Sweet shot

Scientists believe that the mixed use of Covid vaccines may achieve “the best position for the best protection.”

To date, ongoing research has provided positive evidence that the use of mixed jabs is safer and may be more effective.

This bodes well for the intensive vaccination program in the fall, when more injections will be needed for vulnerable groups to ensure that they maintain a high level of protection.

Professor Robin Shattock, Head of Mucosal Infection and Immunology at Imperial College London, explained the science behind the conversion jab.

cough

Donald Trump has ordered China to pay “ten trillion dollars” to the United States to make up for the “death and destruction” caused by the new coronavirus pandemic.

The former US president also criticized Anthony Fauci for his “stupid” funding of the infamous Wuhan Institute of Virology, because more and more people are asking the top doctor to explain his knowledge of laboratory work.

According to the “Daily Mail” report, Trump said: “Now everyone, even the so-called’enemy’, is beginning to say that President Trump is right about the Chinese virus from the Wuhan laboratory.”

“China should pay 10 trillion U.S. dollars to the United States and the world for the death and destruction they caused!”

More about this story Here.

Researched possible mutations in Indian strains

British health officials urgently investigate a spike mutation-marked as K417N, also known as the Nepalese variant

Although ministers expressed concern about the emergence of a variant of the coronavirus in Nepal, scientists expressed doubts about its existence.

It is speculated that there are more than 40 cases in the UK, and Public Health England (PHE) said it is investigating new spike mutations in the Indian variant

Housing Minister Robert Jenrick stated that “increasing evidence shows that further variants are called Nepalese variants”, partly because Portugal was removed from the government’s green list for international travel.

Vlad’s new jab

Russian scientists claim that they have developed a new vaccine “effective against any Covid mutant”.

Tatyana Yakovleva, deputy director of the Russian Federal Agency for Medical Biology (FMBA), said that clinical trials will begin next month.

“No matter what the mutation [the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus undergoes, the vaccine will keep protecting us from Covid-19.”

Yakovleva claimed the vaccine was different to others because it creates “humoural immunity (which lasts for no more than six months) for certain proteins, as the existing drugs do,” and cell-mediated immunity.

Mutations occur when new proteins in the virus evolve and become resistant to existing treatments.

MUTANT FEARS

Eight areas on scientists’ Covid watchlist are still seeing cases rise, as the June 21 lockdown lifting is on edge.

There are currently 25 areas on the Zoe Covid Symptom Study’s watchlist, based on the prevalence of the virus.

CONTINUE DISTANCING

Social distancing is likely to remain “part of people’s response” to Covid-19 as long as the virus persists, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.

“I think that social distancing remains one of the strongest defences that we have against the risks that the virus continues to pose,” Drakeford said today.

“I think they will remain part of the repertoire, here in Wales, during the rest of the summer, maybe into the rest of this year.

“Whether we will be able to move from them being mandatory to just things that we advise people about and ask people to do in their own lives, I think that will depend upon whether we continue to see improvements in the position here in Wales.

“But as part of a personal repertoire of things that every one of us can do to keep ourselves and others safe, I think they will remain part of people’s response to this public health crisis for as long as coronavirus persists.”

BREAKING

The official R rate in England could be as high as 1.3 in the North West – a hotspot hit hard by the Indian variant.

It comes after experts warned the mutation could be 100 per cent more infectious than the Kent variant, which caused the country to lockdown in January.

Variant fears mean June 21’s “Freedom Day” could be delayed, if cases keep going up and the mutations cause havoc.

Professor Neil Ferguson, from Imperial College London, whose modelling was instrumental to the UK locking down in March 2020 said vaccines are helping, but warned the Indian variant is spreading.

More on the story here.

WUHDUNNIT?

Any evidence that the Covid-19 pandemic was caused by a lab leak has probably been destroyed by China, the former head of MI6 has warned.

Sir Richard Dearlove believes the world may never be able to prove the theory if relevant data from the Wuhan Institute of Virology has disappeared.

Speaking to The Telegraph’s Planet Normal podcast, he said western countries have been “naive” in their trust of China.

He added that scientists who wanted to speak out about “gain of function” experiments in the country have probably been “silenced”.

Sir Richard, who headed up the secret intelligence service between 1999 and 2004, said: “The People’s Republic of China is a pretty terrifying regime and does some things we consider unacceptable and extreme in silencing opposition to the official line of the government.”

BIDEN ANNOUNCES PLAN TO VACCINATE THE WORLD

The White House on Thursday unveiled President Joe Biden’s plans to share Covid-19 vaccines with the world, including its intent to direct 75% of excess doses through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing program.

The White House has previously stated its intent to share 80 million vaccine doses with the world by the end of June. The administration says 25% of doses will be kept in reserve for emergencies and for the U.S. to share directly with allies and partners.

The long-awaited vaccine sharing plan comes as demand for shots in the U.S. has dropped significantly as more than 63% of adults have received at least one dose, and as global inequities in supply have become more glaring.

DIRTY DASH

Thousands of Brits are now facing a desperate battle to get home from Portugal in the next four days to beat new amber list quarantine rules and £1,000 Covid tests.

More than 112,000 Brits are currently in the popular holiday destination and have less than 96 hours to get home before Portugal is removed from the UK’s green list.

Seats on the last flights to London from the Algarve have shot up to a staggering £711 today as holidaymakers try to beat the deadline.

This means thousands have decided to cut their trips short to ensure they don’t have to quarantine when they touch back down in the UK.

More on the story here.

BREAKING

France is to welcome fully vaccinated Brits from June 9, without having to quarantine on arrival.

Brits with just one jab will still have to quarantine for seven days when entering the country.

More on the story here.

PORTUGAL LAMENTS REMOVAL FROM UK’S TRAVEL GREEN LIST

Moving Portugal off the UK’s green list is “an overreaction”, an epidemiologist in the popular holiday destination has claimed.

Professor Henrique Barros, president of Portugal’s National Health Council, said the country’s overall coronavirus situation is “relatively stable”.

He made the comments after Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said positive cases had doubled in the last three weeks in Portugal.

Prof Barros told Sky News: “We didn’t reach such an increase, except as I said in a specific area around Lisbon.

“The overall picture in the country, we didn’t reach such figures.”

‘TOO RISKY’

A Chinese scientist warned of the enormous danger posed by her own research after creating a new form of coronavirus in a Wuhan lab, it has been revealed.

Shi Zhengli, Wuhan Institute of Virology’s lead coronavirus researcher, was among a number of scientists who proved in 2015 that the spike protein of a novel coronavirus could infect human cells, Vanity Fair reports.

Experts inserted a protein from a Chinese rufous horseshoe bat into a SARS virus in 2002, creating a coronavirus that could infect humans.

This “Frankenvirus” experiment – when scientists tinker with viruses to see if they can infect or spread faster – was so alarming that the authors flagged the danger, writing “scientific review panels may deem similar studies…too risky to pursue”. 

More on the story here.

SPANNER IN THE WORKS

Boris Johnson will take “added caution” when deciding whether to press ahead with the June 21 end of lockdown, a senior ally said today.

Cabinet big beast Robert Jenrick hinted freedom day hangs in the balance as experts issued a series of dire warnings about the Indian variant.

He said there are “some signals that we’re seeing” within the latest data about the impact of the new strain.

The PM is set to make a decision in 10 days’ time on whether to go ahead with lifting all restrictions or pause the end of lockdown.

More on the story here.

DOES THE COVID VACCINE PROTECT FROM THE INDIAN VARIANT?

Jabbed-up Brits are protected against the Indian Covid variant, “astounding” tests have shown. The vaccinations offer positive signs of resistance to the spreading mutant strain, it has emerged.

Professor Susan Hopkins, PHE’s Covid-19 strategic response director, said the data trend was “quite clear” and heading in the “right direction”.

But a new study on the Pfizer vaccine, published last night found that people who are given that jab produce fewer antibodies to protect them against the virus.

Experts at the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research UCLH Biomedical Research Centre found that antibodies are lower with increasing age and also decline over time.

It suggests that more people could tests positive for the variant but that they might not fall ill with it.

‘EXERCISE CAUTION’

The Indian variant doubles the risk of hospitalisation, public health chiefs fear.

The strain, officially named “Delta”, is now the UK’s dominant Covid strain – with cases doubling in the past week.

A total of 12,431 cases of the Indian variant have been confirmed in the UK up to June 2, up 79 per cent from the week prior (6,959).

It now represents 73 per cent of all sequenced cases.

As well as being faster spreading and able to weaken vaccines, the variant now show signs of causing mroe severe disease.

SIDE EFFECTS

Even people who have mild Covid can end up with long-term psychiatric problems, a study has found.

Some coronavirus symptoms may also be more common in those with a mild case than those treated in hospital.

Lead author Dr Jonathan Rogers at University College London said: “We had expected that neurological and psychiatric symptoms would be more common in severe Covid-19 cases, but instead we found that some symptoms appeared to be more common in mild cases. 

More on the story here.

TRAFFIC LIGHT LIST

What countries are green, amber and red on the traffic light list? Below is everything you need to know about travelling abroad…

WHEN DOES PORTUGAL GO ON THE AMBER LIST?

The change officially takes place at 4am on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, meaning anyone returning after that date will have to self-isolate for 10 days.

Brits are now rushing to book flights home in order to beat the deadline.

Travellers returning from Portugal and other amber list countries will be required to take a pre-departure PCR Covid test and provide a negative result.

They will then have to pay for a further two tests on days two and eight of their 10-day quarantine.

Brits can opt for private Covid test providers, which can cost between £120 and £300 per person – or slightly cheaper options are available from Boots and Superdrug.

STAY HOME

Work from home might be around for a little longer as government officials consider delaying the return of workers to offices.

Whitehall plan to keep the advice to work from home gone June 21 when Boris is set to lift the lock down.

The decision will be made at the expense of lifting other lockdown restrictions.

Boris has already taken drastic action in removing Portugal from the green list in the hope of protecting the final stage of his road map.

The return to the offices is seen as being the least economically damaging option to curb the spread of the deadly virus.

MORE REACTION TO PORTUGAL BEING REMOVED FROM THE UK’S GREEN LIST

Portugal’s foreign ministry said it did not understand the “logic” behind the UK’s decision.

“We took note of Britain’s decision to remove Portugal from the green list,” the ministry said on Twitter.

It added that it would continue to ease its lockdown rules “gradually”.

WEEKS OF CANCELLATION AFTER PORTUGAL ANNOUNCEMENT

The UK removed Portugal from its quarantine-free travel list on Thursday, essentially shutting down the UK’s international leisure market just weeks after it reopened and sparking outrage from embattled airlines.

The industry has asked why British people could not travel when the country had some of the highest vaccine rates in the world.

Portugal said the decision lacked logic. Airports have demanded a cash lifeline.

Over the last three weeks, Portugal proved a lifeline for the industry which had expected a wider reopening to follow. It now faces weeks of cancellations and uncertainty.

“This decision essentially cuts the UK off from the rest of the world,” easyJet said.

TRAVEL CHAOS FOR BRITS

Portugal is being removed from the UK’s list of Covid-safe travel destinations.

This means that thousands of Brits currently on vacation there face the prospect of 10 days’ quarantine on return.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said yesterday that the “difficult decision” was prompted by rising infection rates in Portugal and worries about new strains of the virus that could prove resistant to vaccines.

75% OF BRITS HAVE NOW HAD THE FIRST DOSE OF THE JAB

The UK has hit a milestone in its coronavirus vaccination programme as 75 per cent of Brits have now had a first dose of a jab.

It comes the day after zero Covid deaths were reported, amid debate over lockdown restrictions ending.

The next set of lockdown restrictions are due to end on June 21, but doubt had been cast over this date due to a rise in cases of the Indian variant – especially in the North West.

On Wednesday no deaths within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 were reported for the first time since July 30 last year – in a sign that vaccines are protecting people from severe infection.

Extra jabs have been rolled out in hotspot areas and the UK was also given an extra boost last week after the Johnson & Johnson jab was approved for use.

RED ALERT: SRI LANKA & EGYPT BANNED FOR HOLS

Egypt and Sri Lanka have been whacked on the red list in another holiday blow for Brits.

Afghanistan, Costa Rica, Bahrain, Trinidad and Tobago, and Sudan will also be shoved on the red list from Tuesday at 4am, further putting holiday plans into chaos, the Department for Transport confirmed this afternoon.

The Government is also announcing that as part of a limited trial, from June 8, direct flights will be permitted to England from countries on the ‘red list’ that were previously subject to flight bans, so long as they arrive at dedicated terminals at Heathrow and Birmingham airports. 

It will mean Brits stuck in red list countries like India and South Africa – where flights have been banned – will be allowed to come home on direct flights.