10:00 on 13 December
Sarah Gilbert, the lead researcher on the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, has said chances were “pretty high” of the jab being available by the end of the year.
“I think the chances are pretty high. But we do need multiple vaccines, all countries need multiple vaccines, the world needs multiple vaccines and we need vaccines made using different technologies, if that’s possible,” Prof Gilbert told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
She said this was due to companies potentially facing problems with the supply of raw materials for vaccine production. “So having multiple shots on goal, multiple irons in the fire, is what we really need,” she added.
When asked how many people needed to be vaccinated for life to return to normal, Prof Gilbert said: “If we’re trying to protect the most vulnerable, then in this country we’re planning to immunise about 20 million people based on age and also the frontline healthcare workers.”
10:00 on 12 December
Following the FDA’s decision, US President Donald Trump has announced on Twitter that the first vaccinations will take place “in less than 24 hours”.
“We have already begun shipping the vaccine to every state and zip code in the country. The first vaccine will be administered in less than 24 hours,” Trump said.
The president also said the jab “will save millions of lives and soon end the pandemic once and for all”, which contradicts warnings from health officials, who said that it will take months to inoculate the entire nation.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2020
There was no immediate reaction from President-elect Joe Biden, who earlier this week has set a goal of 100 million vaccinations in his first 100 days in office. He will be sworn in January 2021.
09:30 on 12 December
Some good news to start off this morning: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use in the USA.
FDA Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn called the authorisation “is a significant milestone in battling this devastating pandemic that has affected so many families in the United States and around the world” in a statement published on the FDA website.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has already received regulatory approval in the UK, Canada, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Like those countries, the US will give its first doses of the jab to older people and health workers.
12:30 on 11 December
British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca has announced it is launching a joint clinical trial with the creators of Russian Sputnik V to test the combination of coronavirus vaccines.
Both jabs are adenoviral vector vaccines that contain “genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein”, the company said in a statement. Sputnik V uses human adenovirus, while AstraZeneca’s vaccine is based on chimpanzee viral vector.
The combination may help in generating “wider protection through a stronger immune response and better accessibility,” AstraZeneca said.
The trials, which are expected to begin before the end of this year, will involve people aged over 18.
Despite Western criticism of its fast-track approval of the vaccine, Russia registered Sputnik V in August. While its phase 3 trials are still underway, Russia has already kicked off its mass vaccination campaign, with more than 150,000 Russians said to be inoculated so far.
The new chapter of vaccine cooperation has started today. We made an offer and AstraZeneca accepted it. It all happened here on Twitter! https://t.co/1OCknqyIUU https://t.co/OXnz8LraLi
— Sputnik V (@sputnikvaccine) December 11, 2020
11:30 on 11 December
The Guardian has established that more than 100,000 patients will not be able to get the vaccine against coronavirus from their family doctor after some GP practices in England decided not to take part in its deployment.
Dozens of GP surgeries decided against joining the Covid vaccination programme amid concerns over their already busy workloads and potential impact on patients as the practices would have to cut back other services.
GPs are expected to join the second phase of the vaccine rollout, which is due to kick off next week.
10:20 on 11 December
Good morning! Let’s kick off today with a new work of art by anonymous British graffiti artist Banksy.
He has confirmed on Instagram and his personal website that he is behind the stencil mural on a house in Bristol showing an older woman sneezing out her false teeth.
The mural entitled “Aachoo!!” was discovered on the side of a semidetached house in Totterdown on Thursday morning.
In a photograph posted by Banksy, the woman appears to be blowing over a wheelie bin and a man’s umbrella with her sneezing.
View this post on Instagram
23:00 on 10 December
And our last news for today: An advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended the emergency approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
The recommendation is expected to be followed by the vaccine’s emergency approval in the US, where the virus has killed more than 285,000 people.
BREAKING: FDA external committee just voted to grant emergency use authorization for Pfizer #covid19 vaccine: 17 yes-4 no-1 abstain
(“no”s primarily because some thought 16- & 17-year old should not be in the initial EUA). pic.twitter.com/2QOp5liYc0
— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) December 10, 2020
18:30 on 10 December
England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty has warned the public during the same Downing Street briefing to be “very, very sensible” over the holidays.
“A third wave is not inevitable, but the way we prevent it is by everybody, all of us, coming together and actually deciding we want to try and stick to the guidance that’s there,” he said.
“And accept that Christmas is a period when we can do things, that’s the reason why the rules are being relaxed, but that doesn’t mean we should do things.
“It t is definitely not inevitable that things will get substantially worse, that’s something we need to all work together on.”
18:00 on 10 December
During the press-conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock also said the Pfizer vaccine was currently being administered at 70 hospitals, adding: “We will shortly expand our vaccination programme further to ten more locations in England.
“And from next week we plan to begin vaccinations in GP-led sites, and vaccinate in care homes by Christmas.”
17:30 on 10 December
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed at a Downing Street press conference that “tens of thousands of people” in the UK have been vaccinated against Covid-19 since the start of a mass vaccination programme on Tuesday.
Hancock also warned that the virus would still be a threat “for the next few months” and urged the public to follow the restrictions currently in place amid a surge in new infections across London, Essex and Kent.
Most people will not be vaccinated until next year, he noted.
16:30 on 10 December
And here are the latest Covid-19 stats for Thursday. Today, the UK has recorded 20,964 more infections, an uptick of 4,386 compared to yesterday’s figure of 16,578.
A total of 516 Covid-related deaths have also been reported in the same period, down from 533 fatalities confirmed yesterday.
14:30 on 10 December
Britain’s medical watchdog has issued new advice to vaccination centres and doctors surgeries after two NHS staff members inoculated on Tuesday suffered allergic reactions to the jabs.
From now on, “vaccine recipients should be monitored for 15 minutes after vaccination, with a longer observation period when indicated after clinical assessment”, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement.
This means that vaccination hubs will have to make sure they have the space to allow patients to remain on-site for 15 minutes while socially distanced, which might slow down the vaccination process.
It could take 250,000 man-hours to vaccinate one million Brits under the new guidance, according to Daily Mail’s estimates.
13:40 on 10 December
Canada has become the third country to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine after the UK and Bahrain.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canadians will begin getting inoculated next week, with 249,000 doses due to arrive to the country by the end of 2020.
View this post on Instagram
13:00 on 10 December
Have you seen social media pictures of a lady wearing a t-shirt with a cartoon penguin wrapped in a hat and scarf over the past couple of days?
It was Margaret Keenan, 90, who has become one of the first people in the UK to get the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday morning.
Now many people from around the world are purchasing the t-shirt she was sporting on that day from the University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire Charity, with sales tripling previous years.
The £8 t-shirt and a matching face mask were launched to raise money for gifts for patients who had to stay in hospital over the holidays.
Charity bosses at the hospital told Heart they expect the second run to sell out today and they’re already working on a third batch ready for sale. They’ve had international interest from places like Europe and China #HeartNews pic.twitter.com/eVvKOlAfhy
— Heart Midlands News (@HeartMidsNews) December 10, 2020
12:10 on 10 December
The UN secretary general has given a stark warning against ‘vaccine nationalism’ as world powers race to inoculate their populations against coronavirus.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said people in developing nations are watching preparations for Covid vaccination in some rich nations and wondering if and when they will get a jab.
Currently, official vaccination programmes are underway in the UK and Russia.
Mr Guterres also appealed for £3.15 billion in the next two months for a World Health Organisation (WHO) programme to buy and deliver vaccines for the world’s poorest people.
The UN chief also reiterated his call for vaccines to be treated as “a global public good”.
11:30 on 10 December
A 91-year-old Briton has become an internet sensation following his interview with CNN about him getting the Pfizer jab.
this interview wins the day pic.twitter.com/HtnjnyLZwg
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) December 8, 2020
In his interview for The Guardian on Wednesday, Martin Keynon said he did not want to catch the virus so that he could continue “making a nuisance” of himself and enjoying life.
10:30 on 10 December
It has been revealed that documents related to the development of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine were “unlawfully accessed” in a cyberattack on Europe’s medicines regulators.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) did not provide much detail beyond the fact that a probe had been launched after the cyberattack.
BioNTech said in a statement that they were informed by the EMA that some documents related to “regulatory submission for” the vaccine had been accessed.
“It is important to note that no BioNTech or Pfizer systems have been breached in connection with this incident and we are unaware that any study participants have been identified through the data being accessed,” the German company said.
The EMA assured BioNTech that the attack “will have no impact on the timeline for its review”, which is due to be completed by 29 December.
10:00 on 10 December
Good morning, dear Raven News readers! The vaccination is in full swing across the UK, with thousands of people estimated to have been inoculated so far.
Arthur, 86, and his wife Barbara, 82, were among the first people to receive their vaccine at @MKHospital yesterday. Barbara said, ‘I’d much rather get the vaccine than Covid-19 itself!’ pic.twitter.com/gw0tb0nqJ0
— NHS England and NHS Improvement (@NHSEngland) December 9, 2020
16:00 on 9 December
That’s all for today! Thanks for following along with our updates.
We will continue providing you with more updates tomorrow.
14:30 on 9 December
Amid an abundance of conspiracy theories online and some opposition to mass inoculation, some medics, like Rupert Pearse, have come forward to enlighten the public about possible benefits of the vaccination under the hashtag #DocsForVax.
I’m not a vaccine expert so it’s reasonable to ask why I am confident that I want to be vaccinated for COVID-19. I will have the jab for myself, my family, friends, my work colleagues and even for people I don't know. A few reflections… #DocsForVax 1/9 pic.twitter.com/78kqNvlJiD
— Rupert Pearse (@rupert_pearse) December 8, 2020
13:30 on 9 December
Pfizer has commented on the news of two NHS staff members developing an allergic reaction to its vaccine, saying that it and BioNTech “are fully supporting the MHRA in the investigation”.
“We have been advised by MHRA of two yellow card reports that may be associated with allergic reaction due to administration of the COVID-19 BNT162b2 vaccine,” the company said.
It also reiterated that “in the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, this vaccine was generally well tolerated with no serious safety concerns reported by the independent Data Monitoring Committee.”
“The trial has enrolled over 44,000 participants to date, over 42,000 of whom have received a second vaccination.”
13:00 on 9 December
England’s Chief Medical Advisor, Professor Chris Whitty told the Commons and Science Committee today that “we expect by the middle of the year to have a portfolio of three or four vaccines we can use”.
There are six more vaccines that the UK pre-purchased in big amounts, including the homegrown one by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.
However, he said that the vaccine rollout should proceed carefully: “The aim would be to roll out this vaccine [Pfizer] and any others that get a licence and are effective and safe”.
He also said that around 20 million people are in the first phase of the NHS vaccination programme, involving all those over the age of 50.
An infographic on the Covid vaccination priority list made with Canva.com
11:30 on 9 December
The UK’s drug regulator, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), issued a precautionary advice on Wednesday after two NHS England staff members had “adverse” reactions after receiving the jab.
Anyone who has a history of “significant” allergic reactions should not currently receive the jab, the MHRA said in its advice to NHS trusts.
The two NHS staffer members who had “anaphylactoid reactions” have recovered after the appropriate treatment, the Evening Standard reports.
11:10 on 9 December
One of the first to receive the dose in the UK was Margaret Keenan, who turns 91 next week.
After being inoculated at University Hospital Coventry, she said that she felt so “privileged to be the first person vaccinated against Covid-19”.
View this post on Instagram
11:10 on 9 December
Another vaccine which is currently being considered for emergency use in the UK is that developed by the Oxford University and UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is also currently being considered for emergency use in the UK. .
It is “safe and efficacious”, according to the results of its clinical trial, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal The Lancet.
The jab proved to be 70 per cent effective on average, with up to 90 per cent efficacy in a smaller group that got a lower dosage. But the question remains about how well it could protect those over 55.
10:40 on 9 December
To understand how the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine works, take a look at this TikTok video by Kate Bredbenner, a US doctor of biomedical science.
@simplebiologistThe coronavirus vaccine is fire #covid #covid19 #covidvaccine #science #scienceismagic #foryou #pfizer #pfizervaccine #womeninstem♬ original sound – SimpleBiologist
10:30 on 9 December
The vaccine used in mass inoculation has been developed by US company Pfizer and German firm BioNTech.
Yesterday, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed in a briefing report that six people had died during the vaccine trial, with only two of them receiving the actual jab and four others being on a placebo.
However, the FDA said that the deaths did not raise new safety issues as they “represent events that occur in the general population of the age groups where they occurred, at a similar rate”.
Later this week, the FDA’s independent vaccine advisory committee will discuss whether to recommend the vaccine for emergency use in people aged 16 and older. The FDA is not bound by the committee’s recommendation but is expected to its grant its authorisation within a few days, according to the Wall Street Journal.
10:00 on 9 December
Good morning, dear Raven News readers! Yesterday, the “biggest in history” vaccination against Covid-19 kicked off in the UK and we are here to bring you updates on the developments.
For more on the vaccination, you can read our explainer: http://raven-news.uk/coronavirus/explainer-uk-rolls-out-biggest-in-history-covid-vaccination-campaign/