COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 14th /15th February 2022

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 18,393,951 (+46,186)
In Hospital on Monday 14th Feb: 12,304 (DOWN from 13,793 a week earlier)
Using A Ventilator on 14th Feb: 393 (DOWN from 443 a week earlier)
Losses of Life: 159,839 (+234)
Tests: 888,781 (that's really low - potentially partly because of school holidays, but also because less people are needing to test)
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 52,522,201 (91.3% of UK aged 12+)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 48,777,079 (84.8%)
Boosted: 37,818,285 (65.8%)

Rep. Of Ireland: 1,255,571 cases and 6,291 losses of life.

World: 414,932,355 reported cases and 5,848,854 losses of life.

The Good Law Project and the Runnymede Trust have been to court this morning against the UK Government and won.
Ex Health Secretary Matt Hancock broke the law by appointing Baroness Dido Harding as 'Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection' and Mike Coupe as 'Director of Testing'. Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the law by appointing Baroness Harding as 'Chair of Test and Trace'.
By making those 3 appointments without any competition, they breached the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. This legislation exists to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity in the United Kingdom.
Basically, no-one else even got a chance to apply. I've said it many times. I could have supplied an inadequate and not fit for purpose Track and Trace for far less than 36 billion British pounds. In fact, pay me 20 grand and I'll fit you one in tomorrow morning.
And what will happen now? Will they be imprisoned or penalised like any regular person?... seems unlikely. 

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 9th, 10th and 11th February 2022

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 18,220,515 (+58,899)
In Hospital Yesterday Thursday 10th Feb: 12,753
Using A Ventilator: 430
Losses of Life: 159,351 (+193)
Tests: 1,041,542
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 52,480,344 (91.3% of UK aged 12+)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 48,693,091 (84.7%)
Boosted / 3rd Doses: 37,684,442 (65.5%)

Area: Cases Last 7 Days / Rate per 100,000 population
Wales: 13,040 / 411.4
Scotland: 44,423 / 812.7
Northern Ireland: 26,495 / 1,397.8
England: 449,015 / 794

Rep. Of Ireland: 1,242,806 (+6,618) cases and 6,291 losses of life

World: 407,698,096 reported cases and 5,812,609 losses of life

The UK's Rosalind Franklin laboratory in Royal Leamington Spa has now processed over 5 million PCR tests. 

The UK has surpassed 2 million SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences uploaded to the international Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database.
(We really are truly world-beating at virus family trees.)
(GISAID was created back in 2008 to freely share the genetics of flu samples,  so that the world can prepare the most effective flu vaccines, and keep an eye on the situation. It was a perfect database for COVID. To date over 8,137,571 COVID genetic sequences have been uploaded.)

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 4th - 8th February 2022

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 17,932,803 (+66,183)
In Hospital yesterday Monday 7th Feb: 13,793
Using A Ventilator yesterday: 443
Losses of Life: 158,677 (+314)
Tests: 1,127,178
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 52,447,403 (91.2% of UK age 12+)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 48,617,355 (84.5%)
Boosted: 37,586,043 (65.4%)

Rep. Of Ireland: 1,224,862 (+3,780) cases and 6,228 losses of life.

World: 399,569,028 reported cases and 5,773,593 losses of life.

Boris and Sajid have announced a great plan to 'tackle England's NHS backlog'. They were going to announce it on Monday - but it was delayed until today. It's 50 pages in total, and they have published a 3 page explanatory letter - in precis here:
'This plan... sets out a clear vision for how the NHS will recover and expand elective services over the next three years. It details ambitions, guidance, and best practice to help systems address key issues, ensuring we have a service that is fit for the future.'
"A central aim is to maximise NHS capacity, supporting systems to deliver around 30 per cent more elective activity by 2024-25 than before the pandemic, after accounting for the impact of an improved care offer through system transformation, and advice and guidance."
"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not limited to elective care, and it can be seen across mental health, primary and community care. It will be important to give these areas the same focus as elective care, and for the challenges in these areas to be tackled in unison."
Crucially, the plan has a strong focus on improving patient outcomes and their experience of NHS services.
Goals include:
- eliminating waits of over one year by March 2025
- eliminating waits of over two years by July 2022
- reducing diagnostic waiting times so 95% of patients receive tests within 6 weeks by March 2025
- at least 75% of urgent cancer referrals receive a diagnosis within 28 days by March 2024
- the 62 day backlog returned to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023
"The plan requires our collective focus to:
• Increase capacity and separate elective and urgent care provision, while freeing clinicians’ time for new patients and those with the greatest clinical need
• Prioritise diagnosis and treatment for those with suspected cancer or an urgent condition, and offering alternative locations with shorter waiting times for those waiting a long time
• Transform the way we provide elective care, including streamlined care and fewer cancellations, and more convenient access to surgical and diagnostic procedures, using digital tools and data to drive the delivery of services
• Better information and support to patients, providing personalised, accessible support to patients whilst they wait, improving outcomes and reducing inequalities in health outcomes."
Fingers crossed eh... 

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 26th / 27th / 28th January 2022

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 16,333,980 (+89,176)
In Hospital Yesterday 27th Jan: 16,149 (it's going down -  17,976 a week ago)
Using A Ventilator Yesterday: 549 (664 a week earlier)
Losses of Life: 155,317 (+277)
Tests: 1,285,156
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 52,297,579 (90.9% of UK aged 12+)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 48,314,633 (84%)
Boosted: 37,157,898 (64.6%)

Rep. Of Ireland: 1,164,536 cases and 6,136 losses of life

World: 368,179,091 reported cases and 5,660,289 losses of life.

"60.8% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 10 billion doses have been administered globally, and 25.15 million are now administered each day. Only 9.8% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose."
(Our World In Data.)
The world population is 7.9 billion - 7,923,381,000
(Worldometer.)

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 16th / 17th December 2021

(Vaccination data for England is late today, so totals aren't complete.)

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 11,190,354 (+93,045)
In Hospital Yesterday 16th December: 7,611
Using A Ventilator Yesterday 16th December: 875
Losses of Life: 147,048 (+111)
Tests: 1,598,910
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 51,364,110 (89.3% of UK age 16+)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 46,886,162 (81.5%)
Boosted: 25,598,784 (44.5%)

Area: Cases / Rate per 100,000 population
Wales: 16,420 / 518
Scotland: 25,791 / 471.8
Northern Ireland: 11,985 / 632.3
England: 315,611 / 558.1

Rep. Of Ireland: 640,548 cases and 5,835 losses of life (not yet reported today).

World: 273,597,144 reported cases and 5,357,220 losses of life.

"Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant. I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis.
It’s not vaccines instead of masks, distancing, ventilation or hand hygiene.
Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well."
Dr Tedros, World Health Organisation

And indeed attached is a graph from Theo Sanderson of The Crick Institute, showing Delta and Omicron infections in London. It is exactly as Chris Whitty explained at the briefing on Wednesday - the UK has 2 distinct infections running alongside each other. Delta numbers staying fairly flat, and Omicron has caught up and sped past. 

UK COVID Emergency Briefing With Boris 15th December 2021

Cases: 11,010,286 (+78,610)
Losses of Life: 146,791 (+165)
In Hospital Yesterday 14th Dec: 7,673 (up around 300 since last week)
Using a Ventilator Yesterday 14th Dec: 896
First dose: 51,332,920
Second dose: 46,842,497
Booster or third dose: 24,732,162

Soooooo.... another urgent UK Briefing today and little wonder really, as we have our highest ever daily new cases at +78,610. The previous record was 68,053 on 8th January.

If I see another person say "yeah, but hospitalisations aren't up", I'll actually scream. As a rule people don't test positive and fall immediately to the floor in need of medical help. It takes a couple of weeks before most people go to hospital. Sure it's always a good thing to see hospital numbers not going up, but don't get complacent - ITS TOO EARLY. If it's the same on Christmas Day, allow yourself a whoop! I do not think it will be, and nor do the UK scientific and medical advisory people. Sorry. 

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 13th / 14th December 2021

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 10,932,545 (+59,610)
In Hospital Yesterday 13th December: 7,672
Using A Ventilator Yesterday 13th December: 900
Losses of Life: 146,627 (+150)
Tests: 1,307,252 (That's really high)
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 51,298,838 (89.2% of UK age 12+)
Vaccinations 2nd Dose: 46,804,609 (81.4%)
Boosters: 24,075,451 (41.9%)

Area: Cases / Rate per 100,000 population
Wales: 16,366 / 516.3
Scotland: 22,786 / 416.9
Northern Ireland: 12,184 / 642.8
England: 293,521 / 519

Rep. Of Ireland: 628,306 cases and 5,788 losses of life (not yet reported today)

World: 271,397,526 reported cases and 5,333,158 losses of life.

"We can see that the growth in Omicron cases here in the UK is now mirroring the rapid increase that we are seeing in South Africa and the current observed doubling time is around every two days. Although yesterday we reported 4,713 confirmed cases of Omicron in the UK, the UKHSA estimate for the number of daily infections was 42 times higher at around 200,000. Scientists have never seen a COVID-19 variant that’s capable of spreading so rapidly so we have to look at what we can do to slow Omicron’s advance."
Sajid Javid, UK Health Secretary in his address to Parliament earlier today.
He also said that there are still approximately 94,000 NHS staff who are still unvaccinated, and that COVID passes will always have a selection of routes to show eligibility, currently including proof of a negative test from the last 48 hours, proof of vaccination, a medical exemption or evidence of participation in a clinical trial.
UK MP's are voting on 4 different COVID measures tonight:
- Larger venue COVID passes
- Compulsory face masks in most indoor (non-hospitality) settings
- Avoiding self-isolation with daily lateral flow tests
- Mandatory COVID vaccinations for NHS employees by April 1st 2022

Briefing with Boris 8th December 2021

Sooooo, my laptop died yesterday, I thought I'd sorted another around lunch, but it's taken me until around 6pm to actually get up and running again, and a UK briefing was kind of beyond me!

Boris has announced we will move to 'Plan B'. It's not so huge as he makes out really, and mainly involves work from home if you can, mask wearing in indoor public spaces and the use of a COVID Pass for entry to events and venues.

Omicron is the worry. All the evidence coming through this week is early and needs longer to be sure, but suggests:
- Vaccination won't prevent all of us catching Omicron, but should still protect most of us from becoming very ill.
- Having a booster jab will really raise protection against hospitalisation from Omicron up past the 90% (so your personal risk is reduced to 1/10th of what it had been).
- Omicron doesn't look more deadly than other types of COVID.
- Omicron looks catchy as a catchy thing - potentially even 3 1/2 times as catchy as Delta COVID.
- If everyone catches it at once, the tiny percentage who end up in hospital will amount to many thousands of people, all at once.
-  The concern is we'll fill our hospitals. Yes we were warned that might happen right from the start, and it hasn't happened IN THE UK. It has plenty of other places though. The reason it hasn't happened in the UK is because we've slammed the brakes on whenever it looked possible.

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 22nd / 23rd November 2021

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 9,932,408 (+42,484)
In Hospital Yesterday Monday 22nd: 8,088
Using A Ventilator Yesterday: 928
Losses of Life: 144,137 (+165)
Tests: 979,922
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 50,800,732 (88.3% of UK age 12+)
Vaccinations 2nd Doses: 46,186,817 (80.3% of UK age 12+)
Boosters: 15,639,477 (27.2%)

Rep. Of Ireland: 538,255 (+3,661) cases and 5,609 losses of life

World: 258,755,918 reported cases and 5,179,602 losses of life

People in Northern Ireland are being asked to 'work from home if you can', in an effort to bring case numbers down. It has been the official guidance for a while, but ministers are keen to try and keep numbers down and are reiterating with a 'stronger message'.
This is also the guidance in Scotland and Wales - but has not been the case in England since June. 

COVID-19 Coronavirus UK and World News Update 17th, 18th & 19th November 2021

UK Daily Statistics:
Cases: 9,766,153 (+44,242)
In Hospital yesterday 18th November: 8,079
Using A Ventilator 18th Nov: 923
Losses of Life: 143,716 (+157)
Tests: 993,405
Vaccinations 1st Dose: 50,707,953 (88.2% of UK age 12+)
Vaccinations 2 Doses: 46,108,608 (80.25)
Booster /3rd Doses: 14,266,368 (24.8%)

Area: Cases last 7 days / Rate per 100,000 population
Wales: 16,530 / 521.5
Scotland: 21,372 / 391
Northern Ireland: 10,433 / 550.4
England: 222,096 / 392.7

Rep. Of Ireland: 515,691 cases and 5,609 losses of life (not yet reported today)

World: 256,667,497 reported cases and 5,151,787 losses of life.

From today: "travellers who have had a booster or a third dose will be able to demonstrate their vaccine status through the NHS COVID Pass from today. This addition will enable those who have had their booster or third dose to travel to countries such as Israel, Croatia and Austria who have already introduced a time limit for the COVID-19 vaccine to be valid for quarantine-free travel".

Important news yesterday regarding vaccinating children who have had COVID. Always bear in mind it is TINY percentages who are affected - but every child matters.
COVID infection has been found to cause myocarditis in a significant minority of people, especially young people. Vaccination is associated with a very tiny number of cases of myocarditis, mainly in young people. There are some signs from abroad that vaccination when you've not fully recovered from COVID can increase the risk of myocarditis - and obviously that's potentially mainly in young people.
Therefore 12 to 17 year olds ONLY should wait 12 weeks after testing positive before you get your vaccination.
Myocarditis is heart inflammation and most people who get it would only notice if they try and push themselves physically. It usually heals all by itself, but can take a while because you can't rest your heart on a stool while you watch telly - it has to keep working while it gets better.
It's virtually unknown to catch COVID again within 3 months (some countries use it for a COVID Pass), so there is no loss to this, and if it prevents some young people having a hard few weeks or months, or losing their place on a team, struggling to maintain their social life or even actually saves their life, it's worth doing.