These are the UK coronavirus stories you need to know about today.
6.6m First Job
UK first-dose vaccines have reached 6.6m, covering three-quarters of people over the 80s.
On Saturday, 491,970 jobs were delivered, the highest daily number to date.
New vaccination centers are opening, including at the Black Country Museum of Life, where Peaky Blinders was filmed, and the Francis Crick Institute.
The BMA has written to CMO England Professor Chris Whitty calling for the gaps between the first and second doses of Pfizer / BioNTech jobs to be cut to 6 weeks, saying: “There is a lack of support between for the UK approach is a matter of great concern. and risks undermining public and professional confidence in the vaccination program. “
Writing in the The Sunday Telegraph, and re-published by the Department of Health and Social Care, CMO’s Deputy Professor for England, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, said: “Some people question the UK’s policy of trying the first give a dose of vaccine as soon as possible. time, inevitably extending the interval before the second dose is given.
“But none of these (who ask reasonable questions) will tell me: who on the list is at risk who should suffer slower access on their first dose so that someone else who has had one dose already (and therefore most of the protection) get a second? Everyone on the JCVI priority list is at risk from this serious virus, and vaccines cannot be given at an unlimited rate. “
The latest SAGE papers released on Friday said that “there is a greater risk of virus reproduction under complementary immunodeficiency after one dose than after two doses, and therefore in the short term, delaying the second dose would be expected to be a bit more likely to be a vaccine – but perhaps from a low base “.
The paper said: “The effectiveness of vaccines after a single dose should be closely monitored to inform future vaccination policy.”
UK Medical Association I wrote to the Government to complain about refusing jabs to NHS staff abroad because they do not have NHS numbers, which they described as “absurd”.
Variations
The UK has identified 77 cases of South African coronavirus differentiation and nine cases of Brazilian variant, English Health Secretary Matt Hancock said at the weekend.
Moderna said today that the vaccine’s neutalizing antibodies appear to work against changes in the UK and South Africa in laboratory tests using blood from eight of its phase 1 test participants.
Chief executive Stéphane Bancel said in a statement: “We are encouraged by this new data,” adding: “Out of the abundance of warnings and gaining the flexibility of our mRNA platform, we are promotes a candidate of a rising variable who demonstrates against the variant, who was first identified in the Republic of South Africa into the clinic to see if it will be more effective to induce titres against this variant and possible future changes. “
Speaking through the Science Media Center, physiologist Dr Lawrence Young, Warwick School of Medicine, said: “A 6-fold reduction in titration is likely to affect the effectiveness of vaccines and, stated in the press release, as long as there is a response against vaccine Can also be affected. It is important to study the antibody neutralization response in individuals with B.1.35.1 [South African variant]. This variant is likely to elicit an immune response but the antibody response profile will be different. “
The MHRA approved the Moderna vaccine on January 8th. The UK has ordered seven million doses with the first supply due in the spring.
Daily data
Today’s daily data reported a further 22,195 positive tests in the UK and 592 deaths.
A further 3547 COVID-19 patients were admitted to the hospital. The total number now stands at 37,899, with 4076 shower beds in use.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer is lonely for the third time. “This morning I was told that I need to self-separate after contacting someone who has been positive for COVID-19,” he said on Twitter. and I’ll be working from home until next Monday. “
Bag ‘for having a Beard’
Some NHS staff who wear beards for religious reasons have been disbanded after refusing to remove them in order to better fit PPE, while others have come under pressure to dismiss them. , subject to prior investigation.
469 healthcare professionals responded to an online survey in April-May last year.
Findings include:
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1% (three respondents) were bagged for refusing for religious reasons to shake their beards
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27% felt pressure from their employer to remove their facial hair
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Shaking the beard affected mental or emotional well-being for 42%
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Religious identity was broken for 50%
The authors conclude: “The findings of this study show that the importance of the beard to health care workers has not been adequately considered by the lack of giving place to those who have it through the provision of another PPE or directing the workers to another type of despite this, workers in the health system still have faith to meet the religious needs to achieve them. “
Careers & Deaths
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has analyzed 7961 COVID-19 job-related deaths in England and Wales recorded between March and December 2020.
The average age-related mortality rate for COVID-19 intake was statistically significantly higher in men, at 31.4 deaths per 100,000 men aged 20 to 64 years compared with 16.8 deaths per 100,000 women.
Men working in health care occupations with COVID-19 had a statistically higher mortality rate (44.9 deaths per 100,000) compared to men of the same age in the general population.
The rate among women working in health care occupations was 17.3 deaths per 100,000, which is statistically similar to the rate in the general population.
Nurses receiving COVID-19 had significantly higher mortality rates compared to COVID-19 compared to those of the same age and sex in the population (79.1 deaths per 100,000 males, 24.5 deaths per 100,000 female).
For medical doctors, 27.6 deaths per 100,000 died.
Mortality rates with COVID-19 in men and women in teaching were not statistically significantly higher compared to the general population.
Speaking, ONS head of Health and Life Events Analysis Ben Humberstone ONS said: “Today’s study shows that COVID-19 has higher mortality rates at jobs with consistent knowledge of COVID-19 and those with works close to others compared to the rest of the working age population. Mortality rates are higher in men than women, accounting for nearly two-thirds of those deaths.
“As the pandemic has progressed, we have learned more about the disease and the communities it affects. There are a complex mix of factors that can affect the risk of death; from your age and your ethnicity, where you live and who you live with.
President of Mexico
The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, 67, is the newest leader in the world for a positive test for COVID-19.
He said on social media that he has “mild symptoms” and is “receiving medical treatment.”
The Spanish edition of Medscape said the President is never seen wearing a mask at public events.
‘Groundhog Day’ Cancer
Cancer patients are facing “the worst Groundhog Day” over the latest disruption to their care, according to Macmillan cancer helpline manager Chris Payne.
The latest study for the charity suggested that 40% of those receiving treatment before the time of the current lockout were concerned that a disorder caused by the coronavirus could reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. treatment is likely to be successful, or shorten their life.
That compares with 28% in June last year.
The latest survey results are based on a YouGov poll of 2904 adults in December with a previous cancer diagnosis, including 293 currently undergoing cancer treatment.
See more global coronavirus updates in Medscape’s Coronavirus Resource Center.