Vaccines to be offered to over-25s, as Hancock says jabs keeping patients out of hospital

Good morning, and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the coronavirus pandemic for Monday 07 June, 2021.

At least 70 black fungus patients have had an adverse reaction after they were injected with an anti-fungal drug, Amphotericin B, which is used widely in India to treat mucormycosis.

Two medical colleges in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh reported the adverse effects. Officials said the adverse reactions are due to a change in the formation of the drug which was supplied to medical colleges and hospitals, according to The Indian Express.

India will begin screening of children for clinical trials of its indigenous vaccine Covaxin — made by Bharat Biotech — from today, according to media reports.

The trials will be conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Science in the national capital Delhi, NDTV reported.

Bharat Biotech received the nod from India’s drug regulator to conduct clinical trials on children last month. The trials are expected to involve 525 participants.

The Indian state of Assam is facing a shortage of Covaxin — India’s indigenous vaccine made by Bharat Biotech — and has suspended administering it as the first dose temporarily.

The state government said last week that it would prioritise those who have to get their second dose of Covaxin.

But several people have taken to social media, saying they have either missed the second dose deadline or they are unable to find an appointment to schedule one.

Migrant workers have begun returning to India’s national capital Delhi as lockdown restrictions have been eased, according to media reports.

The Delhi government data estimated that at least 800,000 migrant workers left the national capital in the first four weeks of the lockdown that was imposed in April to contain the second wave of the pandemic.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal cautioned against lowering the guard as the government has allowed markets to open and metro services to resume from today.

NHS staff say they are “broken” and “close to burnout”.

Emily Ball, a GP in northwest England, told PA “general practice is a bit of a mess” and the abuse doctors receive is on the rise.

Doctors are “pretty broken and close to burnout”, she said, adding: “The stuff we are doing is greater than ever, and unfortunately so is the amount of abuse we are taking.”

She added that the government should proceed with caution when removing further lockdown restrictions.

“We know there’s still a lot of kind of unclear messaging going on, and I think unfortunately is people’s behaviour has been relaxing,” she said.

“And then the beaches are packed, nobody’s wearing a mask, there’s no social distancing, and you just want to weep.

“The NHS is still in crisis and we cannot cope as it is. Unlocking poses a real threat to it just collapsing, and my biggest concern is patient safety.”

Read more:

The government has partnered with a host of popular dating apps to try to boost vaccination uptake.

Users of Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, Badoo, Match, Plenty of Fish, Our Time and Muzmatch will be able to add badges and stickers to their profiles to indicate they’ve been vaccinated and gain perks including free “super likes”.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that providing vaccination status is optional, but that data suggests people are more likely to accept a date with someone who has had their jabs.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said: “I am thrilled that we are partnering up with dating apps to boost vaccine uptake across the country.

“This is another incredible asset to our vaccination programme - the biggest and most successful in our history.”

Read more:

Current coronavirus figures are “evidence of another wave appearing”, an expert has said.

Sir David King, former chief scientific adviser to the Government and chair of the Independent Sage Group, said: “(There are) 5,300 new cases of the disease per day in the United Kingdom and we’re up about 2,000 on last week.

“Now we’ve been discussing whether or not we’re going into a serious third wave and I don’t think we can possibly wait any longer. This is the evidence of another wave appearing.”

Speaking to Sky News, he added that one in 25 new Covid-19 cases are people who have had two jabs - amounting to around 400 new cases a day.

Reacting to the figures, he said: “I’m very reluctant to say that we should not go out of lockdown on June 21, but I think the figures are in now, and it will be wise for the government to announce right away a delay in opening, just so that we can all plan for the post June 21 period.

“I would give a few weeks’ delay and see how the figures are emerging.”

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has said that NHS workers haven’t been properly compensated for their work during the pandemic.

His comments came as he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain that it should be possible to vaccinate British children while still supporting the global vaccine drive.

“If children need to be vaccinated and that’s the medical advice, we must do it ... and of course we’ve got to fund the NHS properly”, he said.

“I feel very sad that the nurses and the health workers have not been properly compensated for the work they did over the last year, but we can do both and it’s in our interest to do both.”

Mr Brown added that failing to support vaccination around the globe would “come back to haunt” the UK, but that there should be enough money to vaccinate everyone, including children, in the nation.

Don’t miss an update as pressure mounts on the prime minister to delay his 21 June lockdown exit date, and sign up to The Independent’s Health Check newsletter.

As the coronavirus crisis continues, receive weekly briefings on the virus, variants and vaccination from our Health Correspondent Shaun Lintern.

Delivered straight to your inbox, every Thursday.

Click here to sign up for free.