Global Politics
Lockdown extended: UK’s revised ‘freedom day’
England’s plan to lift all restrictions by June 21 has been pushed back by the country’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.
Johnson says the date dubbed “freedom day” by many residents, now has to be pushed back by four weeks to allow further vaccinations.
It comes as the highly infectious Delta variant spreads rapidly throughout the country, at a rate of 7 percent week-on-week.
The government fears that if restrictions are fully eased now, hospitalisations could reach the levels they were at during Britain’s first wave.
The new planned date for the full easing of restrictions is July 19, which will give health authorities a further four-week window to fully vaccinate those most vulnerable.
Which Covid-19 vaccine is more effective?
Health authorities have confirmed that both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalisation.
After two doses, the Pfizer shot is 96 percent effective at reducing hospitalisations, whilst AstraZeneca’s version is 92 percent effective.
The analysis was conducted by Public Health England and is a promising sign as countries begin to move into a post-pandemic world.
“It is absolutely vital to get both doses as soon as they are offered to you, to gain maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants.”
PHE SAYS.
Further work remains underway to establish the level of protection against mortality from the Delta variant. However, as with other variants, this is expected to be high.
The analysis included 14,019 cases of the Delta variant – 166 of whom were hospitalised – between 12 April and 4 June, looking at emergency hospital admissions in England.
Public Health England (PHE) has previously published analysis showing that one dose is 17 per cent less effective at preventing symptomatic illness from the Delta variant, compared to Alpha, but there is only a small difference after 2 doses.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock says the UK vaccination programme continues at pace and has already saved thousands of lives and notes “It is our way out of this pandemic.”
“This evidence of the effectiveness of two doses against variants shows just how crucial it is to get your second jab.”
“These hugely important findings confirm that the vaccines offer significant protection against hospitalisation from the Delta variant.
The vaccines are the most important tool we have against COVID-19. Thousands of lives have already been saved because of them.
It is absolutely vital to get both doses as soon as they are offered to you, to gain maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants.
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE, said:
Vaccines Minister, Nadhim Zahawi says It is extremely encouraging to see research showing that vaccines are continuing to help break the link between hospitalisation and the Delta variant after one dose, and particularly the high effectiveness of 2 doses.
Separate PHE analysis indicates that the COVID-19 vaccination programme has so far prevented 14,000 deaths and around 42,000 hospitalisations in older people in England, up to 30 May.
Authors
New Zealand has suspended its travel bubble with Australia
The nation has halted its travel bubble arrangements for at least eight weeks as Australia continues to battle against the delta variant of COVID-19.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern fronted the media and stated that “the Delta variant has materially changed the risk profile”.
From 11:59pm tonight, Australians will be unable to travel to New Zealand on a quarantine-free flight
This restriction will be in place for at least the next eight weeks.
The trans-tasman route is already closed to travellers flying into New Zealand from New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia as those states battle COVID-19 outbreaks.
“For New Zealanders in Australia, we are absolutely committed to getting you home,” Ms Ardern said.
Constant disruption to trans-Tasman travel bubble
Flights to New Zealand inside the bubble have been paused and restarted as different Australian states have experienced COVID-19 outbreaks.
“For the next seven days, we will have managed return flights for New Zealanders from all states and territories.
“Only New Zealand citizens and those ordinarily resident in New Zealand will be able to fly home.”
Author
Sydney has declared a national emergency as COVID-19 cases rise across the Australian city
Sydney and the state of New South Wales is calling on the Australian Federal Government to “refocus the national vaccination strategy”.
As the delta variant of the virus spreads throughout the city, Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her government have declared a national emergency.
New South Wales Government officials say that the spreading of the virus is “threatening the safety of other states.”
“This is not just a challenge for New South Wales – it’s a challenge for Australia”
They’ve encouraged people in virus-ravaged south-western and western Sydney to urgently “do their duty” and get vaccinated against coronavirus.
“The national emergency, every citizen has a duty to do what they can to defeat whatever is happening to us – in this case, it is a Delta variant of a virus,”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
The Premier has stressed the importance of getting vaccinated as NSW records its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases today.
Dr. Kerry Chant says Australia urgently needs to correct the mythology about AstraZeneca
“We need to vaccinate younger people, between that 20 and 40-year-old age group,”
The Premier said.
Meanwhile, Chief Health Officer Dr. Kerry Chant says Australia urgently needs to “correct the mythology about AstraZeneca”.
“There is no doubt that if we want to contain this virus and stop it seeping out to other parts of Greater Sydney, stop it impacting our freedom and our economy, but also stop it spreading to other states, we need to have a discussion about refocusing the national vaccination strategy,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
The issue will be addressed at today’s National Cabinet, she said.
At least 53 of today’s NSW cases were infectious in the community
Author
As the race to combat the global chip shortage continues the Biden administration is big to end the crisis
US President Joe Biden is preparing to spend $52 billion to boost the worsening shortage of semiconductor chips.
The White House is still waiting for congressional approval on the big spend but is pushing ahead with plans of how to invest the money wisely.
The Commerce Secretary says America “needs to incentivise the manufacturing of chips” if the country wants the crisis to end.
She added that officials have been speaking with the impacted industries on a daily basis which has helped address the shortage from the ground up.
Whilst there have been reports that the sector is gradually improving, but the car manufacturing sector may still be impacted by delays.
Biden recently called for Semiconductor chips to be produced locally in the US, but this company is ignoring his plea.
Semiconductor manufacturer ‘Global Foundries’ has ignored US President Joe Biden’s request for new plants to be built locally amid the global chip shortage.
Construction will begin on the $4 billion Asian plant in 2023. This goes against the Biden administration’s wishes to return chip manufacturing to American soil.
The company will join rivals including ‘Samsung’ and ‘Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’ which are all also trying to address the current chip shortage.
The President has been under increasing pressure to secure a constant supply of this crucial tech that is used in so many modern devices.
Author
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