Covid-19 Daily Bulletin

02 Mar

2 March 2021

A series of daily updates for CHO members regarding relevant updates pertaining to Coronavirus from home and abroad.

Key Announcements:

  • New data has shown that both Pfizer- BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines significantly reduce severe Covid-19 in older adults.
  • An extra £400m will be given to the arts sector in tomorrow’s Budget to help them reopen.
  • Yesterday saw the lowest rise in cases since the end of September 2020.
  • Professor Jonathan Van-Tam says there is “great uncertainty” over foreign holidays this summer – but jabs are leading us to a “very different world in months”.
  • New analysis has shown that parts of the UK reliant on tourism have been most affected by the Covid-19 job crisis.
  • The WHO has warned that the world “won’t be done with Covid-19 this year”.

Devolved

  • Northern Ireland’s lockdown exit plan is due to be published today.
  • In Scotland, tighter rules will make it harder for areas to drop down to lower tiers of COVID restrictions after lockdown is eased.

International

  • The CDC has warned that COVID-19 variants pose a “real threat” to vaccine progress in the US.
  • France has eased restrictions on giving the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged over 65, after new trial data proved the shot was effective.
  • Iraq has launched its vaccination campaign after receiving vaccines donated by China.

Stakeholders

  • RCEM has responded to NHS England’s workforce race equality standard report. Dr Hodon Abdi, co-chair of RCEM’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, said: “The pandemic has widely exposed health inequalities in the NHS and in society as the virus disproportionately affected ethnic minority communities. While displaying some signs of progress, this report shows the struggle that staff from ethnic minority backgrounds face within the NHS. More must be done with trust leaders and staff in the NHS to unravel these systemic inequalities. We must ensure all staff are given equal opportunities for career advancement and professional growth”.