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Britain on Monday (January 10) put the biggest private health companies on high alert to deliver crucial treatments such as cancer surgery should Omicron overwhelm National Health Service hospitals in England. The United Kingdom's death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic stands at 150,154, the world's seventh worst official Covid toll after the United States, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru. Prime minister Boris Johnson has bet on refraining from lockdowns to deal with the Omicron variant which in recent weeks has swept across the UK, albeit with death rates significantly lower than previous waves. In a sign of just how stretched the NHS could become, health secretary Sajid Javid ordered England's NHS to strike a three-month deal with private health companies to allow patients to get treatments such as cancer surgery outside. "Millions of patients have already got their tests and treatment quicker thanks to our existing deal with independent providers," said David Sloman, NHS England chief operating officer and Covid incident director.

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.

The prevalence of Covid-19 infections in England rose to around one in 60 people in the week ending November 27, the Office for National Statistics said today (December 03), led higher by the dominant Delta variant rather than the newly identified Omicron. The prevalence was up from one in 65 reported the previous week, the ONS said, adding that 99 per cent of all coronavirus infections which were sequenced were genetically compatible with the Delta variant. "To date, we have not identified any infections compatible with the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) among our survey participants," the ONS said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has introduced travel restrictions and some mask mandates, with a view to slowing the spread of Omicron while work is undertaken to understand it better. There have been 42 confirmed cases of the variant in Britain, which has mutations consistent with reduced vaccine efficacy.

Former chancellor Rishi Sunak on Monday (October 24) won the battle for leader of Britain's Conservative party and will become the country's first prime minister of colour. Penny Mordaunt, the last rival left after Boris Johnson dramatically pulled out, failed to secure the necessary 100 nominations from her fellow MPs. "Rishi Sunak is therefore elected as leader of the Conservative party," senior backbencher Graham Brady said, as Mordaunt pledged her "full support" for Sunak. Sunak's triumph came after Johnson's decision late Sunday to abandon his political comeback bid. Just weeks after he lost out to Liz Truss to lead the ruling Tories, Sunak therefore pulled off a stunning reversal in fortunes. The contest, triggered by outgoing leader Truss's resignation on Thursday, had required candidates to secure the support of at least 100 Conservative MPs by 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Monday.

Boris Johnson has picked Steve Barclay as the new health secretary following the resignation of Sajid Javid, who stepped down on July 5 after saying he had lost faith in prime minister's leadership. Barclay - who had served as chief of staff of the prime minister since February 2022 - was previously a junior health minister in 2018, responsible for NHS workforce and finance, before serving as Brexit secretary, chief secretary to the Treasury, and chancellor of the duchy. He is the fourth health secretary after Jeremy Hunt, Matt Hancock and Sajid Javid in the past five years. In a statement on his appointment, Barclay said it was "an honour" to be take up the position, adding: "Our NHS and social care staff have showed us time and again - throughout the pandemic and beyond - what it means to work with compassion and dedication to transform lives. "This government is investing more than ever before in our NHS and care services to beat the Covid-19 backlogs, recruit 50,000 more nurses, reform social care and ensure patients across the country can access the care they need."

Former health secretary Sajid Javid on Tuesday (July 12) dropped out of the leadership contest to replace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister. "There is an abundance of both ideas and talent in our party. One of the candidates will be given the honour of becoming prime minister," Javid said in a statement. "I look forward to seeing the debate unfold and to see colleagues working together as a united Conservative Party once the leadership election is concluded." Javid and chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak resigned on July 5.

A 14-year-old heart transplant campaigner visited Phoenix UK's headquarters in Runcorn recently to raise awareness of the importance of organ donations. The visit by Max Johnson, founder of 'Max and Keira's law', along with his mother Emma, coincided with the launch of Phoenix UK's partnership with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) in which the pharmaceutical provider committed to set a donation goal of raising £20,000 by June 2023 for the heart charity. Max and Emma met with Phoenix UK's employees and gave a talk on the importance of the work they have carried out on behalf of BHF. Max, who was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy when he was eight years old, also shared his own story. His life was saved when he was gifted with Kiera Ball's heart - a nine-year-old girl from Devon who died in a car accident. Max and his family campaigned tirelessly to change the law in England in favour of an opt-out system for organ donation since he was 'gifted' his new heart. 'Max and Keira's Law' passed in May 2020.

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) has partnered with P-Wave, a urinal products brand, to put cancer warnings for men on urinal mats in public places across England, as part of its new earlier diagnosis drive. Urinal mats in pubs, restaurants, shops, hotels and sports stadiums will begin to carry the message "Blood in your pee? Contact your GP practice", and men's toilets in workplaces will also be targeted, the NHS said. Health chiefs believe that this unique initiative will help men to spot the signs of cancer such as blood in pee, and catch the disease early. "Having blood in your pee - even just once - shouldn't be ignored because it can be a sign of cancer, so it needs to be checked out by your GP team," said Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England National Clinical Director for Cancer.

A community pharmacist was applauded for his 'quick-thinking' action in treating a Co Down woman with a fatal bee sting. Joan Johnson, from Moira, was stung on her scalp in her home garden. After the bite, she noticed allergic reactions on her neck and ears with severe itching and redness. However, she was advised to visit her local pharmacy by the GP where the pharmacist, Stephen Joyce, quickly administered life-saving antihistamine and an adrenaline injection while an ambulance was called. Joan hailed the 'treatment' and the 'professionalism' of the whole team for saving her life. "What was just a simple bee-sting, quickly became something very serious. On arrival at the pharmacy on the advice from my GP, I was dealt with very promptly and Stephen was summoned and immediately took control of the situation. "I was given an urgent antihistamine, but quickly started feeling lightheaded and faint. The pharmacy team assisted me to a chair and called an ambulance," she said.

Labour Party leader Keir Starmer leader has tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday (January 5). Starmer had been due to face prime minister Boris Johnson at a question and answer session in parliament later today. His deputy, Angela Rayner, will take his place, the spokesperson added. Starmer had tested positive for Covid-19 last October and self-isolated four times after coming into contact with other positive cases on several occasions.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on Thursday (May 19) said that an anticipated autumn Covid booster campaign would be aimed at people aged over 65, care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all adults in a clinical risk group. The UK is offering a spring booster to the over-75s, care home residents and immunosuppressed people, and ministers have spoken openly of plans for a further booster campaign in the autumn. In interim advice, the JCVI stopped short of recommending another shot for all adults, though said the advice would be reviewed and updated. "The JCVI's current view is that in autumn 2022, a Covid-19 vaccine should be offered to: residents in a care home for older adults and staff; frontline health and social care workers; all those 65 years of age and over; and adults aged 16 to 64 years who are in a clinical risk group," the UK Health Security Agency said in a statement. Prime minister Boris Johnson, who was fiercely criticised for his handling of the early stages of the pandemic, lifted Covid restrictions in England in February, crediting Britain's quick initial vaccine rollout and the rollout of boosters with breaking the link between cases and deaths.

US biotech firm Moderna will build a new research and manufacturing centre in Britain to develop vaccines against new Covid-19 variants, other respiratory illnesses and help improve readiness for any future pandemics. The facility is expected to start producing shots in 2025 and Britain has made a commitment to buy Moderna's vaccines for the next decade under the agreement. Moderna's Covid-19 vaccines, which use messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, were among those deployed in Britain to tackle the crisis and enable prime minister Boris Johnson to reopen the economy from stringent lockdowns. Moderna chief executive Stephane Bancel said the priority was to develop a shot combining refreshed boosters against Covid, flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). "By building a plant in the UK, we are also providing the UK Government - which has a long term partnership with us, with this agreement - with the ability to be pandemic ready," Bancel said on Wednesday.

Independent charity group, Pharmacist Support has appointed five new trustees to its board - David Downham, Karen Harrowing, Mohammed Hussain, Mala Khiroya, and Alison Scowcroft, for a term of three years. The new recruits will join the existing Board members Anita Cawley, Catherine Harper, Paul Johnson, Steve Lutener, Esther Sadler-Williams, Mark Sweeney and Sarah Willis. Harrowing, Downham and Hussain have begun their 3-year term in January 2022, while Scowcroft and Khiroya would join the board in June. The new appointments are in line with the Charity's plans, announced last year, to enhance its volunteer schemes. "Since the launch of the charity's new strategy in January 2020, the profession has been faced with many new challenges. We are really proud of the work we have done in the last few years to address some of these challenges," said Pharmacist Support chief executive Danielle Hunt.

There is a realistic possibility of large waves of Covid-19 infection in the future in Britain and such waves might even be considered likely, epidemiologists who model the Covid-19 pandemic to inform government advice have said. Prime minister Boris Johnson has ditched legal restrictions in England, saying that, while the pandemic was not over, Britain needs to learn to live with Covid. The Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, Operational sub-group (SPI-M-O) said the emergence of new viral variants was the biggest unknown factor in the medium-to-long term, along with waning population immunity and changes in mixing patterns. "Large future waves of infection that need active management to prevent detrimental pressure on the health and care sector are, at least, a realistic possibility (high confidence) or likely (medium confidence)," SPI-M-O said in a consensus statement published on Friday.

NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)'s decision to withdraw gluten free prescriptions for people with coeliac disease across Leeds and Calderdale has disappointed Coeliac UK. In a statement released on Thursday, the charity, which provides support and advice to those living with the disease, has raised "grave concerns" about the decision, warning that it will have a detrimental impact on the coeliac community. The policy is currently implemented across the ICB's other places including Bradford district and Craven, Kirklees and Wakefield district, preventing coeliac patients from accessing gluten free bread and flour mix on prescription. NHS West Yorkshire ICB wants to align its gluten free prescribing guidelines across its five places. But the charity is worried that the additional cost of gluten free staple products will poses a real challenge to maintaining the gluten-free diet, which is the only treatment for the condition.

Specialist business property adviser, Christie & Co has confirmed that City Pharmacy in Portsmouth, Hampshire has been purchased by the existing regional operator, JCL (U.K.) LTD - Lalys Pharmacy. Nyewood Healthcare, which owned the community pharmacy for over 25 years, decided to sell the business to concentrate on their two remaining pharmacies in West Sussex, the broker said. Located on a busy parade in the North End area of Portsmouth, City Pharmacy dispenses an average of 6,900 items per month, it added. Following a freehold sale, the business has been acquired by Lalys Pharmacy, which already has multiple other pharmacies in Hampshire, Dorset, and Surrey. Raj Laly, Director at Lalys Pharmacy, commented: "We are delighted to continue the expansion of our group in Portsmouth as we currently operate right across Hampshire, Surrey, and Dorset.