Wait 4 weeks between vaccinations

Pensioners could face severe delays getting a flu vaccine this winter, with a surge in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic leading to shortages. High street pharmacy Boots has suspended bookings for those aged 65 and over at branches across the UK. LloydsPharmacy is only allowing bookings for customers that have registered an interest online due to 'unprecedented demand'. Meanwhile, waiting lists at some GP surgeries are at high levels, leading to a potential several week wait for the jab for the elderly. It means that those aged 65 or above are facing the prospect of being without a flu vaccine over the winter, despite the government promising that, as the most vulnerable, they would be at the front of the queue. Officials are aiming to immunise 30 million Britons this winter, in the largest flu vaccination programmer ever undertaken in the UK, to ensure health services are not overwhelmed by a sudden influx of Covid-19 and flu patients. But some experts have … [Read more...] about Leading chemists SUSPEND flu vaccine appointments amid shortage of jabs, prompting fears elderly may be forced to wait weeks despite government pledge that they would be first in line

Hard-pressed hospital staff in Mozambique are not only fighting a sevenfold increase in COVID cases, but they have no functioning track-and-trace system, a lack of cost-free testing, and a rising tide of the South African variant. The biggest hospital in Maputo is also the busiest health facility in Mozambique. It is called the Hospital Central de Maputo and it has occupied a sprawling site in the centre of this ramshackle capital for well over a century. Live COVID updates from UK and around the world Thousands of people go to "Central" every day looking for treatment. Advertisement There are not enough seats in the outside waiting area and the roads and pavements surrounding the main buildings provide additional accommodation for those looking for care. But the global pandemic has now arrived in this African hub, and it has put Hospital Central under extraordinary strain. More from Covid-19 COVID-19: Next phase of UK vaccine … [Read more...] about COVID-19: Mozambique’s fight against ever-rising COVID infections – and a ‘five-year wait’ for vaccines

It's like a trip down memory lane for people old enough to remember the Cold War. Back then, the big question was whether the Soviet Union or the United States had more nuclear bombs. The 21st-century question is: Who's drawing the short stick when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines? And then there is the additional question of which vaccine is best: Russia's, China's, or those from Britain, Germany and the US? And what risks are there to relations with the United States or the EU if officials were to call up their counterparts in Moscow or Beijing — or both — to acquire, at least for the time being, a few doses? Such debates are more theoretical than practical in the Balkans, where people have had as much real exposure to COVID-19 vaccines as they had to atomic bombs during the Cold War: next to none. North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Kosovo have not received doses of vaccines so far. And no one knows when they will, although governments have promised that shipments are on … [Read more...] about Balkans: Are geopolitics getting in the way of COVID-19 vaccines?

The government has promised to vaccinate nearly 14 million people by the middle of February, but experts say it will be an "ambitious" challenge.Around 1.3 million people in the UK have now received one of the two vaccines currently being rolled out, but the distribution effort will have to be scaled up significantly if the target is to be reached.So far, the most that have been put in arms in the course of a week is around 610,000 doses, but the government plans to ramp that up so, potentially, two million doses a week will be distributed.The 13.9 million total that is needed, according to COVID vaccine minister Nadhim Zahawi, is made up of all residents in care homes and their carers, everyone over 70 years old, all frontline healthcare and social care workers and everyone who is clinically extremely vulnerable.Mr Zahawi told Sky News the UK will have to roll out more than two million jabs a week to meet its target, and acknowledged it would require a "Herculean effort". … [Read more...] about COVID-19: What does it take to vaccinate 14 million people in six weeks?

All over-70s in England who haven't yet had a Covid vaccine should book their own online, Matt Hancock said today. The Health Secretary held a Downing Street press conference tonight to trumpet the success of the rollout so far, confirming the NHS is on track to hit its target of immunising the 15million most vulnerable Brits by next Monday.    Almost 12.5million people have already received their first dose of vaccine and the health service is administering 450,000 every day, on average, putting the country well on track to hit the milestone next Monday.  Previously, over-70s were told to wait until they were contacted by the NHS to make sure over-80s, care home residents and patients with serious underlying health conditions had first access.  People in that age group can now schedule an appointment using the NHS booking service or those unable to get online can phone 119.  Mr Hancock said take-up of the vaccines has so far been 'significantly … [Read more...] about Matt Hancock says over-70s no longer need to wait for Covid vaccine invite from the NHS and they can book their OWN jabs online – as No10 says it’s on track to immunise all over-50s by end of April