extend their measures from December 20 until January 10 Merkel told a news conference adding that another round of consultations would be held on Jan. 4. In principle things will remain as they are. While the daily rise in infection numbers has started to fall Germany reported its highest singleday death toll on Wednesday since the start of the pandemic and regions that had been spared the worst are seeing case numbers surge. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany/germany-to-keep-restaurants-hotels-closed-until-january-10-sources-idUSKBN28C175 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

FRANCE 24 Every time Elisa drives to a clients house for a hairdressing job she makes sure to pack a bag of groceries in the car in case she is stopped by Greek police. Skirting the countrys strict lockdown rules to put food on the table she is among thousands of undeclared Greek workers facing additional hardship during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic. I write out a declaration that Im going shopping and I mainly work in my neighbourhood says the 32yearold. https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20201202-greece-s-undeclared-workers-hit-hard-by-virus-lockdown 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

BBC Random border checks will be imposed to stop French holidaymakers going to ski in neighbouring Switzerland Prime Minister Jean Castex has said. France in common with Germany and Italy is shutting its ski lifts over Christmas to stop the spread of Covid19 but Swiss slopes are already open. The ski season at Christmas and the New Year is a vital part of the economy for many European countries Mr Castex said it was his duty to protect fellow citizens. The conclusion you need to make is that Im not going to Switzerland he told BFMTV on Wednesday adding that anyone who did go would face quarantine on their return. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55157175 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

The Diplomat Papa screams a hospital worker covered from head to toe in a Hazmat suit and PPE in the opening moments of the documentary 76 Days. This is in the early days of the pandemic in Wuhan back in January and February when the city of 11 million went into a 2 12month lockdown and hospitals were overrun. The health workers father has just died and her agony at not being able to sit by his side is overwhelming. Her colleagues restrain her as she sobs moaning Papa youll stay forever in my heart. https://thediplomat.com/2020/12/in-76-days-a-documentary-portrait-of-lockdown-in-wuhan/ 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

Medical Xpress Outofschool kids and adult predators spending more time at home and on the internet during the coronavirus pandemic is the perfect storm driving a spike in online child sex abuse around the world activists and police say. From slums in the Philippines to Australias suburbs the crossborder crime has mushroomed as offenders take advantage of school closures and lockdowns to reach childreneither in person or via social media gaming sites and the dark web. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2020-12-covid-lockdowns-spike-online-child.html 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

Evening Standard Only residents of working age should be allowed leave care homes for Christmas according to Government guidance. An exemption can be made in exceptional circumstances such as visiting a loved one at the end of their life. The Department of Health and Social Care DHSC said the risks are usually significantly greater for older people than for those of working age. The guidance says that residents their families and care homes should very carefully consider whether making visits out from the home is the best thing to do or whether a visit at the care home would provide meaningful contact in a safer way. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/christmas-working-age-residents-leave-care-homes-b133568.html 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

Reuters UK Residents of Britains care homes shared their first precious hugs and kisses with relatives since March on Wednesday after homes were able to give visitors rapid tests for COVID19 which give results in 30 minutes. Bob Underhill an 84yearold retiree was reunited with his wife Patricia 82 who has Alzheimers. Both were overcome as they met then hugged and kissed through their face masks. Ive only seen her twice since March because they had a shutdown here and we just had to sit and wait said Underhill. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-relatives/joy-as-britains-care-home-residents-share-first-hugs-with-relatives-since-march-idUKKBN28C2HQ 2nd Dec 2020

Continued Lockdown

AlJazeera Ucedrah Osby heard the terrible news in a way nobody ever wants to from a local television report at the same time as everybody else in Bakersfield California who tuned in. They were doing interviews she recalled. They were saying that the facility had a COVID outbreak. Osbys uncle Clyde Lee Cooper 76 lived in Kingston Healthcare Center the nursing home in question. Over the course of that week in early May as Osby desperately tried to get updates on Coopers health coronavirus engulfed the place. Ambulances arrived wheeling patients away who never returned. To date 104 residents have contracted COVID19 in a facility with 184 beds at least 19 have died of the coronavirus and dozens of staff members have tested positive. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/12/2/where-people-come-to-wait-to-die-covid-19-in-us-nursing-homes 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Bloomberg Sam Fazeli a Bloomberg Opinion contributor who covers the pharmaceutical industry for Bloomberg Intelligence answered questions about the safety of new Covid19 vaccines that are set to win approval for broad use in the U.S. Europe and elsewhere as early as this month. The conversation has been edited and condensed. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-12-02/how-safe-are-covid-19-vaccines-from-pfizer-biontech-moderna-and-astrazeneca 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

BBC The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the PfizerBioNTech coronavirus vaccine paving the way for mass vaccination. Britains medicines regulator the MHRA says the jab which offers up to 95 protection against Covid19 illness is safe to be rolled out. The first doses are already on their way to the UK with 800000 due in the coming days Pfizer said. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the NHS will contact people about jabs. Elderly people in care homes and care home staff have been placed top of the priority list followed by over80s and health and care staff. But because hospitals already have the facilities to store the vaccine at 70C as required the very first vaccinations are likely to take place there for care home staff NHS staff and patients so none of the vaccine is wasted. A further 648 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid19 test were recorded in the UK on Wednesday with another 16170 cases reported. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55145696 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Wall Street Journal The U.K. became the first Western nation to grant emergencyuse authorization for a Covid19 vaccine clearing a shot developed by Pfizer Inc. of the U.S. and BioNTech SE of Germany to be distributed in limited numbers within days. The twoshot vaccine is also being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. where a similar authorization could come later this month and a rollout before the end of the year. The U.K. green light on Wednesday punctuates a monthslong sprint by the two drugmakers which teamed up earlier this year and then pulled ahead of two other Western pharmaceutical companies each with its own promising shot. Vaccines typically take years to bring to market. https://www.wsj.com/articles/pfizer-and-biontechs-covid-19-vaccine-wins-u-k-authorization-11606893360?mod=djemalertNEWS 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Financial Times Eight months ago the tooth fairy flitted into New Zealand politics. During a national address the countrys premier Jacinda Ardern declared that although she was placing the population into a tight lockdown to combat Covid19 We do consider both the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny to be essential workers. The video of her speech went viral. Was this just a piece of political theatre Perhaps. But the humour care and humanity it showed raise an intriguing question have female leaders been better at rallying their voters to combat the pandemic than men https://www.ft.com/content/6b597385-ba51-413a-96bd-cb75d3446718 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Guardian Interpol has issued a global alert to law enforcement agencies around the world warning them that organised crime networks may try to sell fake Covid19 vaccines or steal real supplies. The global police coordination agency based in France said on Wednesday it had issued an orange alert to police forces in its 194 member states warning them to prepare for vaccines to be targeted both physically and online. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/02/beware-fake-coronavirus-vaccines-says-interpol 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The New York Times An independent panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Tuesday to recommend that residents and employees of nursing homes and similar facilities be the first people in the United States to receive coronavirus vaccines along with health care workers who are especially at risk of being exposed to the virus. The panel the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13 to 1 during an emergency meeting to make the recommendation. The director of the C.D.C. Dr. Robert R. Redfield is expected to decide by Wednesday whether to accept it as the agencys formal guidance to states as they prepare to start giving people the shots as soon as two weeks from now. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/12/01/world/covid-19-coronavirus 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Japan Times The U.K. on Wednesday became the first Western country to approve a COVID19 vaccine for general use as it announced a rollout of PfizerBioNTechs drug from next week. The government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency MHRA to approve PfizerBioNTechs Covid19 vaccine for use the department of health said in a statement. The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week the statement said. Priority groups will include care home residents health and care staff the elderly and the clinically extremely vulnerable. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/12/02/world/u-k-approves-pfizer-biontech-corona-vaccine/ 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Indian Express The mass testing project took place over two weeks at the end of May after the citys stringent lockdown was lifted in April. The study found no variable virus in the asymptomative cases and the close contacts of these positive asymptomatic cases did not test positive. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/mass-screening-finds-over-300-asymptomatic-cases-in-wuhan-7075933/ 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

The Independent North Korean leader Kim Jongun his family and several topranking officials in his administration have been provided with an experimental coronavirus vaccine by China an analyst has claimed. Kim Jongun and multiple other highranking officials within the Kim family and leadership network have been vaccinated for coronavirus within the last two to three weeks thanks to a vaccine candidate supplied by the Chinese government said Harry Kazianis a North Korea expert who works at the Washingtonbased think tank Center for the National Interest. He revealed the information in an article on news outlet 19FortyFive citing two unidentified Japanese intelligence sources. But the intelligence sources did not reveal the name of the company whose experimental vaccine was administered to the North Korean leader and his officials. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/kim-jong-un-covid-vaccine-china-b1764440.html 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

CNN The United Kingdom has become the first Western nation to authorize a Covid19 vaccine a landmark moment in the coronavirus pandemic that paves the way for the first doses to be rolled out across the country next week. Help is on the way Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced Wednesday morning after UK regulators granted emergency authorization for a vaccine made by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. A final analysis of the Phase 3 trial of the vaccine shows it was 95 effective in preventing infections even in older adults and caused no serious safety concerns Pfizer said last month https://edition.cnn.com/2020/12/02/uk/pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine-uk-intl-hnk/index.html?utm_source=twCNNi&amputm_term=link&amputm_content=2020-12-02T07%3A47%3A14&amputm_medium=social 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

New Scientist People in care homes may be first in UK to get authorised PfizerBioNTech vaccine The UK government has become the first in the world to give the PfizerBioNTech covid19 vaccine temporary authorisation for emergency use. The UK has preordered 40 million doses enough for 20 million people at most as it is a twoshot vaccine and will start to vaccinate people possibly as early as next week. To distribute the vaccine Pfizer has designed special cardboard boxes that can be packed with dry ice enabling the vaccine doses to be kept at 70C during transport. They can then be stored in a normal fridge for up to five days. This afternoon the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations JCVI released its advice on who will receive priority for the vaccine. It recommended that priority be given first to care home residents and their carers then to frontline health and social care workers and people aged 80 and over. People 75 and over will be next followed by those aged 70 and above and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable. The vaccine will not be given to pregnant women or to most children under 16 because there is no safety data for these groups. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2237475-covid-19-news-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-authorised-for-use-in-the-uk/?utm_campaign=echobox&amputm_medium=social&amputm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1606895487 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Deutsche Welle Britain on Wednesday said it had approved the PfizerBioNTech vaccine for use and that it will be rolled out from next week. The Government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency MHRA to approve PfizerBioNTechs COVID19 vaccine for use the government said. The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week. The move makes Britain one of the first countries to begin the process of vaccinating its population as it tries to curb the COVID19 outbreak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said COVID19 vaccines will allow us to reclaim our lives. https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-uk-approves-pfizer-biontech-vaccine-to-roll-out-next-week/a-55792680 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Phys.org In a multigroup collaborative involving the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories NEIDL the Center for Regenerative Medicine CReM and the Center for Network Systems Biology CNSB scientists have reported the first map of the molecular responses of human lung cells to infection by SARSCoV2. By combining bioengineered human alveolar cells with sophisticated highly precise mass spectrometry technology Boston University School of Medicine BUSM researchers have identified host proteins and pathways in lung cells whose levels change upon infection by the SARSCoV2 providing insights into disease pathology and new therapeutic targets to block COVID19. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-sars-cov-virus-hijacks-rapidly-human.html 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Swiss Tropical Public Health Institute African countries and an international network of research institutions including the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute Swiss TPH have joined forces to launch the largest COVID19 clinical trial in mildtomoderate outpatients in Africa. The ANTICOV clinical trial aims to respond to the urgent need to identify treatments that can be used to treat mild and moderate cases of COVID19 early and prevent spikes in hospitalisation that could overwhelm fragile and already overburdened health systems in Africa. https://www.swisstph.ch/en/news/news-detail/news/largest-clinical-trial-in-africa-to-treat-covid-19-cases-is-launched-in-13-countries/ 24th Nov 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters UK AstraZeneca Plc will likely get results of its U.S. COVID19 vaccine trial in lateJanuary and could potentially file for an emergency authorization the chief adviser for the U.S. governments Operation Warp Speed program said on Wednesday. The British drugmaker and Oxford University have already published interim efficacy results from their UK trial in November but the results have raised questions among scientists. The company said the vaccine could be 90 effective when given as a half dose followed by a full dose based on a relatively small number of volunteers while overall effectiveness was around 70. Speaking at a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services meeting OWS chief adviser Moncef Slaoui said the large set of contrasting data coming out from the UK and Brazil trials may not be enough to ensure the vaccine receives the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations emergency use authorization. https://uk.reuters.com/article/instant-article/idUKKBN28C33U 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

Reuters An editorial in the influential New England Journal of Medicine cites problems with a World Health Organization WHO study that found Gilead Sciences Incs antiviral remdesivir failed to improve COVID19 survival and said it does not refute trials that demonstrated benefits of the drug in treating the illness. The editorial by David Harrington at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health infectious disease specialist Dr. Lindsey Baden and Brown University biostatistician Joseph Hogan was published on Wednesday along with the WHO study. They noted that the trial called Solidarity which looked at four drugs was conducted in 30 countries ranging from Switzerland and Germany to Iran and Kenya leading to inconsistencies in the data collected. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-gilead-remdesivir/medical-journal-editorial-refutes-who-finding-on-gileads-remdesivir-for-covid-19-idUKKBN28C3EX 2nd Dec 2020

Scientific Viewpoint

NPR Health care workers are expected to be first in line to be offered a COVID19 vaccine when one is available. It makes sense Getting a safe effective vaccine would help keep them and their patients healthy. Seeing doctors nurses and medical aides getting COVID19 vaccines would also set an example for the community. But the speed of COVID19 vaccine development along with concerns about political interference with the process has left some health care workers on the fence about COVID19 vaccines. So many health care workers are expressing concerns and anxiety about getting COVID19 vaccines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says addressing hesitancy in this group is a top priority. A CDC survey shared at a public meeting of its vaccine advisory committee on Nov. 23 found that 63 of health care workers polled in recent months said they would get a COVID19 vaccine. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/12/01/940158684/some-health-care-workers-are-wary-of-getting-covid-19-vaccines 1st Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

USA Today A shortage of medical providers could exacerbate Arizonas growing COVID19 crisis as hospitals compete for contract labor in the midst of a pandemic that is gripping the entire United States. Arizona hospital officials are most worried about finding enough staff not PPE or beds to treat a surge of new COVID19 patients. The number one limiting factor is staffing right now said AnnMarie Alameddin president and CEO of the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. Its a much tighter supply because the whole country is in need of the same skill set. Whats happening with COVID19 in Arizona in this latest second wave of infection is a different situation than the summer. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2020/12/02/arizona-hospitals-struggle-find-staff-during-second-covid-19-surge/6423782002/ 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Mirror Online On the day that the national lockdown was replaced with a tier system approval was given to the PfizerBioNTech coronavirus vaccine which can now be rolled out across the country https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-coronavirus-hospitals-deaths-soar-23104243 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Anadolu Agency Italy will have to adopt strict restrictions over Christmas holidays to avoid a third wave of the pandemic next year Health Minister Roberto Speranza told parliament on Wednesday. The new rules which will be effective from Dec. 4 will include an almost total ban on international movements and between Italian regions aimed at avoiding the spread of the virus across the country and limiting huge gettogethers. The restriction will be even tougher on Dec. 2526 and Jan. 1 when citizens would not be allowed to travel even between cities. A nationwide curfew at 10 p.m. will be maintained also on Christmas night and New Years Eve likely obliging Italian churches to anticipate the traditional midnight mass. The government is still discussing a few exceptions to these limitations possibly for students who plan to visit their families in a different region or elderly parents and grandparents who live alone and would spend the holidays by themselves. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/italy-tightens-antivirus-restrictions-for-christmas/2063072 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail Germany is seeing around 18000 infections per day next to 15000 in Britain Contagion has remained high despite a monthlong lockdown light in Germany Germanys death rate has also reached record levels with new high of 487 today https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9009733/Germany-seeing-Covid-19-infections-Britain.html 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

MarketWatch For 41 years families in the Spanish capital have kicked off the Christmas season by gathering behind the department store El Corte Ingls to watch a performance by giant singing puppets. The stores Cortylandia show has treated crowds in the past to festive depictions of Gullivers Travels and Aladdin among numerous others including the Noahs ark story. But this year as all the world battles a killer virus the tradition has been replaced with a light display that simply reads in lowercase letters felices fiestas. Happy holidays. The loss of a beloved 15minute puppet show is among the Christmastime traditions of this traditionally Catholic country being altered or even eliminated as the government tries to keep its physically demonstrative populace a step ahead of a virus that has killed 45069 to date in the country. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/to-slow-down-a-killer-virus-spain-breaks-with-decades-old-christmas-traditions-11606847541 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Reuters New COVID19 infections in France stayed below 10000 for the third day in a row on Tuesday a sequence unseen since midSeptember and the number of people hospitalised for the disease resumed a downward trend. The government has loosened its second national coronavirus lockdown put in place on Oct. 30 by allowing all shops to reopen at the weekend. President Emmanuel Macron said last week the lockdown could be lifted on Dec. 15 if by then the number of new infections per day fell to 5000 and the number of COVID19 patients in intensive care declined to between 2500 and 3000. Earlier in the day Macron said that France should be in a position to embark on a broader COVID19 vaccination campaign between April and June next year after initially targeting a smaller group of people. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-infections/new-covid-19-cases-in-france-stay-below-10000-for-third-day-idUSKBN28B64Y 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

AlJazeera Political analyst Rashweat Mukundu said the increase points to a notable failure in governments COVID19 response and also the mishandling of the opening up of the socioeconomic sector. Mukundu cited the reopening of schools last month without adequate precautionary measures as one of the reasons behind what he described as a ticking time bomb. The governments response has largely been politicised Mukundu said urging authorities to go back to the drawing board. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/2/zimbabwe-tightens-gathering-limits-covid-19-cases-rise 2nd Dec 2020

Coronavirus Resurgence

Daily Mail Florida Department of Health released new COVID19 figures on Tuesday. Total statewide tally of COVID19 cases has reached 1008166 DOH data shows. Of those 18679 Floridians have died of the disease caused by the coronavirus. Governor Ron DeSantis a Republican has refused calls for strict lockdown. DeSantis slammed those who urged school closures calling them flatearthers. Last week he barred towns from fining people for violating mitigation measures https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9007193/Florida-state-reach-one-million-COVID-19-cases-Texas-California.html 1st Dec 2020

New Lockdown

BBC Shoppers have returned to the High Street in England after nonessential retailers opened their doors at the end of a fourweek national lockdown. A threetiered system of Covid19 rules has now come into force in the nation with gyms and businesses such as hairdressers also able to open. More than 55 million people are in the strictest two tiers and cannot mix indoors with those in other households. The government said it would safeguard the gains made during the past month. At a Downing Street briefing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he accepted that the tiered system was tough but insisted that regional restrictions and mass testing were the way to keep the virus under control. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55153899 2nd Dec 2020

New Lockdown

Reuters Germany inched towards tougher lockdown measures on Wednesday with one regional premier promising a stricter course now that regions that had been spared the worst of the coronavirus pandemic are seeing case numbers surge. A partial lockdown that was imposed at the start of November was last week extended into December and state and federal leaders are expected to discuss a further prolongation into January at a video conference due on Wednesday afternoon. More than 17000 new cases were reported overnight and 487 deaths a new daily record. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-germany/spreading-virus-pushes-german-regions-towards-tougher-lockdowns-idUSL8N2II1Z8 2nd Dec 2020

New Lockdown

The Independent Englands second national lockdown has come to an end with the country moving into a new tiered system of coronavirus restrictions. As the clock struck one minute past midnight on Wednesday nationwide restrictions expired and were replaced by a controversial localised approach as the government attempts to further stem the spread of Covid19. Around 99 per cent of the population are now under the toughest two levels of restrictions tier 2 and tier 3 with only three areas in England the Isle of Wight Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly in the lowest tier 1 level. In the highest tier which currently includes the cities of Manchester Birmingham Bristol and Newcastle pubs and restaurants will only be able to offer takeaway and delivery services. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/england-lockdown-end-tier-system-b1764839.html 2nd Dec 2020

New Lockdown

Evening Standard A new tougher tier system of Covid19 restrictions for England has come into force as the national fourweek lockdown is lifted. The measures which came into force at midnight were approved by MPs in the Commons on Tuesday with the support of 291 votes to 78. More than 55 million people in the country are being placed in the top two strictest tiers with London in Tier 2. The rules are tougher than in the previous tier system England was face with before its second lockdown began in November. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/covid-tier-system-comes-into-force-lockdown-ends-b133503.html 2nd Dec 2020