Pfizer to seek permission in US to give Covid vaccines to under-12s in days September 27, 2021 Vaccine giant Pfizer/BioNTech is set to ask for permission to vaccinate US children under 12 soon. The firm said it would submit data on children aged five to 11 to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for consideration very shortly. “It is a question of days, not weeks,” Pfizer chairman and CEO Albert Bourla told [...]
Covid to be like the common cold – one day, says AstraZeneca vaccine co-designer September 23, 2021 It is likely that Covid-19 will become just like the common cold, the professor who co-designed the AstraZeneca vaccine has said. However, the big question remains as to how long it will take to get there, Dame Sarah Gilbert explained. Speaking to a Royal Society of Medicine webinar, Gilbert assured that Covid-19 will “eventually” become [...]
CEO: ‘Incredible year’ for £88bn Covid loan bank as it helped 1.6m businesses to bounce back September 22, 2021 The taxpayer-owned bank that helped funnel billions of pounds worth of loans to British companies said it went through a “gigantic shift” during the pandemic year, the chief of the British Business Bank said this morning. Catherine Lewis La Torre said this morning that the BBB, which she leads, had an “important role” in the [...]
Looming turkey shortage and Covid spike: Cancelling Christmas again is ‘very much not the plan’, says Boris Johnson September 21, 2021 Cancelling Christmas is “very much not the plan”, Boris Johnson has said, in the face of prospects of a turkey shortage and a spike in coronavirus cases during the festive season. The Prime Minister said the Government does not “expect to have to do anything like last Christmas” when spiralling infection rates forced him to [...]
MarketFinance raises £280m and enrols as UK Covid recovery lender September 21, 2021 Business lender MarketFinance is gearing up to provide loans to UK businesses as they recover and grow post-pandemic through the government’s Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS), after raising £280m debt and equity in its latest fundraising round. The British fintech, which hit profitability in March, was one of the first fintechs after Funding Circle to be [...]
Wales gives Covid-19 passes the green light ahead of New Zealand rugby showdown September 17, 2021 Wales has given Covid-19 passes, similar to the UK’s proposed passports, the green light, meaning people will have to prove vaccination or a negative test to attend events. The new rules, which come into effect on October 11, will see large-scale ever goers and clubbers use an NHS Covid Pass to be allowed entry. The [...]
Pre-departure Covid tests may be ditched to simplify travel restrictions September 15, 2021 Ministers plan to make an announcement later this week which will mean vaccinated people arriving into England will no longer be subject to pre-departure Covid tests, according to reports. A government insider told the Financial Times, which first reported the news, that measures to simplify travel restrictions and aid the UK’s struggling travel and tourism [...]
Central London least vaccinated place in England September 15, 2021 A new report has revealed that the vaccination rate in Central London is lagging behind the rest of the UK despite fears of a fourth coronavirus wave despite rising hospitalisation. It was first reported earlier this week in Metro that all 11 areas with the lowest vaccine coverage in the UK are clustered in the [...]
Sajid Javid defends the march back to the office despite SAGE warnings September 15, 2021 Health secretary Sajid Javid has defended the march back to the office after government scientific advisors warned it could trigger a spike in infections. Ditching work from home advice could push daily hospital admissions to rise to 7,000 by next month, experts advising the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) warned yesterday. However, the [...]
Mixed Covid-19 messages ‘cannot define this winter’ for business, says London First chief September 14, 2021 The boss of London First has urged the government not to allow mixed messages to define the upcoming winter for businesses, following the health secretary’s Covid-19 plan earlier today. Health secretary Sajid Javid said that the government intends to dodge winter restrictions by allowing booster jabs for those over 50 and vaccinations for 12 to [...]