A former leader of the Conservative party has warned that the decision to offer under 30-year-olds an alternative to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine “plays into hands of anti-vaxxers”. Sir Ian Duncan Smith said the new advice issued by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is “messy, confusing and very unhelpful” and risks jeopardising “all […]
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Boris Johnson has warned vaccinated people not to meet up indoors this Easter because the jabs “are not 100% effective”. The prime minister’s video message comes as politicians across party divides are uniting to oppose the possible introduction of vaccine passports that risk creating “a two tier nation of division”. More than 70 MPs and […]
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The UK government and European commission have moved to avert a trade war over vaccines by pledging to “create a win-win situation and expand vaccine supply for all”. A joint statement released this evening states: “We are all facing the same pandemic and the third wave makes cooperation between the EU and UK even more […]
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Thousands of anti-lockdown protestors defied the government and Covid restrictions to take to London’s streets today, with at least 33 arrested by the Metropolitan Police after “ugly clashes”. Huge protests in Manchester passed without any arrests reported though the city centre was brought to a standstill by demonstrators against the new policing bill, violence against […]
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The chief medical officer for England has warned “a lot more people will die” if the government lifts lockdown restrictions too soon. Chris Whitty told MPs on Tuesday (March 9) that despite the vaccine roll-out he expected a “significant” and “substantial” surge in Covid infections given there is “nothing to suggest the virus is going […]
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Health secretary Mat Hancock has hailed the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines which reduces the risk of illness and hospitalisation in older adults by up to 80%. Data released by the government has shown that a single dose of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine significantly cuts the likelihood of people aged over 70 becoming seriously ill. […]
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Furious campaigners have launched a petition to try and stop a US private health insurance company taking over 49 NHS GP surgeries in London. The government is being accused of “privatisation by stealth” of the NHS and is facing calls for an investigation after it emerged one of the UK’s biggest GP practice operators is […]
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Pupils from better-off families are set to benefit most from the £700 million pound catch-up programme announced by the government. Education secretary Gavin Williamson laid out details of the fund at today’s (Tuesday) Downing Street briefing and stated that no pupil’s prospects should be “blighted by the pandemic”. Williamson confirmed that all schools in England […]
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Boris Johnson has laid out England’s exit from lockdown, declaring “the end is in sight” on the day the UK passed 129,498 deaths of people with Covid-19. The prime minister’s “cautious but also irreversible” road map out of lockdown is, he hopes, a “one way road to freedom” where even nightclubs could be open on […]
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Health secretary Matt Hancock acted unlawfully by failing to publish details of multibillion-pound coronavirus contracts awarded by the government, a High Court judge has ruled. Mr Justice Chamberlain said Hancock had “breached his legal obligation” by failing to publish details of the contracts within 30 days, adding the public has a right to know where […]
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