Number 10 has launched the world’s first trial into whether mixing and matching coronavirus vaccines is safe and can enhance protection against the disease. The study of more than 800 patients will look at the effect of giving someone an initial dose of the Oxford University jab, followed by the Pfizer one, and vice versa. Scientists will … Read more
How Matt Hancock’s obsession with the film Contagion – which sees disease-gripped nations battling for limited vaccine supplies – helped inspire him to prioritise Britain’s jab rollout Former DHSC adviser said Matt Hancock would ‘keep referring to end of the film’ Movie depicted vaccines being handed out using a lottery based on birth dates The … Read more
By Eleanor Hayward Health Correspondent What is the South African variant? It was first found in Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province in mid-October. Like the UK’s Kent variant, the mutant strain quickly became dominant and drove a ferocious second wave. There are two key mutations that give it an advantage – these are … Read more
Nicola Sturgeon faces fury as Scottish vaccine rollout slumps to its LOWEST number of daily jabs – as First Minister prepares tries to trump Boris Johnson’s hotel quarantine plan by unveiling tougher rules for self-isolation Nicola Sturgeon will tomorrow announce updated coronavirus rules for Scotland First Minister will set out hotel quarantine plans which will … Read more
London hospitals are giving Covid jabs to people who turn up without an appointment to avoid wasting doses intended for no-shows NHS sources say their current approach is ‘if there’s a free arm, we’ll jab it’ They claim a frontline worker’s healthy partner in their 20s even got inoculated The surplus in supplies stems in … Read more
NHS ‘threatens legal action’ against vaccine centre staff offering ‘leftover’ jabs to friends and family to stop them being wasted at the end of the day NHS vaccination centres offering leftover jabs to relatives and friends of staff Senior sources in NHS calling for legal action to be taken against the centres Today it … Read more
Covid vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi denies jabs have been diverted from the North to areas lagging behind in over-80s rollout – after NHS figures reveal huge postcode lottery Nadhim Zahawi blasted claims stocks were being diverted from Yorkshire He said they would still be receiving their 13 per cent allocation of supplies But he admitted … Read more
Britons may need to be vaccinated against coronavirus every year to keep the disease at bay, Sir Patrick Vallance has warned. The Government’s chief scientific adviser delivered the stark warning today, saying a regular flu-style roll out may be required to ‘keep on top’ of the virus. Scientists say mutations on the spike protein – … Read more
Met police chief Dame Cressida Dick is ‘baffled’ that frontline officers have not been prioritised for Covid jabs Met’s police chief revealed there have been 48 spitting attacks on police officers Further 97 incidents where someone threatened Covid-19 and coughed at police Dame Cressida said PCs who can’t dress in full PPE are putting themselves at … Read more
Elderly Britons may be missing appointments for their coronavirus vaccines because GPs are sending them invites by text, doctors fear. Some over-80s who are next in line for the jab are being contacted on their mobile phones because of the ‘short notice of supply’. Dr Ollie Hart, a GP involved in the rollout in Sheffield, said … Read more