The United Kingdom bought 5 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by the US-led biotech company Moderna, hours after the company announced promising results in its ongoing trial.
The company’s candidate coronavirus vaccine has been shown to be more than 90 percent effective in preventing disease among infected individuals.
Interim results from our director’s ongoing Phase 3 study returned an efficiency rate of 94.5 per cent, which British scientists described as “very exciting” news.
Meanwhile, clinical trials of a potential new coronavirus vaccine developed by Janssen, which is part of Johnson & Johnson, in the United Kingdom, is scheduled to begin with the participation of 6,000 volunteers from across the country.
The Scottish government could place Glasgow and parts of western Scotland under tight restrictions in an effort to reduce the “stable but stubbornly high” spread of the virus.
Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the “final decision” would be announced on Tuesday. If placed under the highest level of restrictions, these areas will have to close hospitality, non-essential stores and gyms, as well as ban all communications between families.
The company’s stock prices rise after the moderna vaccine announcement
Stock prices soared worldwide after Moderna said its vaccine was 94.5 percent effective.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed 1.7 percent higher, as companies hard hit by the pandemic reemerged. This included the unified international group of airlines, which owns British Airways, whose share price rose by 9.7 percent.
Elsewhere, the S&P 500 in New York was also buoyed by advertising.
My colleague Ben Chapman has all the details here:
Rory SullivanNovember 16, 2020 19:38
Germany postpones decision to take more Covid-19 measures
Germany has postponed a decision on whether to impose tougher restrictions on the Corona virus, after the majority of its federal leaders rejected Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent proposals.
Merkel had wanted tougher measures, including compulsory wearing of masks in schools and stricter restrictions on social media.
The decision has been postponed until November 25.
“I could have imagined more communication restrictions imposed today. On Monday, Merkel said that the current restrictions did not reverse the trend yet, but we have broken the dynamics of new infections.”
Her comments came after Germany imposed a “light lockdown” earlier this month, which resulted in the closing of bars and restaurants.
Rory SullivanNovember 16, 2020 19:26
Israel is in talks with Moscow about the Russian Covid-19 vaccine
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is studying the possibility of purchasing doses of the Russian Sputnik-V virus vaccine for his country.
“About an hour ago, I spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the possibility of purchasing the Sputnik-V vaccine option,” he told reporters on Monday, adding that there will be further talks in the coming days.
Israel has already agreed deals with Moderna and Pfizer, both of which have achieved promising trial results so far.
The country is also developing its own vaccine.
“My goal is to get the largest number of vaccines from the largest possible number of citizens, as soon as possible,” Netanyahu said.
Rory SullivanNovember 16, 2020 19:03
Philadelphia bans all indoor gatherings as Covid-19 cases rise
Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said on Monday that Philadelphia will ban all indoor gatherings due to the high number of Covid-19 cases.
He added that strict restrictions would be imposed on outside events in the city.
Philadelphia, located in Pennsylvania, is the sixth largest city in the country.
Rory Sullivan16 November 2020 18:44
NHS Launches 40 ‘Long Covid’ Clinics
Matt Hancock said Monday during a press conference that forty clinics will be launched in England this month to deal with “the long-running Covid”.
“We have already seen the dangerous impact that COVID can have for a long time on people’s quality of life, even fitness and youth, and symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain and nerve problems, long after they were first exposed to the virus,” the health minister said.
He added, “We know that long-term Covid disease affects thousands of people, and thousands of people.”
Rory Sullivan16 November 2020 18:23
Canary Islanders must pay for special Covid-19 tests
Tourists heading to the Canary Islands from the United Kingdom during the holidays face additional expenses of paying for the special Covid-19 tests.
Spain’s Ministry of Health said vacationers from the United Kingdom arriving after November 22 should show evidence of a negative result from a test taken in the previous three days.
Although there are testing facilities at Heathrow that can transmit results within an hour, they do not meet the standards set by the Spanish authorities.
Alternatively, travelers may have to pay more than £ 125 each for special tests.
The Independent Travel reporter Simon Calder has all the details here:
Rory SullivanNovember 16, 2020 18:09
Hancock does not promise to raise the salaries of NHS employees
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has refused to promise NHS employees a post-coronavirus salary increase, Andrew Woodcock wrote.
Mr Hancock made the comments in response to a question from whom The Independent Health reporter Shawn Lintern.
Rory Sullivan16 November 2020 17:46
The WHO chief scientist says the Moderna vaccine will not be offered to regulators until next year
Dr. Sumiya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), said it will take “at least two months” before the Coronavirus vaccine Moderna is submitted to the regulators to obtain their approval.
Although Ms. Swaminathan described the results of the vaccine trials as “very encouraging”, she said that many questions need to be answered before approval and then posing.
Speaking from Geneva on Monday, she said: “There are still many questions remaining about the duration of protection, its impact on severe disease, the impact on different subpopulations, especially the elderly, as well as the harmful effects beyond a certain period of time.
“There are practical considerations such as the need for cold storage, the number of vaccine doses required, and the number of doses that may be available in early 2021.”
She added that the World Health Organization is “looking forward” to hearing the results of more vaccine trials in the coming weeks.
Rory SullivanNovember 16, 2020 17:41
The UK supplies 5 million doses of Moderna vaccine
The United Kingdom obtained 5 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine produced by the American company Moderna, hours after the company announced promising results from the third phase of its ongoing trial.
Health Minister Matt Hancock announced the news at a press conference on Monday, while standing on behalf of the prime minister, who is self-isolating after coming into contact with a member of Parliament who later tested positive for the virus.
Kate Devlin has more on this urgent story below:
Rory Sullivan16 November 2020 17:23
Coronavirus deaths in the United Kingdom increased by 168
Health Minister Matt Hancock said that the number of deaths from the Corona virus in the United Kingdom increased by 168 over 24 hours.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the UK also continues to rise, with an average of 25,329 new cases reported every day, up from 22,443 last week.
My colleague Chiara Giordano has more details on the story here:
Rory Sullivan16 November 2020 17:17
