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Britain has become the first country to approve a Codiv-19 vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron variant of the virus. Medicines regulator MHRA approved the so-called bivalent vaccine made by US drug company Moderna as a booster for adults. The agency's decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered "a strong immune response" against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original 2020 virus, it said. The MHRA also cited an exploratory analysis in which the shot was also found to generate a good immune response against the currently dominant Omicron offshoots BA.4 and BA.5. "The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives," MHRA chief executive June Raine said in a statement. "What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve."

Britain will offer a Covid-19 booster shot to all adults and could halve the dose interval for booster jabs from six to three months in a bid to accelerate its vaccination programme amid concern over the new Omicron coronavirus variant, as number of new cases found in the country rise. The move, backed by a scientific advisory body and Health Secretary Sajid Javid, comes as ministers scramble to react swiftly to the new variant, which was first detected in South Africa. Prime minister Boris Johnson has responded to the emergence of Omicron by making mask-wearing compulsory in shops and on public transport in England. Until now, only adults in the UK aged 40 and above were eligible for a booster dose six months after their last. But that timeframe will now be halved to three months, alongside the programme's expansion to all over-18s, with priority given to older people. "These measures will protect more people, more quickly and make us better protected as a nation," Javid told MPs.

New mask mandates and other measures aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant came into England today, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson eyes an expanded booster programme to help increase protection against Covid-19. From Tuesday morning (November 30), face masks are compulsory on transport and in shops, banks and hair salons. All international travellers must take a PCR test by the end of the second day after they arrive, and self-isolate until they get their result. That is in addition to restrictions on arrivals from 10 southern African countries, who have to enter hotel quarantine. Britain has reported 11 cases of the Omicron variant so far, and while the government says this number will rise, it says it is important to slow its spread until more is known about the variant's transmissibility and impact on vaccines.

French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday (June 13) an upgraded version of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate it is developing with GSK showed potential in two trials to protect against the virus's main variants of concern, including the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 strains, when used as a booster shot. While the two companies' first experimental Covid shot is undergoing review by the European Medicines Agency, Sanofi and GSK have continued work on a vaccine that is moulded on the now-supplanted Beta variant, hoping still that it will confer broad protection against future viral mutations. Sanofi said this new vaccine candidate was shown to significantly boost antibody levels against a number of variants of concern, when given to trial participants who had an initial course of mRNA vaccines, a type made by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. In a separate trial conducted by a French hospitals network, Sanofi's Beta-adapted booster shot triggered a higher immune response than Sanofi's first-generation shot or Pfizer-BioNTech's established vaccine in previously vaccinated volunteers.

Attempts to deal with record waiting lists for hospital treatment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic are at risk of being derailed by a staffing crisis, which is being exacerbated by the Omicron wave, a cross-party lawmakers' report said on Thursday (January 6). The report entitled 'Clearing the backlog caused by the pandemic' calls for a broader national health and care recovery plan - one that would embrace A&E, mental health, GPs, community and social care. Hospitals are facing extreme pressure as they try to catch up on months of operations that have been delayed and suspended during the pandemic, as Covid-19 hospitalizations rise once more and self-isolation hits staffing levels. There is a record 5.8 million waiting list for elective care, the Health and Social Care Committee said, adding that a recent surge in the Omicron variant has pushed cases to record highs and intensified pre-existing issues.

Kate Bingham, the former head of the UK's Covid-19 Vaccine Taskforce who secured millions of doses for the country, said scientists should know within a week whether existing shots are effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. Bingham, a venture capitalist who backed multiple vaccines at the start of the pandemic to secure early access for Britain, said she currently expected that the leading shots would still show efficacy. "The question is do they have the same level of efficacy?" she said on Wednesday. Bingham, who has returned to her role as managing partner at SV Health Investors, said Britain had built up the capability to quickly test existing vaccines against new variants. "It's not something you can do overnight, but we will get data, I would have thought within a week as to whether or not the vaccines work or don't," she said.

BioNTech and Pfizer are to start tests on humans of next-generation vaccines that protect against a wide variety of coronaviruses in the second half of the year. Their experimental work on shots that go beyond the current approach include T-cell-enhancing shots, designed to primarily protect against severe disease if the virus becomes more dangerous, and pan-coronavirus shots that protect against the broader family of viruses and its mutations. In presentation slides posted on BioNTech's website for its investor day, the German biotech firm said its aim was to "provide durable variant protection". The two companies are currently discussing with regulators enhanced versions of their established shot to better protect against the Omicron variant and its sublineages. The virus' persistent mutation into new variants that more easily evade vaccine protection, as well as waning human immune memory, have added urgency to the search by companies, governments and health bodies for more reliable tools of protection. As part of a push to further boost its infectious disease business, BioNTech said it was independently working on precision antibiotics that kill superbugs that have grown resistant to currently available anti-infectives.

England is set to reopen temporary field hospitals to contain a possible overspill of inpatients due to a surge in coronavirus cases, the national health service said Thursday. Fuelled by the highly contagious Omicron variant, daily cases have ballooned, standing at more than 183,000 on Wednesday. NHS England said it would start building the structures in the grounds of eight hospitals in cities including London, Bristol and Leeds from this week, with each designed to house around 100 extra patients. "Given the high level of Covid-19 infections and increasing hospital admissions, the NHS is now on a war footing," National medical director Stephen Powis said. The extra beds are designed for patients who are recovering from illnesses, including those who no longer have Covid, to free up space and staff to treat large numbers of virus cases.

A second Global Covid-19 Summit will be held virtually next month for countries to discuss efforts to end the pandemic and prepare for future health threats, according to a joint statement on Monday (April18). "The emergence and spread of new variants, like Omicron, have reinforced the need for a strategy aimed at controlling Covid-19 worldwide," the White House said in a news release with the Group of Seven and Group of 20 nations. The announcement comes amid a surge of Covid-19 cases around the world prompted by easily transmissible variants of the virus. China's most populous city, Shanghai, is trying to return to normal after a nearly three-week shutdown, which, along with wider China curbs, are taking a toll on the world's No. 2 economy. The summit will build on efforts and commitments made at the first global summit in September, including getting more people vaccinated, sending tests and treatments to highest-risk populations, expanding protections to health care workers and generating financing for pandemic preparedness, the statement said.

The NHS Confederation has urged the government to reconsider its 'living with Covid' plan and introduce mitigating actions that will help avoid further critical incidents being declared at the NHS front-line. The organisation said the high rates of Covid is having a major impact on the delivery of health services and slowing down efforts to reduce large waiting lists, noting that the country has been in the grip of another spike in Covid cases resulting from the Omicron BA.2 variant. With more than 20,000 patients now in hospital with Covid (or who have Covid but are in hospital for other reasons) and high staff absences, NHS is facing huge operational challenges, harming efforts to reduce waiting times in other areas, it said.

Around 90 percent of coronavirus patients in intensive care units have not had a booster jab, prime minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday (December 29) - defending his decision not to tighten virus curbs in England. Speaking at a vaccination centre, Johnson urged people to get "vital" booster jabs, saying "the overwhelming majority" of those currently going into intensive care in our hospitals have not had the booster jab. "I've talked to doctors who say the numbers are running up to 90 percent of people in intensive care who are not boosted," the prime minister added in Milton Keynes in Hertfordshire. Those who have not been vaccinated are "eight times more likely to get into hospital," he warned. The UK has been hit by a huge surge of the new Omicron variant, with England and Wales reporting record case numbers on Tuesday. The UK has been one of Europe's worst hit with a death toll of 148,021.

A news report suggests the Department of Health and Social Care is aiming to be ready to start charging for Covid-19 tests which are currently free at the end of June. Britain has been increasingly dependent on rapid testing to try to tackle the more-transmissible Omicron variant, which has spread rapidly through the population but is less severe. The government has previously said it will end the universal free provision of easy-to-use lateral flow devices (LFDs) at a "later stage", with individuals and businesses bearing the cost. The Department of Health has declined to say what the tests cost, citing commercial contracts. One source has told the Reuters news agency they can run to £30 for a pack of seven. Free pick up from pharmacies The tests have been made freely available to order online or pick up from local pharmacies since April. The UK Health Security Agency said that between December 30 and January 5 more than 8 million LFDs were conducted, the highest weekly figure on record.

Indian drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories will launch its generic version of Merck's antiviral Covid-19 pill, molnupiravir, and price it at 35 rupees ($0.4693) per capsule, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday (January 4). The overall cost for a patient treated with a 5-day course of 40 capsules of the generic drug, to be sold under brand name 'Molflu', will come up to 1,400 rupees ($18.77). In comparison, the treatment with Merck's pill in the United States costs $700. "Molflu is expected to be available from early next week in pharmacies throughout (India) with particular focus on states with high caseload of Covid-19," the company spokesperson said. India last week gave emergency use approval to along with two vaccines, as the country braces for a possible spike in coronavirus cases due to the rapidly spreading Omicron variant.

The minimum Covid-19 self-isolation period in England will be cut to five days from seven if someone tests negative twice, health secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday (January 13) - a move that could reduce staffing disruption in businesses and infrastructure. The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has fuelled a spike in Covid-19 cases to record highs in Britain, and the surge has cause major disruption to the staffing of hospitals, schools and transport as staff have to self-isolate. "We've made the decision to reduce the minimum self-isolation period to five full days in England," Javid told parliament. "From Monday, people can test twice before they go, leaving isolation at the start of day six." The government had previously reduced isolation period to seven days from 10 days to people in England who get a negative result on a rapid lateral flow test two days in a row.

It is not sustainable to give Covid-19 booster shots every three to six in the long term, Britain's chief scientific adviser said on Tuesday (January 4), even though the booster rollout is needed in the short term to combat the Omicron variant. "It would be a situation that isn't tenable to say everyone's going to need to be having another vaccine every three or six months. "That's not the long-term view of where this goes to," Patrick Vallance said at a news conference, adding that annual booster shots against Covid-19 might be necessary, similar to flu shots.

The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme has administered more than 40 million second doses following a bumper week that saw over 200,000 people coming forward for their second jab. Last week, more than 65,000 people aged 18 and over also stepped up to get their first dose of the Covid-19 jab. The NHS continued to encourage people to come forward for their first, second or third doses. Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that two doses of the vaccine are not enough to avoid the Omicron infection, but a booster significantly increases protection against the variant. Since the start of vaccination programme, NHS England has administered more than 113 million jabs in total. However, more than 1.1 million people aged 18 and over have still not come forward for their second dose.

Prime minister Boris Johnson received his Covid-19 booster shot on Thursday (December 2) and urged others to follow suit to help the country fend off the Omicron variant of coronavirus. Wearing a mask, Johnson briefly chatted to staff and others queuing for their shots at the vaccination centre in central London, asking them if they were there to receive a booster dose and thanking them for attending. Johnson, who said it could "have gone either way" when he was treated in hospital for Covid last year, was later filmed rolling up his shirt sleeve and receiving his shot. "Fantastic. Thank you so much," he said to the nurse, before receiving a badge that said "I've boosted my immunity".

The world has never been in a better position to end the Covid-19 pandemic, the head of the World Health Organization said on September 14, his most optimistic outlook yet on the years-long health crisis which has killed over six million people. "We are not there yet. But the end is in sight," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a virtual press conference. That was the most upbeat assessment from the UN agency since it declared an international emergency in January 2020 and started describing Covid-19 as a pandemic three months later. The virus, which emerged in China in late 2019, has killed nearly 6.5 million people and infected 606 million, roiling global economies and overwhelming healthcare systems. The rollout of vaccines and therapies have helped to stem deaths and hospitalisations, and the Omicron variant which emerged late last year causes less severe disease. Deaths from Covid-19 last week were the lowest since March 2020, the U.N. agency reported.

Pharmacy professionals due to submit their revalidation records on or before May 31, 2022 only need to present a reflective account until June 1, 2022, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has said. GPhC has extended the deadline, considering the continuation of pressures related to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Omicron variant, that pharmacy professionals are facing this winter. Changes to revalidation requirements were first introduced in March 2020 due to pressures on pharmacy professionals during the pandemic. The changes were then extended until March 1, 2022, with the GPhC remaining committed to keep the situation under review. "Our current intention is that full revalidation will not resume until the emergency powers for the pandemic introduced by the secretary of state for health and social care are removed, but we will continue to keep this under active review," GPhC stated.

A fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine is not needed at present, as latest data shows first booster provides high levels of protection against Omicron variant among older adults, says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). After analysing latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), JCVI said: "There is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, or fourth jab, to the most vulnerable". Data from UKSHA revealed that single booster dose provides around 90 per cent protection against hospitalisation to those aged 65 and over, even after three months of jab. However, protection against mild symptomatic infection is short-lived and drops to around 30 per cent by about three months. The study, which looked at booster doses in those aged over 65, showed that with two vaccine doses, protection against the infection drops to around 70 per cent after three months and to 50 per cent after six months.