Psychiatric admission to hospital

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are both highly effective at preventing over-80s from being admitted to hospital, according to a new study. Researchers in Bristol found that 14 days after one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, it was 79.3% effective at preventing people in that age group from developing symptomatic illness severe enough to be admitted. For AstraZeneca 's COVID-19 jab, the effectiveness was 80.4%. Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world What EU leaders said about AstraZeneca vaccine - and the data forcing a rethink The study tallies up with the Public Health Scotland (PHS) and Public Health England (PHE) reports released in February and on Monday respectively. Advertisement Professor Adam Finn, professor of paediatrics and chief investigator of the study at the University of Bristol, said his team took a different approach, using a smaller geographical area and … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines ‘highly effective’ at preventing hospital admissions in over-80s, study finds

Covid deaths in England are falling faster than gloomy SAGE advisers thought they would, official data show — and scientists claim lockdown rules could be loosened faster. Models produced by the SPI-M group of scientists predicting the future of the Covid outbreak in February suggested the daily death count would stay above 200 until mid-March. But the average number of victims recorded each day had dropped below this level before the end of February, statistics show. Experts told The Telegraph the progress is 'better than expected' and suggested the Government's 'data not dates' approach could see relaxations brought forward. The vaccine rollout has made immense progress, with 20million people now vaccinated across the UK, and studies suggest the jabs are working better than expected, preventing between 85 and 94 per cent of hospitalisations. SPI-M's prediction was more pessimistic about how well the vaccine would work and whether it would stop transmission, which may … [Read more...] about Lockdown ‘could ease earlier’ in England because Covid deaths are falling FASTER than SAGE predicted thanks to vaccine success

Police have arrested 84 suspects and seized thousands of fake COVID-19 vaccines in raids in China and South Africa. It comes weeks after the head of Interpol warned that criminal networks would try to cash in on the global vaccination rollout. South African police seized 400 ampoules, providing 2,400 doses, of a fake vaccine in Germiston, Gauteng, along with a big supply of fake 3M brand masks. They arrested a Zambian national and three Chinese suspects. Brigadier Vish Naidoo, of the South African Police, said: "Since COVID-19 reached the shores of South Africa, the government has adopted an integrated multi-disciplinary law enforcement approach. "This is proving to be very effective as we have seen in the arrests for foreign nationals attempting to peddle fake vaccines to unsuspecting people within South Africa." Advertisement That raid led to a second on a manufacturing premises in China, where police seized 3,000 fake vaccines and arrested 80 … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Police arrest 84 people as thousands of fake coronavirus vaccines seized in China and South Africa

The UK has recorded another 315 COVID-related deaths and 6,385 cases in the last 24 hours, according to government figures. This compares to the 343 coronavirus deaths and 6,391 new infections recorded on Tuesday. It comes as the number of people receiving the first dose of a vaccine nears the 21 million mark. Government data up to 2 March shows that of the 21,599,027 jabs given in the UK so far, 20,703,615 were first doses - a rise of 224,996 on the previous day. Some 895,412 were second doses, an increase of 51,314 on figures released the previous day. Advertisement Meanwhile, the chancellor has vowed to build a "fairer" country in memory of those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic. Budget 2021: All the key points In an unprecedented Downing Street news conference following his 2021 Budget , Rishi Sunak acknowledged the victims and said financial support will continue long after COVID-19 … [Read more...] about COVID-19: UK reports another 315 deaths as number of vaccine jabs closes in on 21 million