Experts in the UK have called for an end to the use of rapid tests for coronavirus in universities and residences, after government figures from the mass testing program in Liverpool revealed that tests failed in 30% of people with a high viral load.
The figures showed that rapid tests identified only five out of 10 positive cases that had been detected by standard coronavirus tests, and seven out of 10 of those with high amounts of the virus.
Rapid tests, also known as lateral flow tests, provide much faster results than standard tests. This speed has led to its use in nursing homes to allow family members to visit, and in universities to allow students to return home at Christmas:
01:10
NHS staff will no longer receive the coronavirus vaccine first after a drastic rethink about who should be prioritized, emerged last night.
The new immunization strategy is likely to disappoint and worry thousands of front-line staff, coming amid urgent warnings from NHS chiefs that hospitals could be “overwhelmed” in January by a third wave of Covid- 19 caused by mixing during Christmas.
Chris Hopson, Executive Director of NHS Providers, said: “If we have a prolonged cold snap in January, the NHS is at risk of being overwhelmed. Covid-19 restrictions should remain appropriately strict.
“Fiduciary leaders are concerned about the impact of looser regulations around Christmas.”
Front-line personnel were due to receive the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine when the NHS begins its deployment, which is expected to be next Tuesday after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved it on Wednesday:
00:49
Biden joins former presidents in vowing to get vaccinated
President-elect Joe Biden told CNN during an interview Thursday that he would be happy to receive his vaccine publicly to encourage people to do the same, following the promises of Barack Obama, George W Bush and Bill Clinton to do the same.
“People have lost faith in the vaccine’s ability to work,” Biden said. “The numbers are already staggeringly low, and what the president and vice president do is important.”
That follows Biden’s warning on Wednesday that the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the next two months could kill up to 250,000 more people, though he did not offer details to support such a grim assessment.
“You can’t travel during this vacation,” Biden told the audience “as much as you want.”
00:24
Rebecca Smithers
Britons drink rosé all year round and light their barbecues in the dead of winter, according to a report on how the pandemic has “fundamentally changed” trends in food and drink.
Cooking at home has even become the new mode of transportation, providing a clear separation between work time and time at home, the study says, while more than half of households have more carefully planned recipes and meals and intend to continue:
00:17
Anthony Fauci apologizes for implicit criticism of rapid UK vaccine approval
America’s top infectious disease scientist Anthony Fauci has apologized for hinting that he thought Britain’s drug regulator was quick to approve the coronavirus vaccine.
His comments came a day after Britain became the first country to approve the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for general use, prompting some skepticism among European neighbors and suggestions for politicization.
Fauci, who heads the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told the BBC: “I am very confident in what the UK is doing both scientifically and from a regulatory point of view:
00:03
Moderna will supply up to 125 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine globally in the first quarter
Moderna Inc said Thursday that it expects to have between 100 million and 125 million doses of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine available globally in the first quarter of 2021.
The company said 85 million to 100 million of those doses would be available in the United States, and 15 to 25 million outside the country.
The first-quarter doses are within the 500 million to 1 billion doses the company expects to manufacture globally in 2021, Moderna said.
Results from an early-stage trial showed that the vaccine, mRNA-1273, produced high levels of neutralizing and binding antibodies that decreased slightly over time, but remained elevated in all participants three months after the booster shot, he said. the company.
The drugmaker’s shares fell 2% to $ 154.4 after the bell.
Updated
23:42
Biden to ask Americans to wear masks during his first 100 days in office
US President-elect Joe Biden told CNN that it was his “inclination” that, at his inauguration, he asked the public to wear masks for the first 100 days of his administration to help reduce the spread of the virus.
Biden said he will issue an order for masks to be worn inside federal buildings and at transportation facilities.
The president-elect also asked America’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to continue in his job and serve as chief medical adviser to the new administration’s Covid-19 team after he takes office. the charge on Jan.20, Biden told CNN on Thursday.
In the interview, Biden said that he will receive the Covid-19 vaccine when Fauci says it is safe and will take it publicly.
23:31
How is the whole month of December going?
Helen sullivan (@helenrsullivan)
I enjoy walking my dog, listening to Phoebe Bridgers sing about Christmas and crying in public.
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen sullivan.
I’ll bring you the latest news from around the world for the next few hours. You can find me on twitter @helenrsullivan if you have something to say about it.
More than 1.5 million people have lost their lives due to Covid-19 and one death is reported every nine seconds on a weekly average, as vaccines will begin in December in a handful of developed countries.
US President-elect Joe Biden told CNN that it was his “inclination” that, at his inauguration, he asked the public to wear masks for the first 100 days of his administration to help reduce the spread of the virus.
A partial blockade will begin this weekend in the Gaza Strip after Covid-19 infections spiked in the densely populated territory, the Gaza Interior Ministry stated on Thursday.
Facebook prohibits false claims about Covid-19 vaccines. Facebook will start removing false claims about Covid vaccines, the company announced, as the UK prepares to launch the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. It is Facebook’s strongest move to prevent its platform from being used to promote anti-vaccination rhetoric.
The WHO analyzes possible “electronic vaccination certificates” for travel. The World Health Organization does not recommend that countries issue “immunity passports” for those who have recovered from Covid-19, but is considering the prospects of implementing electronic vaccination certificates.
Italy reports a record number of deaths. Italy recorded 993 more deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, the highest daily number since the start of the pandemic.
The UK government’s death toll from coronavirus exceeds 60,000. The UK government’s official Covid death toll has surpassed 60,000 deaths, just three weeks after reaching 50,000, and now stands at 60,113, a figure that counts known deaths among those who died within 28 days. to the positive test of the virus.
Obama, Clinton, and Bush vow to bring the Covid vaccine to television to show their safety. Former US presidents said they would get vaccinated against the coronavirus on television to promote vaccine safety as the Food and Drug Administration prepares to meet next week to decide whether to authorize a Covid-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.
The conditions in nursing homes in Madrid and Catalonia are “alarming.” Conditions in nursing homes in the Spanish regions of Madrid and Catalonia, where thousands of people died when the pandemic began, remain “alarming” despite improvements, Amnesty International warned.
Swedes’ support for the anti-lockdown stance wanes amid mounting Covid deaths. When the national health agency announced 6,485 new infections and 33 more deaths on Thursday, a biannual poll conducted by Statistics Sweden this week showed that support for Löfven’s center-left Social Democrats had fallen nearly five percentage points to 29.4% from May, amid Swedish signals. they are less and less convinced of the country’s strategy.
The couple are facing charges for boarding a plane to Hawaii after testing positive for Covid. The couple in Hawaii are facing reckless danger charges after boarding a flight with their four-year-old son despite testing positive for Covid-19.
Switzerland will not give in to foreign pressure on ski resorts, says the minister. Switzerland will not give in to foreign pressure to close ski resorts over the year-end holidays, as some neighbors have done, Health Minister Alain Berset said, warning that infection rates in the nation remain “very worrying. “
Greece extends the blockade until December 14. Greece will extend its coronavirus lockdown for a week until December 14, citing persistently high infection rates. An exception will be made for stores that sell Christmas decorations, which can open from December 7.
