18th Dec 2020 Friday Five The new coronavirus variant – how was it picked up, what is the mutation and how dangerous is it? On December 14, Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced a new variant of coronavirus has been identified in England and that its numbers ”are increasing rapidly”. Government scientists have been carrying out random genetic analysis of ~10%…
18th Dec 2020 Friday FiveAre rich countries hoarding Covid-19 vaccine from the world’s poor? Most of the world’s poor will go without a coronavirus vaccine because rich countries are hoarding enough doses to immunise their populations three times over, an international watchdog has said. In the developed world, nations representing only 14% of the world’s population have already bought…
18th Dec 2020 Friday FivePfizer/BioNTech vaccine judged safe for use in UK from next week The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, paving the way for mass vaccination. The UK’s medicine regulator, MHRA, has confirmed the vaccine which offers 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe to be rolled out….
18th Dec 2020 Friday Five£500m package to support mental health services in England In Wednesday’s spending review, Rishi Sunak announced a £500m package to support mental health services in England following increased demand for support during the pandemic. Vowing for rapid progress to tackle the backlog of adult mental health referrals, the Treasury has said that the majority of…