Category: Northern Ireland
UK approves AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca as it battles a major winter surge driven by a new, highly contagious variant of the virus. More...
Investigation of novel SARS-CoV-2 variant – Variant of Concern 202012/01
“Preliminary results from the cohort study found no statistically significant difference in hospitalisation and 28-day case fatality between cases with the variant (VOC-201212/01) and wild-type comparator cases. More...
Independent Sage: Place all regions of England in Tier 4 to suppress spread of coronavirus
Independent Sage:
#We believe that the government must immediately:
- Rescind a relaxation of the rules and ban household mixing on Christmas Day (apart from exemptions and pre-existing bubbles)
- Place all regions of England in Tier 4 to suppress spread of the virus as far as possible while scientists continue to learn more about the new variant.
SAGE: Keep UK secondary schools closed in January
SAGE scientists have urged Boris Johnson, the UK’s prime minister, to keep secondary schools closed in January because of concerns about a new, more virulent strain of coronavirus. More...
Estimated transmissibility and severity of novel SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern 202012/01 in England
“..the increase in transmissibility is likely to lead to a large increase in incidence, with COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths projected to reach higher levels in 2021 than were observed in 2020, even if regional tiered restrictions implemented before 19 December are maintained”. More...
Professor Devi Sridhar: “The UK situation with this new variant is not good”
More...From everything I can gather, the UK situation with this new variant is not good.
New UK coronavirus mutation N501Y ‘identified in September’. Also seen in Denmark and Australia
A World Health Organisation (WHO) official has said a new strain of coronavirus in the South East was identified in September. More...
Forcing UK schools to stay open during Covid pandemic could constitute a crime against humanity
UK Government launches legal action against Greenwich school closures
Education secretary uses emergency Covid legislation for first time over London council’s plans
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/14/sadiq-khan-urges-pm-to-let-london-schools-close-early-to-combat-covid More...
Long term lung damage in ‘identified’ in COVID-19 study
A study of 10 patients at Oxford University used a novel scanning technique to identify damage not picked up by conventional scans. More...
60 million confirmed coronavirus infections globally, and the rate is still increasing
There have now been more than 60,000,000 confirmed coronavirus infections globally and the infection rate is still increasing. More...