24th Mar 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=249 lockdown_exit

Germany plans to vaccinate 10m a week as Covid-19 cases hit critical level

The Times Germany is banking on a mass vaccination drive in April and May amid a surge in coronavirus cases and more imminent lockdown restrictions. The number of new infections per 100000 has risen to 104 over the past week passing the threshold of 100 that threatens to put hospitals under pressure. Today the government is expected to require that travellers quarantine and take coronavirus tests as millions of Germans contemplate Easter holidays in resorts such as Mallorca where 24 scheduled flights arrived from German cities yesterday and Lufthansa plans to lay on more for the holiday. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/germany-plans-to-vaccinate-10m-a-week-as-covid-19-cases-hit-critical-level-l70rrnfzl 23rd Mar 2021

Germany plans to vaccinate 10m a week as Covid-19 cases hit critical level

Reuters Germany is likely living through the most dangerous phase of the COVID19 pandemic as new coronavirus variants spread faster and affect more people than just the elderly Bavarian premier Markus Soeder said early on Tuesday. We are probably now living in the most dangerous phase of the pandemic Soeder told journalists in Berlin after agreeing with other state leaders and Chancellor Angela Merkel to extend Germanys lockdown until April 18. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-soeder-idUSKBN2BF06Y 23rd Mar 2021

Germany plans to vaccinate 10m a week as Covid-19 cases hit critical level

Reuters Germany is extending its lockdown until April 18 and calling on citizens to stay at home for five days over the Easter holidays to try to break a third wave of the COVID19 pandemic Chancellor Angela Merkel said early on Tuesday. In talks that ran deep into the night Merkel pushed the leaders of Germanys 16 states to take a tougher stance to fight the pandemic reversing plans for a gradual reopening of the economy agreed earlier this month after a sharp rise in the infection rate. We are now basically in a new pandemic. The British mutation has become dominant Merkel told a news conference. Fundamentally we face a new virus of the same kind but with very different characteristics. More deadly more infectious and infectious for longer. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-germany-idUSKBN2BF05L?taid=605961f1e9054b0001f14c4d&amputm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&amputm_medium=trueAnthem&amputm_source=twitter 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

Reuters AstraZeneca will publish uptodate results from its major U.S. COVID19 vaccine trial within 48 hours after health officials publicly criticized the drugmaker for using outdated information to show how well the immunization worked. The rare public rebuke marks the latest setback for the vaccine once hailed as a milestone in the fight against the COVID19 pandemic that has since been dogged by questions over its effectiveness and possible side effects. AstraZeneca said results it published on Monday in which the vaccine had demonstrated 79 efficacy were based on an interim analysis of data through Feb. 17 and it would now immediately engage with the independent panel monitoring the trial to share its full analysis. The Britishbased drugmaker on Tuesday said it had reviewed the preliminary assessment of its full or primary analysis and found it to be consistent with the interim report. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-astrazeneca-usa/astrazeneca-to-publish-full-u-s-trial-results-after-rare-rebuke-over-outdated-data-idUSKBN2BF1RE 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

The Associated Press AstraZenecas repeated missteps in reporting vaccine data coupled with a blood clot scare could do lasting damage to the credibility of a shot that is the linchpin in the global strategy to stop the coronavirus pandemic potentially even undermining vaccine confidence more broadly experts say. The latest stumble for the vaccine came Tuesday when American officials issued an unusual statement expressing concern that AstraZeneca had included outdated information when it reported encouraging results from a U.S. trial a day earlier. That may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data according to the statement. AstraZeneca responded that the results which showed its shot was about 79 effective included information through Feb. 17 but appeared to be consistent with more uptodate data. It promised an update within 48 hours. https://apnews.com/article/astrazeneca-vaccine-reputation-missteps-01332124d4c18aba556a53b1a57bcc84 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

RTE Drugmaker AstraZeneca said it will release further data within 48 hours on US trials of its Covid19 vaccine after health officials raised concerns about the initial information disclosed. The company pushed back against a statement from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIAID which said that outdated information may have been used to conclude that its vaccine was highly effective against Covid. We have reviewed the preliminary assessment of the primary analysis and the results were consistent with the interim analysis AstraZeneca said in a statement. https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0323/1205557-coronavirus-astrazeneca/ 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

FiercePharma Epidemiologist and health economist Eric FeiglDing wrote This is wild in the first of his series of tweets explaining the back and forth between AZ and NIH. Just what did he mean by wild someone asked His answer This sort of thing never happens. Eric Topol Medscape editorinchief and founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute said it was unprecedented for a DSMB calling out a company about their data being incorrect. Even President Joe Bidens chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci called it an unforced error on AstraZenecas part. It really is unfortunate that this happened he said in an interview on Good Morning America Tuesday. It was not necessaryif you look at it the data really are quite good but when they put it into the press release it wasnt completely accurate he added. https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/again-astrazeneca-faces-public-relations-problems-as-regulators-push-back-wording-and 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

FiercePharma AstraZenecas vaccine prospects were looking up Monday when the company reported solid results from a new phase 3 trial it needed to win U.S. approval. Then sometime after midnight U.S. officials took the rare step of publicly questioning whether those data were actually complete. Less than 24 hours after the British drugmaker touted 79 efficacy against symptomatic COVID19 and 100 efficacy against severe disease in an interim analysisproviding only sketchy details about the numbers in a call with reportersthe trials independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board DSMB raised a red flag to U.S. officials. AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIAID said in a statement overnight. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/astrazeneca-scrambles-to-update-covid-19-vaccine-data-after-independent-board-flags-concerns 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

STAT News AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot to become one of the drug industrys leading lights. Now after 11 bumbling months of Covid19 vaccine development the Frenchborn executive finds himself at the center of a multinational credibility crisis moving from scandal to scandal as his rivals bask in global acclaim. Whats become clear is that AstraZeneca has failed at exactly what is supposed to be its core competency conducting research to develop new medicines and to prove that those medicines are safe and effective. On Monday night the AngloSwedish drug giant stumbled into a public clash with the National Institutes of Health with none other than Anthony Fauci the NIH infectious disease expert who has come to be seen as Americas doctor accusing the company in STAT and on Good Morning America of an unforced error. https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/23/after-leading-a-corporate-turnaround-a-swashbuckling-ceo-flies-astrazeneca-into-turbulence/ 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

STAT News Yet again AstraZeneca is in a crisis of its own making. The latest in the drug manufacturers long string of mishaps and miscommunications came Tuesday when top federal health officials accused the company of highlighting in a press release overly positive data about the efficacy of its coronavirus vaccine. It came after widely publicized snafus like administering incorrect doses during clinical trials and keeping U.S. regulators in the dark after pausing a trial entirely due to safety concerns. And there were unlucky issues too like an investigation into blood clots in vaccine recipients that were beyond AstraZenecas control. https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/23/mishaps-miscommunications-overshadowing-astrazenecas-covid-vaccine/ 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

STAT News U.S. health officials raised concerns early Tuesday that positive results that AstraZeneca announced Monday for its Covid19 vaccine may have been based on an incomplete view of the efficacy data from a clinical trial and relied on outdated information throwing another curveball in the saga of the companys vaccine. In a statement issued soon after midnight Tuesday morning the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said it had been informed about the data questions by the data and safety monitoring board auditing the trial. DSMBs consist of independent medical experts who review data produced from clinical trials. We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate uptodate efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible NIAID said https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/23/astrazeneca-may-have-used-outdated-information-in-announcing-covid19-vaccine-results/ 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

Financial Times The dispute between AstraZeneca and the independent scientists who sit on the trials data and safety monitoring board or DSMB centres on whether the company was wrong to publish data collected before a February cutoff point instead of including more recent figures as well. In a letter sent to AstraZeneca on Monday which was copied to the NIH and another US government agency funding the trial the DSMB said it thought a broader analysis including uptodate results would show a lower efficacy rate of between 69 per cent and 74 per cent according to a person who has seen it. Anthony Fauci a senior official at the NIH told the Financial Times the body was not accusing anybody of anything adding We are just saying very very frankly and simply that we urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the data and to ensure that its the most accurate uptodate data that was made public. AstraZeneca responded to the NIH statement by promising to publish the final data set from the trial within 48 hours. https://www.ft.com/content/bb69ecd8-323e-4848-bcdf-9117a2e26158 24th Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

Yahoo AstraZeneca the BritishSwedish pharmaceutical company headed to market with its COVID19 vaccine said Tuesday that its published results went exactly as planned despite questions from the National Institute of Health. https://www.yahoo.com/now/astrazeneca-says-data-consistent-previous-142000509.html 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

CBS News AstraZeneca may have used outdated information when it released data from a latestage trial of its COVID19 vaccine early Monday federal officials say. The Data and Safety Monitoring Board DSMB said late in the day it was concerned about the information the British drugmaker made public about the largescale U.S. trial of the vaccine it developed along with Oxford University. CBS News medical contributor Dr. David Agus joins CBS This Morning to address the news. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/astrazeneca-may-have-included-outdated-information-in-covid-19-vaccine-trial-report/ 23rd Mar 2021

AstraZeneca to publish full U.S. trial results after rare rebuke over 'outdated' data

The Financial Times AstraZeneca said it would reissue key data on its American clinical trial within 48 hours after the independent monitoring board that oversaw the study warned US authorities that results released by the company on Monday were misleading. https://www.ft.com/content/24090cf8-9b6c-45b9-9a8d-41ca2450194d 23rd Mar 2021

European Union set to curb Covid-19 vaccine exports for six weeks

Deccan Herald The EU is finalizing emergency legislation that will give it powers to curb exports for the next six weeks of COVID19 vaccines manufactured in the bloc a sharp escalation in response to supply shortages at home that have created a political maelstrom amid a rising third wave on the continent. The draft legislation which is set to be made public Wednesday was reviewed by The New York Times and confirmed by two EU officials involved in the drafting process. The new rules will make it harder for pharmaceutical companies producing Covid19 vaccines in the European Union to export them and is likely to disrupt supply to the UK. The EU has been at loggerheads with AstraZeneca since it drastically cut its supply to the bloc citing production problems in January and the company is the main target for the new rules. Read more at httpswww.deccanherald.cominternationalworldnewspoliticseuropeanunionsettocurbcovid19vaccineexportsforsixweeks965785.html https://www.deccanherald.com/international/world-news-politics/european-union-set-to-curb-covid-19-vaccine-exports-for-six-weeks-965785.html 24th Mar 2021

European Union set to curb Covid-19 vaccine exports for six weeks

The New York Times The European Union has drafted new emergency rules that will most likely severely cut exports to Britain and other countries to ease supply shortages at home. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/world/europe/eu-curbs-vaccine-exports.html 23rd Mar 2021

European Union set to curb Covid-19 vaccine exports for six weeks

Reuters The directorgeneral of the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday she was disappointed in the European Unions export authorisation scheme for COVID19 vaccines saying that she was talking to the bloc about this measure. The European Commission said on March 11 it had extended the mechanism set up at the end of January as a reaction to vaccine makers announcements of delays in deliveries to the EU to the end of June. While we understand the politics of what they are doing I have said openly I am disappointed particularly in the fact that they extended it from March Ngozi OkonjoIweala said at a WTO online event saying export restrictions must be temporary. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-wto-idUSKBN2BF23Z?taid=605a12e9bd339100019ffa3a&amputm_campaign=trueAnthem:+Trending+Content&amputm_medium=trueAnthem&amputm_source=twitter 23rd Mar 2021

A national shortfall in vaccines in the UK likely

BBC News GPs in Birmingham who had offered Covid19 jabs to some under50s have been told to cancel the appointments. Some patients aged in their 40s got text messages at the weekend telling them vaccinations had been postponed due to a national shortfall. The UK will be affected by a delay in a delivery from India but on Friday a record number of Covid jabs were given. The NHS said some Birmingham bookings had been cancelled because those people were not in a currently eligible group. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-56484665 23rd Mar 2021

UK facing surge in coronavirus infections, problematic variants and 'vaccine stockouts', warns Professor Chris Whitty

Sky News The COVID crisis will cause a long rain shadow and there will definitely be another surge in infections according to Englands chief medical officer. Professor Chris Whitty speaking on the anniversary of the UKs first lockdown warned of bumps and twists on the road as the country attempts to recover from the pandemic. And he also highlighted the very big job of work in preventing lifelong problems related to the effect of lockdowns such as increased deprivation and nonCOVID health issues. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-facing-surge-in-coronavirus-infections-problematic-variants-and-vaccine-stockouts-warns-professor-chris-whitty-12254405 23rd Mar 2021

Is Gibraltar a glimpse into the future for vaccination-leading UK?

Euronews Gibraltar the tiny British territory on Spains south coast was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic this winter but it has now become one of the most open places in Europe. With its population densely packed in and frequent movement of people over the border from Spain COVID19 infected 4000 of its 33000 residents killing 93. The small but packed population that made coronavirus so dangerous there has also helped with the rollout of its vaccination campaign with the government expecting to have vaccinated all residents over the age of 16 by the end of this month. Its successful vaccination campaign is largely down to the shipments of PfizerBioNTech jabs from the UK. This has meant a recent easing of restrictions and could be a preview of what the UK will be hoping to see when a high enough percentage of its 66 million residents has been immunised. https://www.euronews.com/2021/03/23/rock-n-rollout-could-gibraltar-be-a-vision-of-the-coming-reopening-of-europe 23rd Mar 2021

J&J plant authorization clears way for big boost in U.S. COVID-19 shots

Reuters A large plant being used to manufacture Johnson Johnsons COVID19 vaccine was cleared by U.S. regulators on Tuesday setting the stage for the weekly U.S. supply to surge more then 20 percent. About 27 million COVID19 vaccine doses will be allocated to U.S. states and other localities this week including 4 million from JJ White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. That is the largest allocation yet up from 22 million last week. Earlier the Indiana plant at which Catalent Inc is helping to manufacture the JJ vaccine received U.S. regulatory authorization the companies said. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-johnson-johnson-va/jj-plant-authorization-clears-way-for-big-boost-in-us-covid-19-shots-idUSKBN2BF2MA 24th Mar 2021

J&J plant authorization clears way for big boost in U.S. COVID-19 shots

FiercePharma Johnson Johnsons COVID19 vaccine rollout has been more of a trickle than a stream so far in the U.S. with the company still on the hook to deliver some 15 million doses by next week. But JJ has said it can meet that goal and thanks to the approval of a U.S. manufacturing site millions more doses could soon be on the way. The FDA blessed Catalents Bloomington Indiana facility with an emergency nod to help produce Johnson Johnsons COVID19 vaccine and ship out finished doses Bloomberg first reported Tuesday. The CDMO could subsequently release millions of vials that have already been packaged and inspected a source close to the matter said. The approval could be announced as soon as Tuesday Bloomberg added though Catalent didnt immediately respond to Fierce Pharmas request for comment. Reuters also reported on the plant approval. https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/catalent-s-bloomington-plant-cleared-to-turn-out-j-j-s-single-dose-covid-19-vaccine 23rd Mar 2021

Brazil situation remains alarming

CIDRAP The worsening COVID19 surge in Brazila dire situation that has filled much of the countrys intensive care unit ICU capacityis affecting its neighbors officials from the Pan American Health Organization PAHO said today. The group urged people and their leaders to take steps that slow the spread of the virus. At a briefing today Sylvain Aldighieri MD PAHOs incident manager said transmission in Brazil is very high and increasing in all regions unlike the spike in 2020 that affected only a few regions. He said 26 of the countrys 27 federal units have ICUs under stress with 23 reporting more than 85 of ICU beds occupied. The country is battling the more transmissible P1 SARSCoV2 variant which has now been reported in 15 Americas countries Aldighieri said. Since the variant emerged in Amazonas state in late 2020 Brazil has experienced two spikes one 2 weeks after Christmas and one 2 weeks after Carnival Feb 12 to 17. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/03/brazils-covid-19-crisis-affecting-nearby-countries 23rd Mar 2021

Brazil situation remains alarming

Reuters Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday said he had not yet been convinced to change his longheld stance against lockdown measures to control the coronavirus outbreak sweeping his nation. Speaking at an event in Brasilia Bolsonaro said lockdowns only served to make the poor poorer and he refused to moderate his position against stayathome measures which he said kill jobs. He added that Brazils focus should be on destroying the virus and not attacking his government. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-brazil-bolsonaro-idUSKBN2BE2VA 23rd Mar 2021

Brazil situation remains alarming

Medical Exoress Leading the morning medical meeting at an intensive care unit in Sao Paulo Jaques Sztajnbok reviews his COVID19 patients. Were seeing a high prevalence of younger patients with no preexisting conditions hospitalized with very severe cases Sztajnbok head of intensive care at Emilio Ribas Hospital told AFP. The same trend is being reported at ICUs across Brazil. In Brazil like most of the world severe cases and deaths from COVID19 were mainly among the elderly during the first wave of the novel coronavirus last year. Now the country is dealing with a devastating resurgence of the virus blamed partly on the emergence of a new strain known as P1 or the Brazil variant. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-03-brazil-covid-increasingly-young.html 20th Mar 2021

Covid-19 vaccines and the danger of religious misinformation

BBC News As coronavirus vaccines slowly roll out across the world leaders are working hard to build confidence in them. Religious leaders in particular can play a crucial role in convincing people to vaccinate. Many are working hard to spread the news that vaccines are safe and effective but as the BBCs population reporter Stephanie Hegarty has been finding out there are figures in almost every faith who are undermining that message with some spreading misinformation which could lead to vaccine hesitancy. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/health-56421902 23rd Mar 2021

Covid-19: Vaccines and vaccine passports being sold on darknet

BBC News Covid19 vaccines vaccine passports and faked negative test papers are being sold on the darknet. Prices range between 500 360 and 750 for doses of AstraZeneca Sputnik Sinopharm or Johnson Johnson jabs. Fake vaccination certificates are also being sold by anonymous traders for as little as 150. Researchers say they have seen a sharp increase in vaccinerelated darknet adverts while the BBC has been unable to verify if the vaccines are real. The darknet also known as the dark web is a portion of the internet that is only accessible through specific browser tools. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56489574 23rd Mar 2021

COVID-19 cases exploding

Reuters on MSN.com Yemens internationally recognised government declared a health emergency in areas under its control as infections in a second wave of a coronavirus epidemic surge. Yemens sixyear war has restricted testing and reporting of COVID19 https://www.msn.com/en-au/lifestyle/wellbeing/yemen-declares-covid-19-emergency-as-second-wave-accelerates/ar-BB1eSCLW 23rd Mar 2021

COVID-19 cases exploding

Reuters France will offer COVID19 shots to anyone over 70 from this weekend President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday as he sought to breathe more urgency into his countrys vaccination campaign. France and its neighbours are suffering a third wave of infections that threatens recovery in Europes largest economies. Hospitals could face an unprecedented shock within three weeks as infections explode said the head of Frances hospital federation as he urged tougher curbs on social interaction if the spread did not slow soon. New COVID restrictions that closed nonessential stores and limited how far people can move came into effect in Paris and much of the north last weekend but Macron stopped short of a full lockdown. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france/french-covid-19-figures-going-up-at-vertiginous-rate-hospital-executive-idUSKBN2BF0PA 23rd Mar 2021

COVID-19 cases exploding

Reuters France will offer COVID19 shots to anyone over 70 from this weekend President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday as he sought to breathe more urgency into his countrys vaccination campaign. France and its neighbours are suffering a third wave of infections that threatens recovery in Europes largest economies. Hospitals could face an unprecedented shock within three weeks as infections explode said the head of Frances hospital federation as he urged tougher curbs on social interaction if the spread did not slow soon. New COVID restrictions that closed nonessential stores and limited how far people can move came into effect in Paris and much of the north last weekend but Macron stopped short of a full lockdown. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-idUSKBN2BF0PA 23rd Mar 2021

COVID-19 cases exploding

Reuters Austria has postponed the reopening of cafe restaurant and bar terraces planned for March 27 due to rising coronavirus cases and is preparing for regions to adapt restrictions locally the government said on Monday. Infections have been increasing steadily since Austria loosened its third lockdown on Feb. 8 by letting nonessential shops reopen despite stubbornly high COVID19 cases. A nighttime curfew replaced allday restrictions on movement. 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. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-austria/austria-delays-reopening-restaurants-as-covid-19-cases-rise-idUSKBN2BE2LY?il=0 23rd Mar 2021

School children having to isolate as COVID-19 cases break out

Daily Mail Secondary school attendance has risen to 91 per cent since schools reopened. But up to 201000 pupils arent in classrooms because of Covid19 concerns. The figures up from 60000 last week have caused concerns over the spread of coronavirus through schools https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9393537/Over-200-000-pupils-self-isolating-Covid-schools-reopened-new-figures-show.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailUK 23rd Mar 2021

In it for the 'Long Haul'

CIDRAP The United States should create multispecialty COVID19 clinics dedicated to treating patients still experiencing serious multiorgan effects of infection well after recovery from acute illness say the authors of a comprehensive review of literature on socalled coronavirus longhaulers published yesterday in Nature Medicine. The exact number of US longhaul COVID19 cases is unknown but the researchers said that many patients struggle in silence or become frustrated when their doctors dont consider that their symptoms could be related to their previous infection. The review led by researchers at New YorkPresbyterianColumbia University Irving Medical Center found that the cell damage inflammatory immune response abnormal blood clotting and other complications of acute COVID19 infection can leave in their wake longterm symptoms such as chest pain shortness of breath brain fog fatigue joint pain and posttraumatic stress disorder all of which can compromise quality of life. The researchers detailed literature from the United States Europe and China on high percentages of longhaulers or those with chronic or postCOVID19 syndrome who often have debilitating symptoms for more than 3 months. COVID19 has been associated with diabetes strokes heart rhythm abnormalities blood clots in the lungs and other complications. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/03/covid-19-long-haulers-need-dedicated-clinics-experts-say 23rd Mar 2021

In it for the 'Long Haul'

STAT News Whether you call it long Covid or postacute Covid19 or just identify yourself as a longhauler the constellation of prolonged symptoms after Covid19 infection has become all too familiar. About onethird of people who were sick enough to need hospitalization including supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation to breathe still struggle with problems affecting their bodies and their minds four weeks or more after the first onset of symptoms. About 1 in 10 people who had Covid but were never admitted to a hospital report they experience bewildering brain fog shortness of breath muscle weakness or crushing fatigue in the months after the first signs of their initial illness. Some see no end in sight others seem to recover. To help understand how to recognize and treat this mysterious condition researchers from Harvard and Columbia culled the scientific literature to guide treatment for nine organ systems where the SARSCoV2 virus does its damage. https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/23/what-we-know-and-dont-know-about-long-covid/ 23rd Mar 2021

UK Government considering mandatory vaccines for care home workers

The Independent Care home workers in England could be required by law to have a coronavirus vaccine under plans being considered by the government Matt Hancock has said. The health secretary said legislation would need to be put forward in order to protect vulnerable residents but that there was already a precedent for such a move. There is a duty of care that people have if you work in an elderly care home after all residents of elderly care homes are the most vulnerable of all to Covid he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. There are important moral questions on both sides there would be a change in the law required so this is something that we are considering but we havent made a final decision on and we do want to hear from care homes and indeed care home staff on this question. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/covid-vaccine-care-home-workers-staff-b1820866.html 23rd Mar 2021