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Covid vaccine offered to all care homes in England

PA Media

A Covid vaccine has been offered to residents at every eligible care home in England, the NHS has announced.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the achievement, expected to be confirmed by official figures on Monday, as a "crucial milestone".

A target of 15 February has been set for the UK to vaccinate care home residents and carers, people over 70 and frontline care workers.

On Saturday a record 598,389 first jabs were given across the UK.

It means nearly nine million people have received the first dose of a vaccine, with around 490,000 having received two jabs.

NHS England said more than 10,000 care homes with older residents had been offered vaccines, although a "small remainder" of homes had visits deferred by local public health directors for safety reasons during local outbreaks.

These will be visited by vaccinators as soon as NHS staff are allowed to do so, it said.

The Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) sets which groups are prioritised for vaccinations, with residents in care homes and their carers in the top group.

All those over 70 years old, clinically extremely vulnerable people and frontline health and social care workers make up the top four groups which the government has said should be inoculated by mid-February.

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Mr Johnson said vaccines were the "route out of the pandemic" but warned there will be "difficult moments to come" with the number of cases and people in hospital still "dangerously high".

"Today marks a crucial milestone in our ongoing race to vaccinate the most vulnerable against this deadly disease," he said.

Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS England's primary care director, said: "It has been a privilege to vaccinate some of the most vulnerable people and the wonderful people who look after them. Many have had little contact with the outside world throughout the pandemic and so it has been truly humbling for all, giving them hope and importantly protection against the disease."

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said the vaccination campaign was off to a "flying start" as a result of an "amazing partnership working between our GPs, community nurses and care homes".

Fiona Carragher, director of research and influencing at Alzheimer's Society, said it was "great" the milestone had been met but she remained concerned that the staff vaccination rollout "has not been nearly so effective".

"The most pressing question now is how and when can care homes restart safe, meaningful visits. Combined with PPE and testing, isn't one jab enough? If not, what else needs to be in place? Another 12-week wait is unacceptable for people dying of loneliness," she said.

Liz Kendall, shadow social care minister, said that after the "appalling loss of life in care homes" it was "very good news" that vaccines had been offered to all elderly care home residents.

"It is essential that ministers now do everything possible to ensure care home staff take up their vaccines, move swiftly to vaccinate care homes for people with disabilities and crucially, home care staff who care for elderly and disabled people in their own homes," she said.

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The news was welcomed by the care sector with Vic Rayner, executive director of the National Care Forum, saying it was "an amazing outcome".

Care UK chief executive Andrew Knight said almost all the company's residents had been offered a jab and "the majority of our colleagues" had been vaccinated, while Nadra Ahmed, of the National Care Association, said the programme had been a "great achievement under extreme and challenging circumstances".

Deborah Alsina, chief executive of older people's charity Independent Age, said it was an "important moment" for people living in care homes who had been "badly impacted through this pandemic".

"But this must begin to give us all hope that there will finally be a significant decrease in the terrible death toll we have seen to date. "

Labour has called for teachers to be moved up the JCVI priority list and said February half-term should be used to vaccinate teaching staff.

The vaccinations committee has said early vaccination of certain professions should be considered - but only once those in the top nine priority groups have been offered a first jab.

A further 587 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test were reported on Sunday.

It takes the UK's total by that measure to 106,158, although the number of reported deaths tends to be lower over the weekend.

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February 01, 2021 at 12:01PM

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Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi 'detained by military', NLD party says

Reuters

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's governing National League for Democracy (NLD) party, has been arrested, the spokesman for the party said.

It comes amid tensions between the civilian government and the military, stoking fears of a coup.

The NLD won enough seats in parliament to form a government in November, but the army says the vote was fraudulent.

The army has called on the government to postpone convening parliament, which was due to take place on Monday.

Spokesman Myo Nyunt told the Reuters news agency by phone that Ms Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and other leaders had been "taken" in the early hours of the morning.

"I want to tell our people not to respond rashly and I want them to act according to the law," he said, adding he also expected to be detained.

• Aung San Suu Kyi: Democracy icon who fell from grace

The BBC's South East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there are soldiers on the streets of the capital, Naypyitaw, and the main city, Yangon.

Telephone and internet lines in Naypyitaw have been cut, the BBC's Burmese Service reports.

Soldiers also visited the homes of chief ministers in several regions and took them away, family members said.

On Saturday Myanmar's armed forces promised to abide by the constitution as concerns grew that they were preparing to stage a coup.

Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero, General Aung San. He was assassinated when she was only two years old, just before Myanmar gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.

Ms Suu Kyi was once seen as a beacon for human rights - a principled activist who gave up her freedom to challenge the ruthless army generals who ruled Myanmar for decades.

In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, while still under house arrest, and hailed as "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

Ms Suu Kyi spent nearly 15 years in detention between 1989 and 2010.

In November 2015 she led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a landslide victory in Myanmar's first openly contested election for 25 years.

The Myanmar constitution forbids her from becoming president because she has children who are foreign nationals. But Ms Suu Kyi, now 75, is widely seen as de facto leader.

But since becoming Myanmar's state counsellor, her leadership has been defined by the treatment of the country's mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.

In 2017 hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh due to an army crackdown sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine state.

Ms Suu Kyi's former international supporters accused her of doing nothing to stop rape, murder and possible genocide by refusing to condemn the still powerful military or acknowledge accounts of atrocities.

A few initially argued that she was a pragmatic politician, trying to govern a multi-ethnic country with a complex history.

But her personal defence of the army's actions at the International Court of Justice hearing in 2019 in the Hague was seen as a new turning point that obliterated what little remained of her international reputation.

At home, however, "the Lady", as Ms Suu Kyi is known, remains wildly popular among the Buddhist majority who hold little sympathy for the Rohingya.

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February 01, 2021 at 11:37AM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-55882489

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Covid: EU and AstraZeneca in 'step forward' on vaccines

Reuters

The EU says UK-Swedish drug firm AstraZeneca will now supply an additional 9 million Covid vaccine doses by March, after days of criticism of the bloc's vaccination programme.

Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen said it was a "step forward".

But the 40m doses now expected are still only about half of what had been hoped, amid continuing supply problems.

The Commission has been involved in a much-criticised row with both the UK and AstraZeneca this week.

In particular it was condemned over its threat to put checks on the Northern Ireland border to prevent vaccines produced in the EU from reaching the UK.

The border was one of the most difficult problems to overcome in the recently agreed Brexit deal, following the UK's departure from the EU.

The EU was angry that Britain was getting its UK-made contracted supplies from AstraZeneca while it suffered a shortfall. So the bloc announced it was introducing export controls on coronavirus vaccines made inside the EU to try to protect its supplies. The Brexit deal ensures there are no obstacles to trade between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland .

• How effective is the Oxford vaccine?
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What is the EU chief promising?

In a tweet, EU Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen said AstraZeneca would "deliver 9 million additional doses in the first quarter (40 million in total) compared to last week's offer & will start deliveries one week earlier than scheduled".

She said this represented a 30% increase on the previous amount.

RTE in Ireland is reporting that the country will get another 100,000 doses as a result.

The bloc signed a deal in August for 300 million AstraZeneca doses, with an option for 100 million more.

Reuters

It was hoped 80 million would be delivered in the first quarter - although other sources had put the figure at 100 million - but AstraZeneca said there were production problems at its Dutch and Belgian plants. Media reported this would mean a 60% cut in supplies to the end of March.

There followed a terse exchange between the two parties on contractual obligations, the EU arguing it was binding and the drug firm saying it had only to provide its "best reasonable efforts". The contract between the two was partly published as both tried to win the argument.

The Commission pointed out it could be supplied from UK-based plants, but the UK staunchly defended its supply contracts with AstraZeneca.

The UK was the first country to approve the vaccine - the EU only did so on Friday.

The EU, also on Friday, announced its so-called transparency mechanism, which gives countries in the bloc powers to deny authorisation for vaccine exports if the company making them has not honoured existing contracts with the EU.

The EU's attempt to apply measures to the Irish border was widely condemned, and the heads of the UK- and Europe-wide industry bodies warned against export bans.

The EU stepped back and, in a call with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ursula Von Der Leyen said that "there will be no disruption of contracts that we have with any producer in the EU".

So what has been achieved?

In addition to her announcement on the doses, Ms Von Der Leyen said she had had a video-conference with vaccine manufacturers.

In an earlier tweet she spoke of "our new initiative to strengthen bio-defence preparedness", adding: "We're discussing how to address Covid-19 variants & scale up manufacturing, be better prepared for future pandemics."

There was no reference to the talk earlier in the week of legal action and "hijacking" of supplies. The BBC's Kevin Connolly says this was a curiously flat and bland conclusion to a week of stormy rhetoric.

The additional doses announcement will be greeted with relief in Brussels, our correspondent says, but it still leaves the European Commission facing awkward questions about how its signing of supply contracts and approval processes have lagged behind those of other wealthy nations.

Even Ms Von Der Leyen's reference to AstraZeneca expanding its production in Europe and the earlier supply date were partly signalled by the firm last week.

But she said on Sunday that the EU was maintaining its "target of vaccinating 70% of adults by the end of summer".

Damage done

Remember just how long and difficult the Brexit negotiations were in reaching an agreement on Northern Ireland? Think about how often the EU lectured the UK government about the importance of respecting the detail of the arrangement; how peace in Northern Ireland was at stake.

Yet the impression the European Commission gave on Friday - however incorrect or unintended, which is what it insists - is that those concerns could be thrown aside in a heartbeat.

The European Commission back-tracked late on Friday (although it has reserved the right to revisit the issue, it says, if it sees EU-manufactured vaccines entering the rest of the UK via Northern Ireland).

The U-turn was publicly welcomed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin. But take a look at political and press reaction in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and you'll see a lot of damage had already been done.

Read Katya's analysis in full here

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February 01, 2021 at 08:49AM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55879345

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Covid-19: Record day for UK vaccinations as total nears 9m

PA Media

A record 598,389 people were given their first coronavirus vaccination in one day across the UK on Saturday, government figures show.

As of Saturday a total of 8,977,329 people had received a jab, and 491,053 of those have had a second dose.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he was "delighted", adding each vaccine "brings us one step closer to normal".

However, a further 587 deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test were reported on Sunday.

It takes the UK's total by that measure to 106,158, although the number of reported deaths tends to be lower over the weekend.

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In a video posted on Twitter Mr Hancock said he was "so grateful to everybody who's involved in making this happen", and said it meant three-quarters of those aged 75 to 79 and four-fifths of those over 80 had now been vaccinated.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust and a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), described the volume of vaccinations as a "staggering achievement".

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Earlier, the health secretary predicted "a happy and free Great British summer" but warned of a "a tough few months" as national restrictions continue across the UK while vaccinations are administered.

His comments came after Dr Susan Hopkins, Public Health England's Covid strategy chief, warned that ending the current coronavirus lockdown must happen "very slowly, very cautiously".

"It is better to be cautious, let's get the population vaccinated," she told the BBC's Andrew Marr.

England's current lockdown will continue until 8 March, when it is hoped schools could begin to reopen, while national restrictions are also in place across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The vaccines record comes after a week which had seen a row with the European Union over vaccine distribution.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there were "a lot of lessons to be learnt" after Brussels reversed its threat to put checks on the Irish border - a move which had been widely condemned.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen had assured Prime Minister Boris Johnson that "there will be no disruption of contracts that we have with any producer in the EU".

Meanwhile, the situation in hospitals has "stabilised", according to intensive care doctor Prof Rupert Pearse, who said it was going to be "another very hard year" for NHS staff.

His comments came before it was announced that charity fundraiser Captain Sir Tom Moore, 100, had been admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

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February 01, 2021 at 06:30AM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55881092

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February 01, 2021 at 05:00AM

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Covid-19: Captain Sir Tom Moore in hospital with coronavirus

PA Media

Captain Sir Tom Moore has been admitted to hospital with coronavirus, his daughter has said.

The 100-year-old, who raised more than £33m for the NHS, was taken to Bedford Hospital after requiring help with his breathing, Hannah Ingram-Moore said on Twitter.

She said he had been treated for pneumonia over the past few weeks and last week tested positive for Covid-19.

Mrs Ingram-Moore said her father was not in intensive care.

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February 01, 2021 at 05:47AM

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: U.K. opens doors to millions of Hong Kong citizens, in a program denounced by China

Hong Kong residents will be able from Sunday to apply for the special visa program offered by the U.K. that will enable them to live, work and study in the country for five years — with a possible path to citizenship.

• The program, announced last year, has been denounced by China as a violation of international law and an interference in China’s domestic affairs.
• The U.K. government observed last year that the vote of a new security law increasing the powers of Beijing in Hong Kong was a violation of the 1997 handover agreement.
• The program is open to an estimated 3 million residents with British National (Overseas) status and their dependents, but the U.K. Home Office estimates that a little over 300,000 Hong Kongers will take advantage of it in the next five years.
• “I am immensely proud that we have brought in this new route for Hong Kong BN(O)s to live, work and make their home in our country,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.
• China said on Friday that it would no longer recognize the validity of the BN(O) passport as a travel or identification document.
• A Bank of America report has estimated that the program could cost Hong Kong some £36 billion in capital outflows.

Read: Thousands locked down in Hong Kong to contain coronavirus

The outlook: The need to queue up at a visa center may deter some applicants, considering the crackdown on gatherings in Hong Kong, but at the end of February an app will allow candidates to submit their request more confidentially.

In the short term, the implementation of the long-announced U.K. decision is likely to heighten tensions between London and Beijing. But if the program is successful, it could provide a welcome boost to the U.K. economy, hit by the departure of more than 700,000 foreign workers in the last few months due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.

Read: How Brexit is already taking its toll on the U.K. economy

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February 01, 2021 at 04:18AM

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February 01, 2021 at 02:00AM

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Covid: Lockdown easing must happen 'very slowly', advisor says

Ending the current coronavirus lockdown must happen "very slowly, very cautiously", Public Health England's Covid strategy chief has said.

Dr Susan Hopkins said the focus should be on getting people vaccinated and preventing another wave of infections.

She told the BBC's Andrew Marr: "I hope that this summer will be similar to last summer... and that will allow us to do things that feel more normal."

Meanwhile, Matt Hancock predicted "a happy and free Great British summer".

But the health secretary warned of a "a tough few months" as national restrictions continue across the UK while vaccinations are administered.

"We have to follow the data, we have to see the impact of the vaccine on the ground. It's a difficult balance: we've got to move as fast as we can but in such a way that keeps people safe," he told BBC Politics East.

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Dr Hopkins said that, while final decisions are taken by politicians, restrictions should be relaxed "really quite slowly so that if cases start to increase we can clamp down quite fast".

She added: "The NHS is going to be under pressure until the end of March, as normal in winter, but even more so with the amount of inpatients they still have with Covid-19.

"Any releases that we have will have to happen very slowly, very cautiously, watching and waiting as we go with a two-week period to watch and see the impact of that relaxation because it takes that [time] to see what's happening in the population."

Getty Images

Dr Hopkins said every effort must be made to avoid another wave of infections similar to that experienced during the current winter period.

"It is better to be cautious, let's get the population vaccinated," she added.

The latest data indicates 8.3m people in the UK have now received a first vaccine dose, with experts saying all current vaccines should show at least 50% effectiveness against emerging new variants, such as the one first identified in South Africa.

Dr Hopkins described the news that two new vaccines - produced by Novavax and Janssen - are at least 60% effective against the South African variant as "reassuring".

England's current lockdown will continue until 8 March, when it is hoped schools could begin to reopen. National restrictions are also in place across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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It came as International Trade Secretary Liz Truss guaranteed there will be no disruption to Pfizer vaccines being supplied to the UK from within the EU after a dispute over exports.

She told the Marr programme: "The prime minister has spoken to the president of the European Commission, she has assured him that there will be no disruption of contracts that we have with any producer in the EU."

She said it was "too early" to say when the UK would send vaccine doses abroad amid predictions there will be a surplus of jabs here.

The UK would "work with friends and neighbours... [and] developing countries because we're only going to solve this issue once everybody in the world is vaccinated," she added.

Ms Truss refused to be drawn on whether social-distancing measures will be in place for the rest of the year, telling Sky News: "Long-term predictions in what is a very, very unpredictable situation are not wise."

A further 1,200 deaths within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus were reported on Saturday, taking the total deaths by that measure to 105,571.

There were also another 23,275 lab-confirmed cases of the virus in the UK, while 8,378,940 have received their first dose of a vaccine.

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January 31, 2021 at 11:33PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55878450

Covid: Hospitals 'stable' but 'another hard year ahead'

EPA

The situation in hospitals has "stabilised" and staff are no longer having to plan for extra capacity, an intensive care doctor says.

But Rupert Pearse, from the Intensive Care Society, said it was going to be "another very hard year" and warned of the mental health impact on NHS staff.

"I've never been in the Army but I imagine it's a little bit like a second tour of duty," he said.

The second wave has seen higher numbers of Covid patients in UK hospitals.

There are currently 34,783 people in hospital in the UK. In the peak of the first wave in April 2020 there were 21,684 Covid patients in hospital.

There are 3,832 people on ventilators, according to the latest government data.

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Prof Pearse, a consultant in intensive care medicine at a London hospital, speaking on behalf of the Intensive Care Society, told BBC Breakfast the situation had "stabilised in most areas", calling it a "big step forward".

"We are no longer having to plan to build extra capacity - extra ICU beds, extra ward beds, and we can focus all that mass of energy on building extra capacity on improving the standards of care for the patients that we've already got," he said.

"And as time gradually progresses, new hospital beds, new ICU beds, become available as patients get better and go home, so the system gets less strained as we move forwards and as you can imagine it's always easier walking downhill."

Prof Pearse said the UK's first wave of coronavirus lasted about eight weeks before "calming down", but the second wave has gone on "for more than three months now" and it could be a further three months before admissions "settle".

He said it had been an "endless struggle" to maintain high standards of care for hospital patients as a result of the pressure put on the NHS during the current wave of Covid infections.

Earlier this month, figures showed that a record number of seriously-ill Covid patients were being transferred from over-stretched hospitals because of a lack of bed space.

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Prof Pearse added that he was worried about the long-term impact on health workers, saying: "We're so busy trying to look after the patients that we have in hospital - we don't have time to pause and think about ourselves just yet."

A study has suggested that many hospital staff treating the sickest patients during the first wave of the pandemic were left traumatised by the experience.

The UK government said on Saturday that a further 1,200 people had died within 28 days of a positive Covid test and there were another 23,275 cases recorded.

A total of 8,378,940 people have received their first dose of a vaccine.

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January 31, 2021 at 09:53PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55877514