Sun May 30, 2021 1:48 am
Fully vaccinated people who catch Covid variants may pass virus on, study finds
Fully vaccinated people infected with Covid variants may be likely to pass the virus on, researchers have said.
No vaccine is 100 per cent effective, and while the number of people who contract Covid after vaccination – known as post-vaccine breakthrough cases – is tiny, a growing number of studies show that these cases are more likely to be infected with variants that have emerged in recent months.
Researchers at the University of Washington in the United States sequenced samples from 20 health workers who went on to contract Covid after receiving both doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.
The study showed that all 20 were infected with variants of concern that have been driving second waves of Covid in many parts of the world – eight had the UK variant, one the South African variant, 10 had one of the two California variants and one had the Brazilian variant.
The researchers then compared the samples collected from this group with samples collected from 5,174 non-vaccinated individuals who had Covid.
The study also showed that the vaccinated individuals infected with Covid had high viral loads.
Dr Pavitra Roychoudhury, the lead author of the study, said the "prevailing understanding" was that while vaccine breakthrough cases would occur, they would be mild.
"But in contrast to that, what we saw among our 20 samples was that a number of them actually had quite robust viral loads. That was concerning in the sense that there was definitely enough virus to sequence, and potentially there might be enough virus to transmit," she said.
Sun May 30, 2021 1:50 am
Sun May 30, 2021 6:12 pm
Coronavirus vaccine could be made compulsory for NHS staff, minister says
COVID jabs could be made compulsory for NHS staff, the vaccines minister has told Sky News.
Nadhim Zahawi said the government is considering making coronavirus vaccines compulsory for healthcare workers to help stop the spread of the virus in hospitals.
He told Trevor Phillips on Sunday: "It would be incumbent on any responsible government to have the debate, to do the thinking as to how we go about protecting the most vulnerable by making sure that those who look after them are vaccinated.
"There is precedent for this - obviously surgeons get vaccinated for hepatitis B. So it's something we are absolutely thinking about."
A senior Labour frontbencher warned that "threatening" NHS staff would be less effective than working with those who had doubts about the jab.
Shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire said: "Given we have got a recruitment crisis in parts of the NHS, I think it's far more important we try and work with staff rather than against them.
"Threatening staff, I don't think is a good idea."
Sun May 30, 2021 10:02 pm
Sun May 30, 2021 10:09 pm
Mon May 31, 2021 1:18 am
UK vaccine passport plans to be scrapped
Plans to make Covid-19 passports a legal requirement for large events are set to be dropped, The Telegraph understands.
Officials working on the review into Covid-19 status certification believe there is no chance the law will be changed to mandate their use within the UK.
“It’s not a case of ‘it’s finely balanced’. It’s not going to happen,” said one well-placed government source close to the review. “Everyone says it’s dead.”
The well-placed source told The Telegraph: “No one is talking about it still as a potential thing … It has been killed off really.”
Papers submitted to the Covid-19 Operations cabinet committee earlier this month, details of which have been shared with The Telegraph, help explain the diminishing interest.
They are understood to have noted that the NHS app could not have been used by foreign visitors, undercutting the system.
The papers also noted that there are some medical exemptions to getting jabs, including people who have allergic reactions and the young, which complicate matters.
Mon May 31, 2021 4:41 am
Wed Jun 02, 2021 2:47 am
Wed Jun 02, 2021 10:07 pm
Thu Jun 03, 2021 3:13 am
Biden promises free beer and childcare if 70% of Americans get at least 1 vaccine shot before July 4
President Joe Biden unveiled a plan to get 70% of Americans at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot before the July 4th holiday, during a speech Wednesday afternoon.
“Today we’re announcing a month-long effort to pull out all the stops to free ourselves from this virus,” the president said. “It’s going to take everyone: the federal government, the state governments and local, tribal, and territorial governments, the private sector and, most importantly, the American people to get to this 70% mark so we can declare independence from COVID-19.”
The plan includes recruiting private businesses to offer incentives to get vaccinated, including a tax credit to cover the cost of providing paid time off for Americans to get the vaccine.
The plan also includes a pledge by Anheuser-Busch BUD, +1.40% to offer free beer to Americans after the country meets Biden’s 70% goal. Meanwhile, CVS CVS, +0.14% has begun a sweepstakes for vaccinated people to win free cruises, Super Bowl tickets and cash prizes, and Major League Baseball will offer on-site vaccinations at games and give free tickets to fans who take up the offer.
Child care providers, including KinderCare, Learning Care Group , the YMCA and Bright Horizons BFAM, +2.48%, have also agreed to provide free drop-in appointments to parents and care givers so that they can take the time to be vaccinated.
Biden said that “thousands of pharmacies” across the nation have agreed to offer 24-hour access to vaccines on Fridays during the month of June to enable those who are too busy during the day, including CVS, Albertsons ACI, +1.12%, Rite-Aid RAD, +11.14% and Walgreens WBA, +1.87%.
The White House is planning to launch a marketing blitz to encourage unvaccinated Americans to get vaccinated, including “blanketing” social media, television and radio with ads promoting vaccination, providing resources for colleges and universities to encourage students to become vaccinated and an effort to get Black-owned barber shops and salons to offer on-site vaccinations.
“We need everyone across the country to pull together to get us over the finish line,” Biden said. “Give it your all through July the 4th to reach our 70% goal. Let’s go into the summer freer and safer. Let’s celebrate a truly historic Independence Day.”