CORONAVIRUS NEWS
Chief midwife urges pregnant women to get NHS COVID jab
England’s top midwife is urging expectant mums to get the COVID-19 vaccine after new data shows the overwhelming majority of pregnant women hospitalised with the virus have not had a jab.
NICE guidance on rare blood clots linked to COVID-19 vaccination
NICE has published a new rapid COVID-19 guideline to help healthcare staff identify and treat patients who develop the rare syndrome vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) after receiving COVID-19 vaccinations.
UK begins donating millions of COVID-19 vaccines overseas
The UK will begin delivering 9 million COVID-19 vaccines around the world, including to Indonesia, Jamaica and Kenya, to help tackle the pandemic, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced.
£19.6 million awarded to new research to help treat long COVID
People experiencing long COVID will benefit from a comprehensive package of new NIHR-funded research to help improve understanding of the condition, from diagnosis and treatment through to rehabilitation and recovery.
Health chiefs encourage more pregnant women to get COVID-19 vaccine
Health chiefs are encouraging more pregnant women to get their COVID-19 vaccine, as new data shows that 51,724 pregnant women in England have received at least one dose.
JCVI issues advice on COVID-19 vaccination of children
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is advising that children at increased risk of serious coronavirus (COVID-19) disease should be offered a vaccine.
Model that predicts patient risk from COVID-19 wins award
The winner of the Florence Nightingale Award for Excellence in Healthcare Data Analytics 2021, jointly awarded by the Health Foundation and the Royal Statistical Society, has been announced.
COVID-19 infection rates 3 times lower for double vaccinated people
Interim findings from the latest report of REACT-1, one of the country’s largest studies into COVID-19 infections in England, have been published by Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI.
Abbott secures CE mark for COVID-19 test
Abbott has announced that it has received CE Mark for its Panbio COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test for use in the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in adults and children with or without symptoms.
Drop in staff COVID-19 infections after PPE upgrade
A Cambridge study has shown a significant drop in COVID-19 infections in frontline hospital staff after their face masks were upgraded.
Adult social care given over £250 million extra to tackle COVID-19
People in care homes or those being cared for at home will benefit from an extra £250 million to continue to protect them from COVID-19 transmission.
New data suggests a low risk of COVID-19 reinfection in the population
For the first time, Public Health England (PHE) has published population surveillance data on possible coronavirus (COVID-19) reinfections, to help monitor and understand the risk of people catching COVID-19 again.
4 in 5 adults receive first dose of COVID-19 vaccine
With 72,891,861 doses administered in total, 42,216,654 people across the UK have now been vaccinated with a first dose (80%), while 30,675,207 people have had both doses (58%).
COVID infections up by 50% since May
Findings from Imperial College London and Ipsos MORI show infections have increased by 50% since the last REACT-1 study in May, with 1 in 670 people infected.
Improving heart health may reduce the severity of COVID-19 disease
High blood pressure, smoking, obesity, heart disease and diabetes are associated with worse outcomes in patients with COVID-19.
Warmer temperatures lessen COVID-19 spread
New research shows transmission of the virus behind COVID-19 varies seasonally, but warmer conditions are not enough to prevent transmission.
BMA: guidance on use of enhanced PPE is ‘step in the right direction’
Public Health England has updated its guidance on infection prevention and control in healthcare settings and recommends the wider use of respiratory protective equipment for staff where a risk cannot otherwise be managed.
NICE updates guidance for COVID-19 therapeutics
NICE has updated its advice on two therapeutics for managing COVID-19 – remdesivir and colchicine.
RCOG responds to new COVID-19 and pregnancy study
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has welcomed a new study which sheds light on the association between COVID-19 and pregnancy outcomes.
Trained dogs identify COVID-19 with up to 94% accuracy
People infected with coronavirus have a distinct odour that can be detected by trained dogs with a high degree of accuracy, according to new research involving UCLH.
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