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

Data emerging over the coming week will be “crucial” in deciding whether final social restrictions should be lifted on 21 June, the government has said.

A spokesperson for the PM said: “There still remains that there is nothing in the data currently to suggest Step 4 can’t go ahead at the earliest date.

“But we do need to look very closely at the data over this coming week, which will be crucial to decide and really to get a sense of the data, particularly on hospitalisations and whether or not the excellent vaccine rollout programme has sufficiently severed that link between the increase in cases, which we always expected to happen, particularly after Step 3, and that subsequently leading to hospitalisations and deaths.”

All over-18s in Wales will be offered a coronavirus vaccine by Monday next week, the First Minister has said. 

The Welsh Government also aims to offer a second dose by the end of September.

Mark Drakeford said: “We will make the offer of vaccination to all eligible adults six weeks ahead of schedule and we expect to reach 75% take-up across all priority groups and age groups a month ahead of target.

“This is a remarkable achievement and a tribute to the hard work of all those involved in the programme - to all those doing the complex work of planning behind the scenes and to the thousands of people vaccinating and helping to run the clinics across the country.”

Unpaid carers should be given a weekly break following the pressures of the pandemic, a cross-party group of MPs have urged the prime minister.

In a letter sent by the group of 23 MPs, including from the Labour Party and SNP, they said unpaid carers have “stepped up heroically” to look after elderly, disabled and vulnerable people since the start of the coronavirus crisis last March.

“They are doing a remarkable and important job in very difficult circumstances,” the letter reads.

“But now most carers are simply exhausted. Most haven’t had a single break since the pandemic started.

“The brutal combination of lockdowns, shielding requirements and reduced support services have made the pandemic especially tough.”

The letter comes on the first day of Carers Week, a campaign aiming to raise awareness of the challenges unpaid carers face.

Research published on Monday by Carers UK found that 72% of people caring unpaid for family or friends have not had any breaks from their caring role at all over the course of the pandemic.

Scotland has recorded 641 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.

No new deaths have been recorded.

The daily test positivity rate is 4.2 per cent, up slightly from 4 per cent the previous day.

Of 122 people in hospital in yesterday with recently confirmed Covid-19, 12 were in intensive care.

Moderna has asked the European Union to approve its vaccine for young people.

The US pharmaceutical firm says its jab is highly effective for 12 to 17 year olds and has no serious safety concerns.

Clinical trials carried out by the firm suggests that two doses of the vaccine are up to 100 per cent effective in adolescents.

Vaccinations are being offered to all adults in a Staffordshire town as coronavirus cases rise in the area.

A pop-up vaccination centre has been set up in Leek for appointments between 7-16 June.

Lockdown easing began in the Indian capital of Delhi today, with private offices reopening and Metro services resuming.

Markets and malls are allowed to open on an odd-even basis: every second shop can trade on alternate days.

Other cities, including Mumbai, have also seen easements. Restaurants, gyms and salons have opened in the Maharashtra state capital, and public bus services have resumed at full capacity.

The easements come as India’s devastating second wave declines.

The nation is still recording upwards of 100,000 new Covid-19 cases per day, but this is down significantly from the 400,000 cases it was recording during the wave’s peak last month.

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Surge testing is to be launched in Calderdale, West Yorkshire from tomorrow after the Delta variant was identified in the borough.

Additional testing and genomic sequencing will take place in the Todmorden, Park and Warley wards and everybody aged 12 and over who lives or works in them is strongly encouraged to take a PCR test.

A small number of cases of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2 – previously called the Indian variant) have identified in the area, the Health Department said.

They added that enhanced contact tracing will be used for those who test positive to determine the route of transmission.

What should I do if I live or work in Calderdale?

If you live or work in Todmorden, Park or Warley and are experiencing Covid-19 symptoms, you should book a test online or by phone.

If you have no symptoms, you should visit your local authority’s website for more information: https://www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2.

The government also recommends making use of free twice-weekly rapid tests, commonly known as lateral flow devices, alongside the PCR test as part of surge testing.

No new coronavirus deaths have been recorded by Stormont’s Department of Health in the last 24 hours.

Another 54 cases were confirmed.

Of 16 confirmed Covid-19 patients in hospital this morning, one was in intensive care.

In Friday’s Ask Me Anything on travel, there were so many questions in the light of the ongoing situation in the world of travel that our travel correspondent Simon Calder has continued answering them over the weekend.

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