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These are the UK coronavirus stories you need to know today.
Oxford Jab and South African variant
Use of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is on hold in South Africa after unpublished preprinted trial data suggested that it offered “minimal protection” against mild to moderate infection with the country’s variant virus in approximately 2000 young participants in good health.
Professor Shabir Madhi, chief investigator of the trial in South Africa, said: “These results recalibrate thinking on how to approach the pandemic virus and shift focus from the goal of collective immunity against transmission to the protection of all persons at risk by [the] population against serious disease. “
So far 147 cases of the South African variant have been detected in the UK.
Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford said: “We are working with AstraZeneca to optimize the pipeline required for a strain change should one become necessary.” AstraZeneca said the updated vaccine “will progress rapidly through clinical development so that it is ready for fall delivery when needed.”
Professor Anthony Harnden, Vice President of JCVI, said: “Evidence suggests that the Oxford AZ vaccine protects against diseases caused by the predominant variants of COVID circulating in the UK. It is very likely that the vaccine also protects against serious illnesses caused by the South African variant. “
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi told the BBC: “We most likely see a year or a booster in the fall and then an annual (vaccination), like we do with flu shots where you look at what variant of the virus is spreading around the world. “
Adoption of the BAME vaccine
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is calling for a high-profile campaign to try to boost vaccine uptake in BAME communities.
RCGP’s analysis of vaccination data from NHS England found that 90.6% of all COVID-19 vaccine recipients so far have been white, with people of mixed ethnicity, Asian and black respectively, around 33 %, 47% and 64% as probable. have the blows like the Whites.
Martin Griffiths of NHS England, surgeon, is among those tackling reluctance to BAME vaccine. “Minority ethnic groups occupy a disproportionate amount of beds because of COVID and they are also the most reluctant to get the one thing that could save them,” he said. “We need to come together around these groups and give them the support they need to choose to receive the blow, thereby saving their own lives and those of their loved ones.”
Meanwhile, GPs in England will receive £ 10 for every COVID-19 vaccine delivered to a patient unable to leave home. NHS England said the payments recognize the extra staff time and complexity of vaccinating people who are housebound and apply retrospectively to all vaccinations already given at home.
Undocumented migrants will be offered a free COVID vaccination without control and without verification of their registration with a general practitioner or not.
A government spokesperson said: “We are working closely with partners and external organizations to contact those who are not registered with a general practitioner to ensure that they are also offered the vaccine. . “
Overvoltage test
Surge testing has been extended to more areas where the South African variant has been detected, including parts of Worcestershire, Sefton, Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
Rapid workplace testing is being expanded to include small businesses with more than 50 employees. To underscore the value of workplace testing, the Department of Health and Welfare cited Transport for London where 2,173 workplace tests identified 28 positive cases.
The government has ordered 20 million rapid lateral flow test kits from SureScreen Diagnostics in Derby. These are the first British tests to be validated in the laboratory by Public Health England (PHE).
PHE said the sensitivity to high viral loads was 97.1% and specificity 99.9%, and that the kits can detect the British virus variant.
Google searches predict COVID-19 peaks
Online research data monitoring can help predict peak COVID-19 cases on average 17 days in advance, according to UCL study published in Digital medicine of nature.
Researchers used the symptom profile of COVID-19 from existing epidemiological reports to develop models of its prevalence by examining Google searches related to symptoms in the UK, US, Italy, Australia and Australia. South Africa. Weekly data was shared with Public Health England (PHE).
Lead author Dr Vasileios Lampos said: “We have shown that our approach works in different countries regardless of cultural, socio-economic and climatic differences. Our analysis was also among the first to find an association between the incidence of COVID-19 and research into symptoms of loss of smell and rash. We are delighted that public health organizations such as PHE have also recognized the usefulness of these new and non-traditional approaches to epidemiology. “
Telemedical abortion
The BPAS charity is urging UK governments to make temporary arrangements for telemedical abortion permanent after the pandemic.
The comments follow a study of 663 NHS Lothian women published in BMJ Sexual and Reproductive Health who concluded, “This model of telemedicine abortion without routine ultrasound is safe, and has high efficacy and high acceptability in women.”
There were two cases of bleeding and no serious infection, and 95% of the women rated their care very or somewhat acceptable.
BPAS Executive Director Clare Murphy said: “We must never go back to forcing women to go to unnecessary clinic appointments to undergo unnecessary clinical procedures when they can safely access this care. in the comfort and privacy of their own home. “
NHS Dentistry
Healthwatch England’s report on NHS dentistry under the pandemic suggests that private treatments are given priority and that some treatments started before the lockdown remained on hold, such as broken teeth.
He includes this Bedfordshire case study: “A lady asked for advice regarding COVID-19 dental access for her friend who had been up all night in agony. Her friend had been told by her dentist that a root canal and a crown are needed, but “due to the coronavirus this is not available on the NHS and only available to you privately”, at a cost of over £ 1000. “The NHS rate is £ 282.80.
Group chairman Sir Robert Francis QC said: ‘Even before the pandemic people were telling us about problems accessing NHS dentist appointments, but since the start of the summer these reports have significantly increased.
“If we don’t improve access to NHS dental care, not only do people risk much bigger dental problems in the future, but it also puts pressure on overworked hospitals and GPs . Untreated dental problems can lead to pain, infection and risk. of long-term harm, which is comparable to other medical conditions. “
Shawn Charlwood of the British Dental Association commented: “Patients with urgent problems need to be at the front of the line for care. Unfortunately, the government is forcing dentists to prioritize volume when needed by imposing inappropriate targets.
“This service has not yet reverted to something akin to the status quo. We need ministers to take a pragmatic approach, one that keeps practices afloat and ensures that those who need dental care most can make it safe.
School ventilation
Imperial experts writing in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine Call for better guidelines on improving classroom ventilation to reduce the transmission of COVID-19.
“The risk of contracting COVID-19 on a flight is currently lower than that of an office building or a classroom,” they write.
Until better systems are in place, they say, “Keeping doors and windows open – as much as is reasonably possible – seems like the best way to go.
‘Valentines for the NHS’
A ‘Valentines for the NHS’ campaign has been launched to urge non-NHS workers to get rid of Valentine’s Day cards and gifts and donate money to NHS charities.
The group wants people to swap pink and red hearts for blue NHS hearts, saying: “Let’s be honest, Valentine’s Day is a big sack of shit. An avalanche of propaganda nonsense from advertisers on the appreciation for the special person in our lives with overpriced gifts, cute cards, tousled flowers and a vomit of red and pink naff hearts. “
However, his Just Giving page has a disclaimer: “If you have a friend / brother / sister / parent / partner / Tinder etc who works for the NHS I would strongly recommend that you fully embrace the propaganda and to shower them with all the V Day goodies you can. “
See more global coronavirus updates in Medscape Coronavirus Resource Center.
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