Covid UK news: 800,000 vaccine doses likely by year end as infection rates drop across most of England
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The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are thought to have arrived in the UK, shortly after the regulator said it could be rolled out.
The first jabs will be administered by the NHS on Tuesday, according to Chris Hopson, the chief executive of NHS Providers.
Of the 40 million shots of the Pfizer vaccine ordered by the British government, 800,000 are expected to reach the UK by next week.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) defended the speed of its approval decision, saying it had “rigorously assessed the data in the shortest time possible, without compromising the thoroughness of our review”.
It comes as infection rates dropped across all regions of England except in the North East, according to new data.
You can follow how Friday’s coronavirus news developed by browsing the blog below, which is now finished.
Kazakhstan to produce Russian Sputnik V vaccine
The Kazakh president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has said that his country will start producing doses of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine this month.
Kazakhstan, which is also developing its own vaccine, plans to start vaccinations in early 2021.
Norway to use three vaccines to combat Covid-19
Norway hopes to use three promising vaccines - developed by AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech - to inoculate its population against Covid-19, the country’s health minister has said.
Oslo is set to receive 2.5 million vaccine doses in the first three months of 2021, which will be administered to 1.25 million people, almost a quarter of the Norwegian population.
Welsh citizens to be given ID cards after receiving Covid vaccine
People living in Wales will be given a “credit-card sized” token once they have received their coronavirus vaccination, the Welsh health minister has said.
Vaughan Gething said the ID cards would act as proof of inoculation and would also help to remind people to return for their second dose.
Plans for so-called “immunity passports” have not been announced in other parts of the UK.
Wales to give citizens ID cards to prove they got the Covid vaccine
Those given Pfizer inoculation will get credit card-sized NHS Wales immunisation card
Third of Spaniards willing to take vaccine immediately, poll shows
Roughly a third of the Spanish population would be happy to take a coronavirus straightaway, while 55.2 per cent of people would prefer for the effects to become known.
However, 8.4 per cent of respondents said they would not take any Covid-19 vaccine.
The findings were part of a study carried out by the pollster CIS in late November.
US to launch contract tracing initiative for international travellers
After a long wait, the US will at last roll out a contact tracing scheme for international arrivals.
The initiative from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Delta Air Lines will begin on 15 December.
Passengers on-board Delta aircraft will be asked to voluntarily submit information including their name, number and address during their stay in the US. This will then passed securely to the CDC.
Helen Coffey, The Independent’s deputy head of travel, has the details:
US finally launches contact tracing programme for international travellers
Scheme launched in partnership with Delta Air Lines
Sweden to inoculate residents of nursing homes first
The Swedish government has announced that 600,000 elderly people in nursing homes as well as staff and the patients’ relatives will receive the country’s first vaccinations.
Stockholm is expected to received five out of the six vaccines bought under the EU’s common procurement scheme, with the Pfizer vaccine likely to be approved later this month by the European regulator.
Primark lost £430m of sales as stores closed during lockdown
Primark lost £430m of sales during the national lockdown in England and restrictions in the rest of the UK, France, Belgium and Austria.
The cut-price fashion retailer had previously forecast sales would be down £375m. It has re-opened stores in England, France, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland in the past week with extended opening hours. Eleven stores are to open 24 hours a day to try to make up for lost sales in the run-up to Christmas.
Shoppers queued outside some branches ahead of the re-opening but 34 sites remain closed including all stores in Northern Ireland and Austria.
The Independent’s business reporter Ben Chapman has the latest:
Primark lost £430m of sales as stores closed during lockdown
Budget fashion retailer says it lost more sales than previously thought but demand has been strong since re-opening
More than 500,000 had virus in England between 22-28 November, according to estimate
According to the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 521,300 people in England had coronavirus from 22-28 November, which is a fall of more than 100,000 from the week before.
Sky News have published a clip providing a little more detail over the figures.
Trump’s Covid response has been ‘great human tragedy,’ says Mitt Romney
Republican Senator Mitt Romney has criticised Donald Trump for what he called a lack of leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, labelling the president’s response to Covid-19 a “great human tragedy”.
Mr Romney, the party’s defeated 2012 presidential candidate, lamented that the pandemic has become a “political issue” in an interview with CNN, adding that people are “unfortunately dying“ because the message was not made clear to the public.
“Well, this [coronavirus] hasn't been the focus of his rhetoric, apparently, and I think it's a great human tragedy, without question,” Mr Romney said when asked about the president’s attention on making claims about election fraud.
Shweta Sharma has more:
Trump’s Covid response has been ‘great human tragedy,’ says Romney
US once again set an alarming record on Thursday, reporting almost 213,000 new coronavirus cases along with 2,500 deaths
US government hopes to make decision on vaccine approval this month
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn said on Friday the agency will move quickly to review a Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and hopes it will make a decision this month.
Mr Hahn declined to give a specific timeline of how long an approval of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine would take, saying only that the FDA would move “very quickly” after a vaccine advisory committee meets on 10 December.
Many federal officials are expecting a vaccine approval within days of that meeting, though one FDA official recently said an approval decision could take weeks.
Reuters
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