[ad_1]
Good Morning. It emerged over the weekend that new research suggests that the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, which is the main vaccine used in the UK, provides only “minimal” protection against mild or moderate disease of the South African variant of the coronavirus ( known as B1351 or 501Y.v2). The findings come from a small survey that has not been peer-reviewed. This does not mean that the vaccine will not prevent people from becoming seriously ill or dying from the South African variant (evidence suggests that it still will), and the South African variant has only been identified in a relatively small number of cases in the Kingdom. United so far. .
Still, it’s a reminder that the vaccine alone doesn’t provide a silver bullet.
Here’s the Oxford University press release on the research. And here’s the Guardian’s story on it.
In an article for the Daily Telegraph, Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccine deployment minister, has said that people must still have confidence in the vaccine deployment program. He says:
Our brilliant scientists and medical advisers are now working on the potential of new versions of existing vaccines to offer more protections against Covid variants. Last week we announced an agreement with the manufacturer CureVac to enable the rapid development of new varieties of vaccines based on messenger RNA technology and to purchase 50 million doses of a new version of a vaccine, if necessary.
But we should note that recent studies show that vaccines currently being rolled out in the UK appear to work well against the currently dominant UK Covid-19 variants. In terms of other variants, not in the UK, we must be aware that even when a vaccine has reduced efficacy in preventing infection, it may still have good efficacy against severe illness, hospitalization and death. This is vitally important to protect the healthcare system.
While it is correct and necessary to prepare for the deployment of an updated vaccine, we can be confident in the current deployment and the protection it will provide us all against this terrible disease.
There will be more on this discussion as the day progresses.
Here is the agenda for the day.
11am: Rachel Reeves, Shadow Minister in the Cabinet Office, delivers a speech on cronyism in public procurement. In a Guardian article making his point, he says that “by eliminating cronyism and waste that outsourcing brings, we can rebuild the foundations of our public services and strengthen the resilience of our communities and our country.”
12:00 h: Downing Street is expected to hold its daily lobby briefing.
12:15 pm: Vaughan Gething, Wales’ health minister, conducts a coronavirus briefing.
12:15 pm: Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s Prime Minister, is expected to hold a briefing on the coronavirus.
2.30pm: Priti Patel, Home Secretary, answers questions in the Commons.
14.45 h: Michael Gove, the Minister in the Cabinet Office, gives evidence to the Commons European scrutiny committee on Brexit.
17:00 h: Downing Street can hold a press conference.
Politics Live is now doubling down as the UK’s coronavirus live blog and given the way the Covid crisis overshadows everything, this will continue for the foreseeable future. But we will also cover political stories that do not belong to Covid, and when they seem more important or more interesting, they will take precedence.
Here’s our global coronavirus live blog.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, put “Andrew” somewhere and you’re more likely to find it. I try to answer questions and if they are of general interest I will post the question and answer it above the line (ATL), although I cannot promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to get my attention quickly, it’s probably best to use Twitter. I’m in @ AndrewGorrión.
[ad_2]
