Rishi Sunak to delay tax hikes until after March budget amid mutant virus strain January 9, 2021 The chancellor is reportedly expected to delay plans for tax rises until after his March budget as concerns rise over the huge economic impact of the pandemic, with cases of the new mutant strain of coronavirus spreading across the country. Rishi Sunak has previously warned that government debt built up during the crisis could become [...]
Life after lockdown: Negotiating our way to herd immunity January 8, 2021 Former Google strategist Paul Alexander, founder and president of London-based Alexander & Associates, argues negotiation principles could play a role in achieving herd immunity via a comprehensive Covid-19 vaccination programme. Two vaccines are being rolled out across the UK as we speak. Care homes, once the frontline of the pandemic, are now rapidly becoming [...]
Biden names national security official to oversee global health security January 8, 2021 President-elect Joe Biden plans to add a senior national security official to oversee global health security. This government position was cut by the Trump administration in 2018, two years prior to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Biden’s transition team in a statement released today said it would hire former White House national security official [...]
‘Major incident’ declared as London hospitals on verge of being overwhelmed January 8, 2021 The mayor of London has declared a “major incident” as London hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed with coronavirus patients. “The situation in London is now critical with the spread of the virus out of control,” Sadiq Khan said in a statement. “The number of cases in London has increased rapidly with more [...]
Coronavirus cases in London almost double the national average as R rate hikes to 1.4 January 8, 2021 Confirmed cases of coronavirus in London are almost double the national average, the latest official figures showed, as the capital continues to record the highest level of infection in the country. An estimated 1 in 30 Londoners were infected with coronavirus in the week after Christmas, according to data released today by the Office for [...]
Moderna’s Covid vaccine gets green light from UK January 8, 2021 The UK’s medicines regulatory body has authorised the Moderna vaccine for emergency use, the company has announced, in a major boost to the nation’s vaccination efforts. The US-made drug becomes the third coronavirus vaccine granted approval for use by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in Britain, as ministers ramp up plans to [...]
Aviation bosses demand end to quarantine after introduction of mandatory testing January 8, 2021 The aviation industry has called for the government to scrap its quarantine regime following the introduction of a mandatory testing regime. Nearly 10 months after the coronavirus pandemic began to sweep through the UK, the government has finally put in place restrictions on people entering the country. Despite consistent lobbying from the aviation industry, business [...]
Pfizer vaccine ‘appears effective’ against new Covid strains January 8, 2021 The Pfizer/Biontech Covid vaccine will likely work against a batch of new, highly transmissible coronavirus strains, the companies announced this morning. In a study published today, Pfizer and scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch said the vaccine appeared to be effective in neutralising virus mutations seen in the southeast of England and South [...]
Coronavirus: Patients to receive breakthrough drugs that cut risk of death by a quarter January 7, 2021 Covid-19 patients admitted to intensive care are set to receive breakthrough drugs that cut the risk of death by almost a quarter, the government has announced. Data from clinical trials published today showed that tocilizumab and sarilumab, which are typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, reduced the relative risk of death by 24 per cent [...]
Exclusive: Bolt offers free rides to Londoners getting Covid vaccine January 7, 2021 Ride-hailing app Bolt has offered to provide Londoners with £250,000 worth of free transport to Covid-19 vaccination centres in a bid to aid the inoculation programme. City PM can reveal that the firm has written to the government to offer its services to the NHS. The offer comes as the UK attempts to vaccinate the [...]
