22nd Mar 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=245 lockdown_exit

Vaccines versus variants - the race is on

STAT News The United States is in for a celebratory summer experts and political leaders have forecasted when widespread availability of Covid19 vaccines will allow the safe return of gatherings and activities shunned for the past year. But epidemiologists have been warning it might not be a smooth road to that point and now data in some states are pointing to if not just stalled progress increased cases. In New Jersey average daily cases fell below 3000 in late February and have recently been around 3800. Michigan saw its average daily infections go from just over 1000 to more than 2000 over the same period and hospitalizations have been increasing for three weeks. Other states including Minnesota and Missouri have also seen infections inch up in recent weeks while many other states progress from earlier this year has flattened out not budging from levels that would have once alarmed the public. https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/20/rising-covid19-cases-in-some-states-highlight-precarious-position/ 20th Mar 2021

Vaccines versus variants - the race is on

LBC The mass reopening of schools has put the UK on track for a third coronavirus wave according to this epidemiologist. Dr Deepti Gurdasani is Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London specialising in epidemiology and statistical genetics. She spoke to Andrew Castle about the fight back against the pandemic across the continent. Andrew wondered whether the UK should expect a third wave of the virus to which Dr Gurdasani believed that it is inevitable. Were actually seeing the start of that already. We know drops have plateaued in most regions in the UK right now. In Scotland were actually seeing rises right now which is consistent with what many of us predicted with partial school openings she revealed. Dr Gurdasani stressed the knockon impact of reopening schools for the UKs coronavirus numbers As the impact of full school openings is felt its very likely that R will rise above one and well start to see that surge of cases soon. https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/andrew-castle/uk-coronavirus-third-wave-is-inevitable-amid-school-reopening/ 20th Mar 2021

Vaccines versus variants - the race is on

Sky News Fears of a third coronavirus wave are growing with Germany among the European countries warning of an exponential growth in infections. Twenty countries in the European Union have now reported an increase in the rate of positive tests and 15 have said hospital or intensive care admissions have increased according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The sharp rise in infections and the EUs continuing struggle to get its COVID19 inoculation drive up to speed have forced some countries to go back into lockdown or rethink the easing of restrictions. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-fears-of-third-wave-grow-in-europe-as-germany-warns-of-exponential-growth-in-infections-12251203 20th Mar 2021

Vaccines versus variants - the race is on

London Evening Standard SAGE adviser Professor Andrew Hayward said that a rise in positive tests is probable but hoped that the vaccines would reduce the number of deaths and hospitalisations. Speaking to Times Radio the University College London scientist was asked if a surge of infections could occur if mistakes as we come out of lockdown. He said I think another wave is possible likely even. I guess the difference is that another wave will cause substantially fewer deaths and hospitalisations because of high levels of vaccination across the sorts of people who would have ended up in hospital or unfortunately dying if they havent been vaccinated. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/health/fourth-wave-covid-19-health-uk-b925336.html 20th Mar 2021

Masks and social distancing could last for years says UK expert

BBC News People may need to wear face coverings and socially distance for several years until we return to normality a leading epidemiologist has predicted. Mary Ramsay the head of immunisation at Public Health England said basic measures could be in place until other countries successfully roll out jabs. She also said a return of big spectator events required careful monitoring and clear instructions about staying safe. The defence secretary has not ruled out the foreign holiday ban being extended. Ben Wallace told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show that booking a break abroad now would be premature and potentially risky. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56475807 21st Mar 2021

Vaccine 'passports' for travel

BBC News The boss of Australian airline Qantas has told the BBC that governments are going to insist on vaccines for international travellers. Coronavirus vaccines are seen as crucial to reviving an industry that saw worldwide passenger numbers fall 75.6 last year. Chief executive Alan Joyce said that many governments are talking about vaccination as a condition of entry. Even if they werent he thinks the airline should enforce its own policy. We have a duty of care to our passengers and to our crew to say that everybody in that aircraft needs to be safe Mr Joyce said. He believes that would justify changing the terms and conditions on which tickets are booked. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56460329 21st Mar 2021

Vaccine 'passports' for travel

Reuters Holidays abroad are extremely unlikely for most Britons this summer due to the risk of importing new variants of COVID19 a scientist who advises the government said on Saturday leaving airlines and travel companies bracing for a second lost peak season. Britain has banned travel for most people during the current lockdown and has said overseas holidays will not be allowed until May 17 at the earliest. But Mike Tildesley a scientist on a government advisory body said the risk of importing vaccineresistant variants back into the UK would likely scupper the nations annual getaway. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-britain-travel/holidays-abroad-this-summer-unlikely-for-most-britons-scientist-warns-idUSKBN2BC0FM 20th Mar 2021

Vaccine 'passports' for travel

Reuters Portugal said on Saturday that passengers arriving from South Africa via a stopover in another country must also quarantine for 14 days and present a negative COVID19 test taken 72 hours before arrival the interior ministry said on Saturday. Direct flights from South Africa have already been halted and although few cases of the COVID19 variant first detected in South Africa have been diagnosed in Portugal so far the measure was intended to prevent any further spread the ministry said. https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-portugal-south-afr-idUSKBN2BC0HL 20th Mar 2021

Vaccine 'passports' for travel

Sky News The governments decision to allow free travel to and from Greece last summer could have had a significant impact on the spread of the virus according to a Public Health England study quietly published this week. The previously unreported analysis which was conducted by PHE and the COVID19 Genomics UK Consortium revealed that Greece was the largest source of imported infections between June and September making up 21 of new cases compared with 16 for Croatia and 14 for Spain. It also suggested that holidaymakers who didnt need to quarantine as those from Greece did not were more likely to pass on the virus once they arrived back. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-greece-travel-corridor-brought-in-a-large-amount-of-virus-say-experts-12250258 19th Mar 2021

Rolling out vaccination programmes

ABC.Net.au Health Minister Greg Hunt this week announced what would have been music to the ears of more than 6 million Australians its now your turn to get the coronavirus vaccine. But for general practices across the country the news sounded like thousands of phones that would not stop ringing. The Australian government released a list of GP clinics that would be able to start vaccinations from March 22 and an online eligibility checker that gives a contact number for vaccine providers in your area. Kathy Turner a GP based near Geelong in Victoria said the government told people to contact their GPs without giving prior warning to clinics some of which had not yet received doses. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-19/coronavirus-vaccine-phase-1b-gp-clinics-few-doses-available/100018052 19th Mar 2021

Rolling out vaccination programmes

ABC.Net.au A shipment of Pfizer vaccine doses destined for South Australia has been wrongly delivered to Western Australia causing delays to the states rollout. The ABC understands aged care facilities involved in the phase 1A rollout were told by the federal Department of Health that COVID19 immunisations would not be happening today as scheduled. Impacted care homes were originally told the delay was the result of a logistics issue. It is not clear how many vaccines were included in the shipment but some were expected to be secondround doses for aged care residents. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-19/sa-coronavirus-vaccines-wrongly-delivered-to-perth/100018366 19th Mar 2021

Rolling out vaccination programmes

ABC News Federal health authorities say they are confident the next phase of Australias COVID19 vaccination program will meet its targets despite international supply issues and weatherrelated delivery delays. Phase 1B of the program is due to start on Monday with about 6 million Australians eligible to receive their first doses. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said the medical regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration expected to complete the approvals process for locally produced doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming days https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-21/covid-19-vaccine-update-from-chief-medical-officer/100019850 21st Mar 2021

Rolling out vaccination programmes

CNN In December then Presidentelect Joe Biden set a goal of getting 100 million people vaccinated against Covid19 in the first 100 days of his presidency. At this rate it looks like US will hit that mark on Friday which is day 58. These milestones are significant accomplishments but we have much more to do Biden said Thursday. Thats just the floor. We will not stop until we beat this pandemic. The country still has a long way to go but the vaccine rollout is looking a lot less chaotic. As of Thursday about 12.3 of people are fully vaccinated in the US. Thats a long way from herd immunity where enough people have been vaccinated or had the disease to have immunity if herd immunity is even achievable. https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/18/health/vaccine-rollout-less-messy/index.html 19th Mar 2021

Rolling out vaccination programmes

Yahoo Ontario is expanding its booking system to make an appointment for a COVID19 vaccine to people who are 75 and older across the province effective Monday March 22. The progress we are making on our Vaccine Distribution Plan demonstrates what can be done when we unleash the full potential of Team Ontario a statement from Ontario Premier Doug Ford reads. Thanks to the efforts of an army of frontline health care heroes and volunteers we are getting needles in arms even faster than we had imagined. All we need now is a steady and reliable supply of vaccines from the Federal government to ensure anyone who wants one gets one as soon as possible so we can all stay safe. https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/covid-19-vaccine-ontario-book-appointment-astra-zeneca-142533656.html 19th Mar 2021

Rolling out vaccination programmes

Yahoo News A surprising new analysis found that states such as South Carolina Florida and Missouri that raced ahead of others to offer the vaccine to everlarger groups of people have vaccinated smaller shares of their population than those that moved more slowly and methodically such as Hawaii and Connecticut. The explanation as experts see it is that the rapid expansion of eligibility caused a surge in demand too big for some states to handle and led to serious disarray. Vaccine supplies proved insufficient or unpredictable websites crashed and phone lines became jammed spreading confusion frustration and resignation among many people. The infrastructure just wasnt ready. It kind of backfired said Dr. Rebecca Wurtz an infectious disease physician and health data specialist at the University of Minnesotas School of Public Health. She added In the rush to satisfy everyone governors satisfied few and frustrated many. https://www.yahoo.com/news/rapid-covid-19-vaccine-rollout-135215391-150349805.html 21st Mar 2021

Getting vaccination in arms

ABC on MSN.com About 1 in 4 New Yorkers has received at least one dose of COVID19 vaccine according to state data. Nearly 7.5 million total doses including more than 1 million over the past seven days have been administered statewide https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/1-in-4-new-yorkers-has-received-at-least-1-covid-19-vaccine-dose/ar-BB1eN6hk 20th Mar 2021

Getting vaccination in arms

Sky News More than half the UKs adult population has now received a first COVID vaccine dose the government has said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the milestone as a fantastic achievement and said Lets keep going He said Like the rest of the country I am immensely proud of the progress we have made so far in rolling out vaccinations. There is still further to go and I encourage everyone to take up the offer when asked to do so. I received my first vaccine yesterday and would like to thank the brilliant NHS staff I met alongside the teams and volunteers working across the UK to deliver this vital protection. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-half-of-uk-adults-have-received-first-vaccine-dose-health-secretary-says-12247856 20th Mar 2021

Getting vaccination in arms

The Washington Post Healthcare workers were the first group in the United States to be offered coronavirus vaccinations. But three months into the effort many remain unconvinced unreached and unprotected. The lingering obstacles to vaccinating healthcare workers foreshadow the challenge the United States will face as it expands the pool of people eligible and attempts to get the vast majority of the U.S. population vaccinated. According to a Washington PostKaiser Family Foundation poll barely half of frontline healthcare workers 52 percent said they had received at least their first vaccine dose at the time they were surveyed. More than 1 in 3 said they were not confident vaccines were sufficiently tested for safety and effectiveness. https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2021/03/19/health-workers-covid-vaccine/ 19th Mar 2021

Getting vaccination in arms

Al Jazeera English Kenya has offered free COVID19 vaccines to all diplomats based there including thousands of United Nations staff even though it has not completed inoculating its own health workers other frontline staff or elderly drawing criticism from local medics. The offer was made in a March 18 letter sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to diplomatic missions and seen by Reuters news agency. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/20/kenyan-covid-vaccine-offer-to-diplomats-draws-local-doctors-ire 20th Mar 2021

Getting vaccination in arms

Reuters The founder of BioNTech partner with Pfizer in making one of the first coronavirus vaccines to be approved for use is optimistic that the virus will be under control in most European countries by the end of the summer despite a faltering vaccine rollout. In Germany owners of shuttered shops and wouldbe holidaymakers are increasingly restive over COVID19 restrictions. Some 20000 people protested against lockdown in the central city of Kassel on Saturday. European Union governments are facing criticism over the slow start to their vaccination campaigns with supply hiccups leaving the bloc lagging far behind countries such as Israel Britain and the United States. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany/we-can-get-most-germans-vaccinated-by-summers-end-biontech-founder-idUSKBN2BC0QT?il=0 21st Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

Reuters Germany is set to extend a lockdown to contain the COVID19 pandemic into its fifth month according to a draft proposal after infection rates exceeded the level at which authorities say hospitals will be overstretched. The recommendation is contained in a draft seen by Reuters prepared by Chancellor Angela Merkels office ahead of Mondays videoconference of regional and national leaders to decide on the next round of measures to deal with the pandemic. At their last meeting early this month the leaders agreed a cautious opening overriding the objections of Chancellor Angela Merkel who said more infectious variants had made the pandemic hard to control. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-cases/germany-set-to-extend-covid-19-lockdown-draft-proposal-says-idUSKBN2BD0CW 21st Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

Reuters India and Pakistan reported a big jump in new coronavirus infections on Thursday driven by a resurgence in cases in their richest states. In efforts to curb the spread of COVID19 Punjab state in India extended a night curfew across nine districts and the New Delhi city government announced an increase of vaccinations to 125000 doses per day from around 40000 at present officials said. Local authorities in the Indian state of Odisha sought additional vaccine doses and in Gujarat Prime Minister Narendra Modis home state authorities ordered schools and colleges to be shut across eight administrative divisions until April 10. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-india-cases/india-and-pakistan-suffer-resurgence-of-covid-19-cases-idUSKBN2BA0BA 19th Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

The Independent Bosnias capital is tightening measures against the new coronavirus as authorities struggle to cope with rising infections and a spike in deaths caused by COVID19. Sarajevo has mourned dozens of victims this month as daily new cases in Bosnia rose from just a few hundred to more than 1700 this week. Twentyone new deaths were reported in the capital on Friday alone. This is a war without weapons said an elderly resident who identified himself only by his first name Hajrudin. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bosnian-capital-tightens-rules-as-covid19-deaths-spike-sarajevo-covid-europe-eastern-europe-britain-b1819733.html 19th Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

The Star A wider lockdown in the Philippines cannot be ruled out if its surge in Covid19 infections continues its health minister has said as authorities announced strict curbs on international arrivals to arrest the virus spread. The government is facing renewed criticism over its handling of the epidemic after a jump in coronavirus cases more than 40000 in the past week a year after it imposed one of the worlds strictest and longest lockdowns. Officials attribute the spike to a relaxing of some mobility restrictions to allow people to return to work and revive the economy after a 9.5 contraction last year SouthEast Asias deepest economic slump. https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2021/03/20/philippines-says-wider-lockdown-possible-as-coronavirus-infections-spike-to-record-levels 20th Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

Reuters Viennas hospitals are close to the level of strain from COVID19 reached last autumn that forced a lockdown to be imposed Austrias health minister said on Friday days before a decision on whether to let restaurants open outdoors.Infections have been steadily increasing since Austria loosened its third lockdown on Feb. 8 by letting nonessential shops reopen despite stubbornly high COVID19 cases at the time. A nighttime curfew replaced allday restrictions on movement. Austria has recorded 504581 cases of the disease so far including 8982 deaths. The number of new infections reported rose above 3500 on Friday the highest level since early December when cases were falling during the second national lockdown. The government plans to let restaurant cafe and bar terraces reopen on March 27 a decision it will review on Monday. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-austria/viennas-hospitals-straining-as-country-weighs-opening-terraces-minister-idUSKBN2BB1CQ 19th Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

Reuters India reported 40953 new coronavirus cases on Saturday the biggest daily jump in nearly four months with its richest state and economic backbone Maharashtra accounting for more than half the infections. Deaths rose by 188 to 159404 the health ministry reported underscoring a resurgence of the virus in the worlds third worst affected country after the United States and Brazil. Some regions in India have already reimposed containment measures including lockdowns and restaurant closures and more are being considered. Doctors have blamed the fresh infection wave on peoples relaxed attitude to maskwearing and other social distancing measures warning that hospital wards were swiftly filling up in states like Maharashtra. https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-india-cases-idINKBN2BC06J 20th Mar 2021

Renewed lockdown

Al Jazeera English Poland France and Ukraine have introduced partial lockdowns as they battle surging coronavirus infections. Residents in Poland parts of France including Paris and the Ukrainian capital Kyiv faced new restrictions on Saturday with most shops shut and people urged to work from home. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/20/new-lockdowns-hit-europe-as-infections-soar 21st Mar 2021

Children may need to receive Covid-19 vaccine before herd immunity is achieved

The Independent on MSN.com This has included more and more states opening up vaccine eligibility to include larger segments of their residents. But Dr Anthony Fauci the nations leading infectious disease expert said that the country reaching herd immunity against Covid19 might also depend on vaccinating children https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/children-may-need-to-receive-covid-19-vaccine-before-herd-immunity-is-achieved-dr-fauci-says/ar-BB1eLrzO 20th Mar 2021

WHO panel backs AstraZeneca vaccine

Reuters on MSN.com The World Health Organization WHO exhorted the world to keep administering AstraZenecas COVID19 shots on Friday adding its endorsement to that of European and British regulators after concerns over blood clotting. We urge countries to continue using this important COVID19 vaccine WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva. He was speaking after the global health bodys vaccine safety panel said available data about the AstraZeneca shot did not point to any overall increase in clotting conditions. European and British regulators also said this week that the benefits of AstraZenecas shot outweighed the risks prompting various nations to lift their suspensions. https://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/wellbeing/who-gives-nod-to-astrazeneca-vaccine-and-its-tremendous-potential/ar-BB1eLnQi 19th Mar 2021