Coronavirus news UK – Indian variant cases double as jabs ‘work against’ it and lockdown set to be lifted next week
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ENGLAND is still on course to lift the last of the lockdown restrictions despite cases of the Indian variant more than doubling in a week.
Boris Johnson admitted he was anxious at the surge in the number of people struck down by the super-infectious strain.
But the PM is still expected to allow Brits to reclaim its long-awaited freedoms on time.
Pubs and restaurants can finally reopen indoors, while family and friends will be able to hug for the first time in more than a year.
Meanwhile, Covid vaccines appear to work against the Indian variant - after jabbed care home workers in Delhi got infected but none died.
In promising reports from India, 33 people who had been given the AstraZeneca jab caught Covid but didn't become seriously ill or die from the virus.
It is unclear how the Indian variant reacts to vaccines, but this suggests the mutated virus won't cause high numbers of hospitalisation or death in protected people.
Pfizer thinks its vaccine will also work against the variant - but there is no real-world evidence on any large studies for any vaccines yet.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the latest updates...
KID JABS
Pfizer has asked the UK regulator to approve its Covid vaccine for children aged 12 to 15, it's reported.
The pharma giant has applied to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for permission to give the jab to young teens,
If the MHRA fast-tracks the application it could be green-lighted before the end of July.
It comes after a trial of the Pfizer/ BioNTech Covid vaccine showed 100 per cent efficacy in 12-15-year-olds.
Britain secured another 60 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine last month after an initial order of 40 million was snapped up last year.
A spokesman for Pfizer told The Telegraph: "We can confirm that the companies have submitted a request to the MHRA to expand the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine in the UK to adolescents."
BREAKING: BORIS JOHNSON CONFIRMS HE’LL MAKE A WEDDINGS ANNOUNCEMENT ON MAY 24 AHEAD OF RELAXING MORE RULES
BORIS Johnson said today he would make an announcement on weddings on May 24 - ahead of relaxing more rules in June.
The PM suggested he would need to give 28 days notice from June 21, where he has said he wants to relax all Covid rules and restrictions if the data is still looking good.
At the moment 30 people are restricted to weddings, and Brits face having to social distance and being banned from dancing.
Couples who have put their weddings on hold for more than a year are begging the PM to relax the rules.
PICK N MIX
Mixing doses of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines appears safe, but may trigger more side effects.
According to the first study of its kind, taking a dose of both vaccines may make people feel more unwell than if they had just been given one type.
But the effects are short-lived and last no more than 48 hours, the scientists at University of Oxford reassured.
Most Covid jabs require two doses at least 21 days apart, the first being called the “primer” and the second the “booster”.
The Com-COV study aimed to see whether two vaccines that work in very different ways can work in tandem.
HOW DO COVID VACCINES WORK?
The AstraZeneca vaccine (as well as the Johnson & Johnson jab) uses a genetically modified version of a common cold from chimpanzees.
Called an adenoviral vector, it carries the DNA of the coronavirus into human cells.
It then becomes part of the host cell and triggers an immune response in the body.
The jab made by Pfizer (as well as Moderna) uses mRNA technology, whereby a bit of genetic code for the coronavirus is introduced to the body where it tells the cells to produce a protein on the virus called the spike protein.
The immune system responds by producing antibodies.
Both create the same effect but the route there is slightly different.
WATCH: TWO NEW COVID HOTSPOTS SEE CASES SURGE - CHECK RATES IN YOUR AREA
Two new Covid hotspots see cases surge - check rates in your areaBRAZIL SUSPENDS USE OF ASTRAZENECA COVID-19 VACCINE IN PREGNANT WOMEN
Brazil's health regulator Anvisa said on Tuesday that it had suspended the use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women after learning that a woman had died from a stroke in an incident seen as possibly related to the immunisation.
The 35-year-old woman, who died on May 10, was 23 weeks pregnant, Anvisa said, adding that it had not been informed of any other adverse events involving pregnant women.
PFIZER ASKS UK REGULATOR TO APPROVE VACCINE FOR TEENS
Pfizer Inc has formally asked the UK medical regulator for permission to use its COVID-19 vaccine for 12-to 15-year olds in Britain, the Telegraph reported today.
"We can confirm that the companies have submitted a request to the MHRA to expand the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine in the UK to adolescents, the report said, citing a Pfizer spokesman.
Pfizer and the MHRA did not immediately response to Reuters requests for comment.
The move comes as U.S. regulators on Monday authorised Pfizer and BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for use in children as young as 12, widening the country's inoculation program as vaccination rates have slowed significantly.
LITTLE FIGHTER
A boy of five who overcame Covid while being treated for a rare cancer spends his first day at school with his twin brother.
Archie Wilks, fighting neuroblastoma, beat the virus in a month last year.
Parents Simon and Harriet say Archie is still getting cancer treatment but is now strong enough to join Henry in reception.
Mr Wilks, of Saffron Walden, Essex, said: “It was quite overwhelming seeing them both go to school together.”
More on the story here.
BAHRAIN AUTHORISES EMERGENCY USE OF ONE-SHOT SPUTNIK-LIGHT COVID-19 VACCINE
Bahrain authorised on Tuesday the emergency use of Russia's one-shot Sputnik-Light COVID-19 vaccine, state news agency (BNA) said.
It is the sixth vaccine Bahrain has authorised.
It has previously authorised China's Sinopharm, Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine, AstraZeneca's COVISHIELD, the J&J vaccine, and Sputnik.
EU HAS EXPORTED ABOUT 200 MILLION DOSES OF COVID-19 VACCINES, SEFCOVIC SAYS
The European Union has exported about 200 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic said in a tweet.
"While we're open to discussing new solidarity proposals, our priority is to ramp up the EU vaccine production + to see others unblocking exports of vaccines and their components,"he added in the tweet
In April, Reuters reported that the European Union has exported about 37 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccines than it has shared out among its own 27 countries, according to two sources that cited figures from the bloc's data
JAB ROLLOUT
Government data up to May 10 shows that of the 53,675,733 jabs given in the UK so far, 35,587,348 were first doses - a rise of 115,053 on the previous day.
Some 18,088,385 were second doses, an increase of 231,835.
WEEKLY COVID DEATHS AT EIGHT-MONTH LOW
Weekly deaths from Covid-19 in Scotland have fallen to single figures for the first time since September last year, according to the latest data.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) figures show seven deaths related to coronavirus were registered between May 3 and May 9, down 12 on the previous week. It is the lowest total in almost eight months.
Deaths from the virus have been steadily falling since mid-January, when they hit 452 during the second winter peak.
They were last in single figures in the week beginning September 7, when five deaths were recorded.
The latest data shows 10,104 people have now died with coronavirus in Scotland since the pandemic began.
IRELAND - NINE FURTHER DEATHS FROM COVID IN LAST 24 HOURS
There have been nine further deaths linked to Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health said.
An additional 379 cases of the virus were also confirmed.
On Tuesday morning there were 117 people with Covid-19 in hospital including 34 in ICU.
As of Sunday, a total of 1,848,747 doses of coronavirus vaccines had been administered in Ireland.
These include 1,347,561 first doses and 501,186 second doses.
GREECE TO VACCINATE ISLANDS BY END OF JUNE TO BOOST TOURISM
Greece has committed to fully vaccinating all residents on nearly 100 of its islands by the end of June in a bid to attract tourists this summer.
This is a change to its national jab programme which prioritises people based on their age and medical vulnerability to coronavirus.
Among the Greek islands which will be vaccinated by the end of June are Rhodes, Corfu, Zante, Kefalonia, Santorini and Mykonos.
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "This initiative aims to support local communities, as well as their economies. My message is clear. We are open again.
"I am delighted that later this week Greece will begin to reopen its tourism industry.
";We are taking every precaution to ensure the safety and security of our visitors and our residents."
TRIPLE SHOT
The UK will be back to normal by the end of 2021, but booster jabs are a must, a Sage expert has suggested.
Vaccines have been deployed at an astonishing speed, with all adults expected to have their first dose by July.
But it is not known how long they will give people protection, with the first people being jabbed in December 2020.
Prof Graham Medley, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, suggested if immunity wanes and there are no extra jabs, it could derail the path back to normality.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how normal life could be at the end of the year, he said: “I don’t think anyone can give you the complete answer…”
VACCINATION PROGRESS 'COULD BE REVERSED UNLESS UK SHARES SURPLUS VACCINES'
The UK could face a fresh wave of Covid-19 infections from mutations of the virus which causes the disease unless more is done to get vaccines shared out across the globe, a charity has warned.
Unicef UK estimated that Britain could give away 20% of its projected available stock and still meet its target to give all adults their first dose of vaccine by the end of July.
The charity warned that the success of the vaccination programme in the UK could be "reversed" if supply is not shared.
Concerns have been raised that while the virus rages in other parts of the world there is more chance for new variants to emerge.
And experts have suggested that new variants could potentially escape the protection afforded by the vaccines.
TUI CUSTOMERS DELAY SUMMER HOLIDAY BOOKINGS
Holiday giant Tui said customers have started to defer their travel plans as messaging from governments remains uncertain.
The German company told shareholders on Wednesday that it has 2.6 million bookings for this summer, a small reduction since an earlier update but 69% down from pre-pandemic levels in the summer of 2019.
The drop reflects "customers choosing to defer their booking to future seasons due to the lack of clarity provided by governments on lifting of travel restrictions", said London-listed Tui.
The company saw a collapse in the amount of money coming through its doors in the last six months as the pandemic reduced international travel to a trickle.
Revenue reached just 716 million euros (£615 million) in the six months to the end of March, down 89% from 6.6 billion euros (£5.7 billion) a year earlier.