Coronavirus UK news – Astrazeneca vaccine blood clot risk much LOWER than getting on plane or taking contraceptive pill
THE risk of developing blood clots from the AstraZeneca vaccine is tiny compared with everyday occurrences like flying or taking the contraceptive pill, data shows.
Dr June Raine, the chief executive of the MHRA, said: "From these reports, the risk of this type of rare blood clot is about four people in a million who receive the vaccine."
This works out at a risk of one in 250,000, or 0.0004%.
The European Medicines Agency said that "frequency is difficult to assess" but added: "If you state the reporting rate is approximately one in 100,000 or even a little bit higher, that would reflect the risk".
But it is important to put those numbers into perspective.
For example America's National Blood Clot Alliance estimates that one in 1,000 women per year who are taking birth control pills will develop a blood clot, putting the risk at 0.1%.
And according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the annual incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is estimated to be about one in 1,000 (or 0.1%),
That risk increases two to threefold in flights of more than four hours.
It comes as Boris Johnson urged Brits to continue taking up the AstraZeneca jab amid fears the vaccine can cause a rare type of bloodclot.
Speaking to the press in Cornwall yesteday the PM said: “These vaccines are safe, they’ve saved many thousands of lives and people should come forward to get their jabs and we’ll make sure that they get the right jabs.
“And of course, I don’t see any reason at this stage at all to think we need to deviate from the road map. And we’re also very secure about our supply.”
And the sister of a solicitor who died from a blood clot 10 days after getting the jab insists Brits should continue to accept a shot when invited.
Neil Astles, 59, died on Easter Sunday after getting his first dose of the Oxford/ AstraZeneca jab on March 17, The Telegraph reports.
The married solicitor – the first person named in the UK suspected to have died after developing side-effects that have been linked to the AstraZeneca jab – suffered headaches and loss of vision over 10 days before dying in hospital.
His sister, Dr Alison Astles, said the family were “furious” but called on Brits to carry on taking the AstraZeneca vaccine as “fewer people will die”.
It was announced Wednesday that people under the age of 30 will now be offered alternatives to the AstraZeneca vaccine amid fears of extremely rare blood clots.
People aged 18-29 will now be given vaccine alternatives Pfizer or Moderna after reports of clotting cases throughout Europe.
Read our coronavirus live blog below for the very latest news and updates on the pandemic…
- Tariq Tahir
PROSTITUTES STRIKE IN BRAZIL TO DEMAND VACCINES
Prostitutes in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeast Brazil have gone on strike for a week, demanding to be included in the group of front-line workers receiving priority coronavirus vaccines.
Thousands of sex workers in the city have been forced by pandemic-related closure of hotels — where they rented rooms to sell their services — to solicit for clients on the street, they say.
"We are in the front line, moving the economy and we are at risk," said Cida Vieira, president of the Association of Prostitutes of Minas Gerais state,
"We need to get vaccinated."
- Tariq Tahir
FRENCH OPEN TENNIS POSTPONED DUE TO COVID
This year's French Open tennis tournament has been postponed by a week due to the pandemic and will begin on May 30, the French Tennis Federation has said.
The French Open, which last year was postponed by four months and took place in front of limited crowds, was due to start this year on May 23.
This year's edition of the claycourt Grand Slam will finish on June 13, two weeks before the expected start of Wimbledon.
- Tariq Tahir
HANCOCK STRESSES LONG COVID EFFECTS
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has stressed the effects of long Covid on under-30s who may be hesitant over receiving a coronavirus vaccine.
He told BBC Breakfast: "The vaccines are safe, and if you want to have the Pfizer vaccine or Moderna vaccine instead then that is fine.
"Covid is a horrible disease and long Covid affects people in their 20s just as much it seems as any other age group and can have debilitating side effects that essentially ruin your life."
He added: "The safety system that we have around this vaccine is so sensitive that it can pick up events that are four in a million – I'm told this is about the equivalent risk of taking a long-haul flight."
- Ben Hill
REVENUE UP
Asos saw revenues and profits jump during the winter lockdowns and new peaks of Covid-19 around the globe, which forced high street stores to close and shoppers to turn to online retailers in ever-greater numbers.
Revenues jumped 24% in the six months to the end of February to £1.98 billion compared with the same period a year ago, and pre-tax profits soared 253% to £106.4 million.
Sales in the UK, during the period that saw a second lockdown in England in November, the introduction of tiering and the subsequent current lockdowns in place throughout 2021, were particularly strong – up 39%, compared with growth of 18% in the EU and 16% in the US.
- Ben Hill
INDIAN TRAVELLERS BLOCKED
New Zealand on Thursday temporarily suspended entry for all travellers from India, including its own citizens, for about two weeks following a high number of positive coronavirus cases arriving from the South Asian country.
The move comes after New Zealand recorded 23 new positive coronavirus cases at its border on Thursday, of which 17 were from India.
"We are temporarily suspending entry into New Zealand for travellers from India," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a news conference in Auckland.
India has recorded 12.8 million Covid-19 cases, the most after the United States and Brazil. It is now battling a deadly second wave of infections, and this week the number of daily new cases passed the peak of the first wave seen last September.
- Joseph Gamp
DRIVERS FEELING MORE STRESS AND ANGER SINCE FIRST LOCKDOWN – POLL
Stress and anger has increased among drivers since the first coronavirus lockdown, a new survey suggests.
Some 11% of motorists said they have those feelings every time they get behind the wheel, according to the poll commissioned by road safety charity Brake and insurer Direct Line.
That is compared with 8% in March 2020.
A total of 90% of respondents said they feel stressed or angry on at least some journeys, up from 84% a year ago.
Some 2,013 drivers were questioned for the research.
- Joseph Gamp
KENT VARIANT 'MOST COMMON LINEAGE' OF COVID-19 IN US, SAYS CDC CHIEF
The highly infectious Kent variant of Covid-19 is the most dominant "lineage" of the virus in the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of CDC, said hospitals are seeing more younger adults being admitted with severe disease, which can be attributed to increasing prevalence of variants.
The Kent variant, known as B117, was first identified in the US in December after it swept across the UK at the end of last year before spreading across the world.
During a White House coronavirus response team's briefing on Wednesday, she said: "Based on our most recent estimates from CDC surveillance, the B117 variant is now the most common lineage circulating in the United States.
"So there are many different lineages. There are several different kinds of, sort of, wild-type variants, and this is, in fact, the most common lineage right now."
- Joseph Gamp
COVID PREVALENCE IN ENGLAND DROPPED BY 60% FROM FEBRUARY TO MARCH – STUDY
The prevalence of coronavirus cases in England dropped by around 60% from February to March, with recent data suggesting the decline is "levelling off", researchers have said.
Experts found that the rate of infection fell in all age groups and regions across those two months, with figures also indicating that the vaccine rollout could be "breaking the link" between infections, deaths and hospital admissions.
According to the latest round of the Real-Time Assessment of Community Transmission (React-1) study, one in 500 people on average was still carrying the virus in March.
Researchers found there have been "big falls" in prevalence of the virus in the South East and London from February to March, but there remain "persistent areas of higher prevalence" of the virus in the southern part of Yorkshire, and parts of the East Midlands and the North West.
To date, more than 1.5 million people have provided swabs to the React-1 study so experts can assess infection rates across the country.
- Joseph Gamp
ONE IN A MILLION CHANCE OF DEATH AFTER TAKING ASTRAZENECA VACCINE
It comes after the UK's medicine regulator said that under-30s should be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine after blood clots fears.
Out of the 79 cases reported in the UK, 51 women and 28 men suffered with clotting issues – all from the first dose.
The chance of dying from a blood clot after having the AZ jab in the UK is about one in one million – after 19 died from around 20million vaccinations.
Of those 19 deaths, three were people under the age of 30.
Brits aged 18-29 will be given the option of having an alternative jab such as Pfizer or Moderna, The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended.
- Joseph Gamp
SOLICITOR, 59, DIED OF BLOOD CLOT 3 WEEKS AFTER TAKING ASTRAZENECA VACCINE BUT FAMILY URGE BRITS TO KEEP TAKING JAB
THE family of a solicitor who died of a blood clot on the brain less than three weeks taking the AstraZeneca vaccine have urged Brits to "keep saving lives" by taking the jab.
Neil Astles, 59, died on Easter Sunday after getting his first dose of the Oxford/ AstraZeneca jab on March 17, The Telegraph reports.
He had suffered headaches and loss of vision over 10 days before dying in hospital.
The married solicitor from Warrington, Cheshire, is the first person named in the UK suspected to have died after developing side-effects that have been linked to the AstraZeneca jab.
His sister, Dr Alison Astles, said the family were "furious" but called on Brits to carry on taking the AstraZeneca vaccine as "fewer people will die".
- Joseph Gamp
SPAIN LIMITS ASTRAZENECA VACCINE TO 60 YEARS AND UP
Spain joined other European nations on Wednesday in limiting the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the elderly due to concerns over links to extremely rare blood clotting.
Spanish Health Minister Carolina Darias announced after meeting with regional health chiefs that authorities would limit shots to those over 60 years old.
Until now, Spain has used AstraZeneca on its younger population, limiting it those under 65 years old. Darias said that authorities would now consider lifting that upper limit on the shot that forms a key pillar of the nations vaccination scheme.
Our strategy with AstraZeneca is pivoting, Darias said.
The decision comes hours after the European Medicines Agency said it had found a possible link between the shot and the rare clots.
- Joseph Gamp
FACT CHECK: THE KEY NUMBERS MENTIONED AT THE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE BRIEFINGS
Here are the key numbers mentioned at today's briefings on the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine by the UK and the EU.
In the UK, Dr June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said that:
- More than 20 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have now been given in the UK.
- Up to March 31, there had been 79 case reports of people suffering rare blood clots after receiving a first dose of the vaccine.
- Of these 79 people, 19 had died.
- Of the 79 cases, 51 were women and 28 men, aged between 18 and 79.
- Three of the people who died were under 30 years of age.
- 14 of 19 people who died had cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), or blood clots in the brain.
- The remaining five deaths were found to have other kinds of thrombosis in major veins.
BORIS JOHNSON: ‘NO REASON AT THIS STAGE TO DEVIATE FROM ROADMAP’
Mr Johnson was later asked if there were “any implications for the road map or for vaccine supplies” as a result of the guidance on not giving the AstraZeneca jabs to under-30s.
Mr Johnson: “First of all, I’m massively grateful to the MHRA and the JCVI, they’ve done a fantastic job for our country throughout the pandemic, and they continue to do so.
“And of course, we will be following their guidance completely.
“These vaccines are safe, they’ve saved many thousands of lives and people should come forward to get their jabs and we’ll make sure that they get the right jabs.
“And of course, I don’t see any reason at this stage at all to think we need to deviate from the road map. And we’re also very secure about our supply.”
TURKEY RECORDS MORE THAN 50,000 NEW COVID INFECTIONS IN 24 HOURS
Turkey on Wednesday reported over 50,000 new coronavirus infections, its highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic over a year ago.
The 54,740 new cases and 276 deaths mean Turkey is now in the throes of a third wave of the outbreak, which has killed 32,943 people in the nation of 83 million, government figures show.
The rising numbers have forced the government to tighten restrictions that had been eased at the start of March.
Much of Turkey has plunged into the high-risk infection zone, including the capital Ankara and Istanbul.
The government announced the return of weekend curfews in high-risk cities after a spike in the number of cases, to be followed by measures taken during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
BRAZIL REPORTS 92,625 NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES, 3,829 DEATHS IN 24 HOURS
Brazil recorded 92,625 additional confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, along with 3,829 deaths from COVID-19, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
Brazil has registered more than 13 million cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 340,776, according to ministry data.
- Joseph Gamp
PICTURED: ASTRAZENECA VACCINE IN NUMBERS
- Joseph Gamp
BORIS JOHNSON DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER COVID PASSPORTS WILL COME INTO EFFECT FROM JUNE 21
The PM was asked if Covid certificates will apply from June 21 rather than earlier.
Mr Johnson replied: “It’s just very important for everybody to understand the priority is to vaccinate as many people as we can across the whole of the UK.
“That’s what we’re doing. It is going well, so far. And I thank people for coming forward to be vaccinated.
“We do believe it is building a defensive shield in our population against the virus. That’s pretty clear from the evidence, we’ve done getting on for 32 million jabs now, and many, many people have now had their second jab as well. So they have a very high degree of immunity. And that’s a great thing to see, and that’s the priority.
“You won’t need any kind of you know certificate from Monday.”
- Joseph Gamp
EXCRUCIATING MOMENT JAB SHAMBLES EU CHIEF VON DER LEYEN IS LEFT WITHOUT A CHAIR IN SNUB BY ‘SEXIST’ PRESIDENT ERDOGAN
EUROPEAN Commission president Ursula von der Leyen was visibly stunned after being left without a chair in a summit meeting with Turkey’s president.
Video footage picked up the awkward moment with the EU commission president reacting by holding out her arms in apparent exasperation and muttering "ermm?".
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
WATCH: UK COVID DEATHS DROP 45 PER CENT IN A MONTH AS 45 MORE PEOPLE DIE AND ANOTHER 2,763 TEST POSITIVE
UK Covid deaths drop 45 PER CENT in a month as 45 more people die and another 2,763 test positive
- Joseph Gamp
ANGELA MERKEL SUPPORTS SHORT BUT UNIFORM LOCKDOWN ACROSS GERMANY
A spokeswoman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel is supporting calls for a short, uniform lockdown as the country grapples with a rise in coronavirus cases.
German state governors, who are responsible for imposing and lifting restrictions, have taken differing approaches. Some back limited reopening steps and others advocate a stricter shutdown.
Armin Laschet, a governor who also leads Merkels party, is calling for a 2-3 week bridge lockdown to control infections while vaccinations are ramped up.
Merkel spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer says, every call for a short, uniform lockdown is right. She says numbers of new cases arent particularly good, and a rise in the number of occupied intensive care beds speaks a very clear language.
Laschet also called for the next meeting between Merkel and governors to coordinate restrictions to be moved up from next Monday but has hit resistance from his colleagues.
- Joseph Gamp
US ADMINISTERS 171.5 MILLION DOSES OF COVID-19 VACCINES
The United States had administered 171,476,655 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Wednesday morning and distributed 225,294,435 doses, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The tally is for Moderna, Pfizer/BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson's vaccines as of 6:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the agency said.
According to the tally posted on April 6, the agency had administered 168,592,075 doses of the vaccines, and distributed 219,194,215 doses.
The agency said 109,995,734 people had received at least one dose, while 64,422,618 people had been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday.
A total of 7,751,004 vaccine doses have been administered in long-term care facilities, the agency said.
- Joseph Gamp
IMAGE: BORIS' FOUR STAGE ROADMAP OUT OF LOCKDOWN
- Joseph Gamp
BELGIUM IMPOSES FOUR WEEK BAN ON AZ VACCINE FOR PEOPLE AGED UNDER-56
Belgium is disregarding advice of the European Unions drug regulator and imposing a four-week ban on administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people under age 56.
The European Medicines Agency says although it found a possible link between the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine and a rare clotting disorder, it placed no new restrictions on using the vaccine in people 18 and over.
The EMA says the benefits of the shot still largely outweigh the risks. Theres been a few dozen clotting cases among the tens of millions of AstraZeneca vaccinations.
Still, Belgium imposed a ban to administer it to younger people. Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke says the ban will be reassessed after a month.
He says it should have little impact on the vaccination campaign since few from that age group are in line to get shots this month.
- Joseph Gamp
BUS SET ON FIRE AND PRESS PHOTOGRAPHER ATTACKED AS DISORDER RESUMES IN BELFAST
A bus has been set on fire at the junction of Lanark Way and Shankhill Road in west Belfast, the PSNI have said.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening on the peace line street that links the loyalist Shankhill Road with the nationalist Springfield Road.
Stones were thrown at police while a press photographer was assaulted nearby during the course of their work on Wednesday evening.
First Minister Arlene Foster condemned the attack on Twitter, saying: "There is no justification for violence. It is wrong and should stop."
SDLP MP Claire Hanna also criticised the attack, tweeting: "We're told by the apologists that these protests & riots are borne of frustration about not being listened to, but an excellent photo journalist is attacked while trying to capture the story."
- Joseph Gamp
ITALY RESERVES ASTRAZENECA VACCINE FOR OVER 60S
Italy will reserve AstraZeneca's vaccine for the over 60s following concerns of a link to blood clots in younger people, the government's top adviser on the coronavirus crisis announced Wednesday.
The decision has been taken to "recommend the preferential use on individuals aged above 60", Franco Locatelli told a news conference, hours after the EU's medicines regulator said that blood clots should be listed as a rare side effect of the jab.
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