NEW JAB ON A DARK DAY
» Third vaccine gets UK approval » Daily death toll a record 1,325
A THIRD Covid vaccine has been approved in the UK just as the worst daily death toll was recorded.
The Moderna jab was given the go-ahead as 1,325 deaths were announced.
Boris Johnson said hospitals are under more pressure than ever and infection rates are soaring at “alarming” speed.
WITH infection rates rocketing and hospitals swamped, the UK recorded 1,325 more Covid deaths – the worst day of the pandemic.
But there was good news amid the gloom as a third vaccine, the Moderna jab, was approved for use in Britain.
Tests have shown it to be 94% effective. Health Secretary Matt Hancock called it “another weapon in our arsenal to tame this awful disease”.
Almost 1.5 million people in Britain have now been vaccinated.
They have mostly had the Pfizer jab which new research suggests produces antibodies that should work against the new variants.
Boris Johnson said: “Our hospitals are under more pressure than at any other time since the start of the pandemic and infection rates across the entire country continue to soar at an alarming rate.
“The vaccine has given us renewed hope in our fight against the virus but we must not be complacent.”
Yesterday’s death toll eclipsed the previous record of 1,224 on April 21 and takes the total Covid deaths in the
UK to 79,833. In other worrying developments...
London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a major incident in the city, saying hospitals will be overwhelmed if people don’t stay at home.
There were 68,000 new confirmed positive tests in the UK – a record daily high. The seven-day average of 415,000 is up 30% on the week before.
There are now estimated to be over 150,000 new daily infections, up from 100,000 at the height of the first wave.
The new Kent variant makes up 61% of cases in England, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The UK’s R rate range expanded to between 1 and 1.4, meaning mean every 10 cases infect up to 14 mo more people. There has been a rapid rise in Covid Cov patients at NHS ho hospitals in England. It went from under 500 on September ber 1 to 9 9,000 on November 1 1, to 17,701 on Christm Christmas Day, then 28,246 yesterday. y
It com comes as SAGE docum documents suggest Brits m may abandon Covid rules once they are jabbed.
The Kent variant has spread throughout the UK and d has left the NHS struggling to cope.
Two cases of the South African variant were confirmed in the UK on December 23 but the Government thinks it may be spreading in the community.
Sources said if it affects any vaccines it may make them less effective but is unlikely to stop them working. It could mean the disease is less severe.
After being approved by the Medicines cines and Healthcare products p Regulatory Agency, the vaccine produced by US company Mo d e r n a should be available from this spring.
Its high effectiveness – compared to the Oxford jab at 80% – means it may be targeted at the most vulnerable who have not been vaccinated by then. The UK yesterday secured a further 10 million doses, taking its total pre-order to 17 million.
The vaccine needs to be stored at -20C which is colder than normal fridge temperatures required by the Oxford jab currently being rolled out to GPs, but it does not need the -70C ultra-cold storage which the Pfizer doses must be stored at.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Prof Jonathan Van-Tam said: “The highly effective Moderna vaccine is another impressive success for science.”
SAGE’s R rate range was between
The situation is now critical with the spread of the virus out of control
SADIQ KHAN ON THE GROWING CRISIS AFFECTING LONDON
1.1 and 1.3 published on December 23. It was expanded yesterday to
1 to 1.4 based on data up to January 4, meaning there is greater uncertainly about how quickly the outbreak is growing.
The range for England was slightly higher at 1.1 to 1.4. The
Office for National Statistics found eight in 10 positive cases in London and eastern England from December 28 to January 2 were genetically compatible with the Kent variant. In England around one in 50 had Covid during the period, while it was one in 70 in Wales.
In Scotland it was one in 115 and Northern Ireland it was one in 200. More than half of all major hospital trusts in England currently have more Covid patients than at the peak of the first wave of the virus. London is still the epicentre of the new UK strain.
The mayor Mr Khan said: “The situation in London is now critical with the spread of the virus out of control.
“One in 30 Londoners now has Covid-19. If we do not take immediate action now, our NHS could be overwhelmed and more people will die.”
Prof Kevin Fenton, Public Health England’s regional director for London, said: “This is the biggest threat our city has faced in this pandemic to date.” The South East variant has now been traced to a
“patient zero” near Canterbury, Kent. Analysis revealed the first sample was taken in September. Its 14 different mutations are thought to make it at least 50% more infectious as well as more transmittable by children.
Government scientists believe a return to two-metre social distancing could be enough to thwart it. The twometre distancing was relaxed over the summer to “one metre plus”.
A study by Pfizer showed its vaccine performed well at neutralising variants. It comes as a third new variant has been detected in Brazil.
A month after the start of the Covid vaccinations in Britain around one in 50 people have received a first dose.
The UK was the first country to approve the Pfizer jab but scale-up has been slower than promised.
Chief Medical Officer Prof Chris Whitty said: “Covid-19 is spreading quickly. Vaccines give hope for the future, but for now we must all stay home, protect the NHS and save lives.”