THE Police Federation has slammed news that officers won't be given priority vaccines as a 'damaging betrayal' that "won't be forgotten".
John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation, said: "There's real palpable anger from all levels within policing about how we have been completely disregarded and ignored in this phase.
"My colleagues have been on the frontline since the first national lockdown last March, risking infection and even death to keep the public safe."
The news comes as a government scientist said keeping windows open is more effective at reducing the spread of Covid than masks for primary-age kids.
Professor Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he is "not a fan" of asking young children to wear masks, and there are better strategies for managing the virus.
He said: "If I had to invest in a single activity to improve the environment both for the children and the adults, I'd be looking at improving the ventilation, unsealing windows that have been painted shut and kept shut for energy-saving reasons … improving air exchanges.
Follow our live blog below for the very latest on the UK 's path out of lockdown…
- Jon Rogers
CANADA APPROVES ASTRAZENECA VACCINE
Canada's drug regulator approved AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine on Friday, the third inoculation to get a green light.
The vaccine was approved under Canada's interim order system, which allows for accelerated approvals similar to the US Food and Drug Administration's emergency use authorisations.
- Jon Rogers
SCHOOL CLOSURES HIT CHILDREN HARD, SAY PARENTS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PUPILS
Almost half of parents of fifth or sixth year secondary education pupils have said that school closures inflicted a major negative impact on their learning, a survey has found.
A report produced by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) found that more than one in three parents who have a child in secondary school said that school closures had a major negative impact on their learning.
This compared to 14 per cent of parents in primary school.
The CSO survey, the Impact of School Closures on Students' Learning and Social Development, also found that more than a third of parents of secondary children said school closures had a major impact on their social development.
Schools across the country have not reopened since the Christmas break.
- Jon Rogers
WALES EXPECTS TO HAVE GIVEN 1M PEOPLE THE JAB BY SATURDAY
More than one million vaccines are expected to have been administered in Wales by Saturday, the country's chief medical officer has said.
Dr Frank Atherton said more than 902,000 people had already received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine while more than 80,000 people have had their second dose – about 2.7% of the adult population in Wales.
"By tomorrow, we expect that our remarkable vaccination teams in all of our health boards and areas will have administered over one million vaccines, a really phenomenal performance and a key milestone," Dr Atherton said.
Dr Atherton said he supported the latest JCVI advice on vaccinations, which recommends an age-based approach to prioritisation.
"I want to stress that this is seen as the simplest, the quickest and the fairest approach," Dr Atherton said.
- Jon Rogers
BELGIUM EXPECTED TO EXTEND RESTRICTIONS AS INFECTIONS RISE
Belgian health authorities warned on Friday that the number of Covid infections is rising, probably due in part to the fast-spreading variant first found in Britain, as the government appeared set to prolong restrictions for several more weeks.
Figures released Friday showed that 2,294 new confirmed cases are appearing on average daily in Belgium, a rise of 24 per cent over the previous 7-day period. However, the number of reported cases in care homes is dropping, and the Covid-19 death rate continues to decline.
The rise in the number of infections, despite the number of tests decreasing, is a sign that the virus is circulating more," said Steven Van Gucht, head of the viral diseases scientific service at the Belgian Scientific Institute of Public Health. "This could be due to the appearance of more contagious new variants, but also to less respect for restrictions.
The institute estimated that more than half of new infections last week were caused by the variant first identified in the UK, compared to 38 per cent of cases over the previous seven, Van Gucht said. Belgium has also recorded cases of virus variants first found in South Africa and Brazil, but numbers are small.
- Jon Rogers
PERCENTAGE OF THOSE TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID DROPPING IN ALL AREAS OF ENGLAND EXCEPT YORKSHIRE & HUMBER
The percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus has decreased in all regions in England except Yorkshire and the Humber, the ONS said.
It said that in the week ending February 19 the trend in Yorkshire and the Humber was "uncertain" but caution should be taken in over-interpreting "small movements in the latest trend".
Around one in 120 people in private households in the region were estimated to have had Covid-19 in the week ending February 19 while the highest proportion was in the North West at one in 110.
For London the estimate was one in 125 and for the West Midlands it was one in 140.
The other estimates are one in 145 for north-east England, one in 150 people for the East Midlands, one in 175 in south-east England, one in 210 people for eastern England, and one in 240 in south-west England.
- Jon Rogers
DOWNING ST DEFENDS DECISION ON VACCINE ROLLOUT
Downing Street has defended the decision not to prioritise key workers such as police officers in the next phase of the coronavirus vaccine rollout.
A No 10 spokesman said: "The JCVI have advised that even in the under 50s, age remains the biggest single factor determining mortality and hospitalisations, so it is therefore right that we accept their advice to continue to prioritise by age as this will protect the most people and have the biggest impact on reducing NHS pressures.
"They are also clear that giving priority to certain professions would not be as effective or as fast in reducing deaths and hospitalisations as protection of those at higher risk of serious disease.
"Prioritisation by age will also protect individuals working in jobs with potentially higher risk of exposure with the most vulnerable in those occupations vaccinated first."
- Jon Rogers
SCOTLAND WILL FOLLOW JCVI ADVICE ON NEXT STAGE OF VACCINE PROGRAMME
Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said that Scotland will follow Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice on the next stage of the coronavirus vaccination programme.
People aged 40-49 will be prioritised for a Covid-19 vaccine in phase twi of the vaccination programme, followed by those aged 30-39 and then those aged 18-29.
These groups will be vaccinated once all those in phase one (the over-50s and most vulnerable) have received a jab.
Ms Freeman said: "We welcome the interim advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation for phase two of the vaccine deployment programme to continue prioritising people for vaccinations by age, as this is assessed to be the best way to address the risk of severe illness and mortality.
"All four UK nations will follow the recommended approach for phase two of the vaccine rollout, subject to the final advice given by the independent expert committee."
- Jon Rogers
TEACHING UNION SLAMS DECISION NOT TO HAVE OCCUPATIONAL JAB ROLLOUT
A school leaders' union has said ruling out an occupation-based rollout for the vaccination programme due to complexity is not "good enough".
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: "I am amazed by the continuing dedication of school teams. The Government has let them down at every turn.
"The fact that it may have added some complexity to rollout is not a good enough reason not to prioritise the needs of committed professionals.
"A sick teacher is a teacher away from class, which will mean further disruption to pupils' education and could well mean that they may need to be educated from home again."
- Jon Rogers
BRITS WANTED TO HELP TEST SAFETY MEASURES AT LARGE EVENTS
Brits are set to be recruited to attend packed football matches, weddings and nightclubs to test if they are safe to reopen as lockdown lifts.
Volunteers would take part in the scientific trials under a government programme before restrictions on mass social gatherings are eased, The Times reports.
The plan would explore what kind of testing regime and safety precautions must be put in place to make events safe this summer.
Ten pilots with different settings are set to be launched from April, it's reported.
The programme is referred to as an “events research programme” in Boris Johnson's lockdown roadmap to end Britain's Covid restrictions.
Read the full story here.
- Jon Rogers
UK DISTILLERIES RISE BY 29% DURING COVID LOCKDOWN
The number of distillery businesses in the UK jumped 29 per cent during the Covid-19 pandemic, up from 272 in 2019 to 351 in 2020, says UHY Hacker Young, the national accountancy firm.
It's thought the number of distillery businesses is likely to have been fuelled by people using lockdown as a ‘springboard’ to start craft spirits businesses.
Several craft breweries such as, Brewdog and Wimbledon Brewery have also now established their own distilleries in recent years.
James Simmonds said: “The demand for craft spirits is continuing to grow and is showing no signs of abating just yet. The next test will come when lockdown finally ends.”
“It does seem that lockdown and furlough has been a catalyst for people to turn their long-held plans of owning a craft distillery into reality.”
- Jon Rogers
SCOTLAND RECORDS 27 COVID DEATHS
Scotland has recorded 27 deaths from coronavirus and 581 positive tests in the past 24 hours, Jeane Freeman said.
It brings the death toll under this measure – of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days – to 7,111.
The Health Secretary said 200,987 people have now tested positive in Scotland, up from 200,406 the previous day.
The daily test positivity rate is 3.3%, down from 3.7% the previous day.
There are 924 people in hospital confirmed to have the virus, down 43 in 24 hours, and 80 patients are in intensive care, down nine.
She said 1,542,929 people have received their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
- Jon Rogers
MORE THAN 900,000 PEOPLE GIVEN FIRST JAB IN WALES
Public Health Wales said a total of 902,334 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had now been given, an increase of 13,064 from the previous day.
The agency said 80,062 second doses had also been given, an increase of 10,211.
In total, 91 per cent of over-80s in Wales have received their first dose, along with 93.2 per cent of those aged 75-79 and 92.7 per cent of those aged 70-74.
For care homes, 85.8 per cent of residents and 83 per cent of staff have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Public Health Wales said 87 per cent of people in the clinically extremely vulnerable category had received their first dose.
- Jon Rogers
WALES RECORDS ANOTHER 308 COVID CASES
There have been a further 308 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 203,108.
Public Health Wales reported another 16 deaths, taking the total in the country since the start of the pandemic to 5,300.
- Jon Rogers
COVID-19 PREVALENCE IN ENGLAND FALLS AGAIN
The prevalence of Covid-19 infections in England has fallen again, with 1 in 145 people infected in the week ending Feb 19, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
That is down from 1 in 115 people estimated to have coronavirus in the previous week's ONS Infection Survey, a widely watched estimate of community prevalence of Covid-19 infections.
- Jon Rogers
GERMANS URGED TO HAVE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE
Germany's health minister and top public health official on Friday strongly urged Germans to take AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine if offered it, seeking to offer reassurance after some essential workers refused the shot.
Health authorities in some European countries – including Germany – are facing resistance to the vaccine after side-effects led hospital staff and other front-line workers to call in sick, putting extra strain on already-stretched services. Germany has also recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given only to people aged 18 to 64.
German officials have expressed growing disquiet over the quantities of the AstraZeneca vaccine being left untaken by nervous Germans.
"We strongly recommend it: this vaccine is safe and effective, it protects," Health Minister Jens Spahn told a news conference.
"It protects oneself and others, like both other vaccines," he added, referring to the two other vaccines so far approved for use by the European Union, from BioNTech/Pfizer and Moderna.
- Jon Rogers
DAD FELT LIKE AN 'ANIMAL' WHILE IN QUARANTINE
A father-of-three has said he was made to feel like an "animal" while quarantining in a hotel.
Theo Paulse, 39, who lives in Torquay, Devon, stayed at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near Heathrow Airport after flying in from South Africa after a family visit.
After leaving on Friday, he told the PA news agency: "For the amount of money they charge, I felt more like a prisoner than actually a guest here.
"I had loads of altercations in the end with staff just not knowing how to treat people because the power went to their head.
"They didn't realise they were dealing with guests, they just kind of felt like they've got to treat you like some kind of animal and keep you in these rooms."
- Jon Rogers
DCMS COMMITTEE URGES SUNAK TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR FESTIVALS
DCMS Committee Chair Julian Knight has urged the Chancellor to announce support next week to encourage more festivals to go ahead this summer.
The Treasury had earlier rejected a call, which had the support of more than 100 organisations and individuals in the performance sectors, to extend an underwriting scheme offered to other creative industries including film and TV.
Julian Knight MP said: “The Treasury rejected our earlier call for a government-backed insurance scheme that would have provided a safety net for festivals to go ahead, saying the time was not right.
“While we’ve seen welcome news for fans that the Reading and Leeds festivals will happen, the rest of the sector needs more than a roadmap to give them the confidence it takes to get events underway. For some, like Glastonbury, it’s already too late.
“We’re calling on the Chancellor to review that decision now that the government has a better sense of the road to recovery. There’s still time ahead of next week’s Budget to give the festivals’ industry, which makes a significant contribution to the economy, the helping hand it needs.”
- Jon Rogers
POLICE FEDERATION BRANDS DECISION NOT TO PRIORITISE COPS AS 'BETRAYAL'
The national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales has called the decision not to prioritise officers in the next phase of the coronavirus vaccination programme a "deep and damaging betrayal" which "will not be forgotten".
John Apter told the PA news agency: "There's real palpable anger from all levels within policing about how we have been completely disregarded and ignored in this phase.
"What is expected of policing does put them at risk, it does put them at risk of transmitting this virus.
"They're being spat at, coughed at, rolling around on the ground with people, working in hospital environments, going into people's homes, they can't mitigate the risk of the virus.
"All of that means absolutely nothing. This is a very deep and damaging betrayal and it will not be forgotten."
- Jon Rogers
OCCUPATIONAL ROLLOUT OF VACCINE WOULD BE 'DIFFICULT'
Professor Wei Shen Lim said moving to an occupation-based rollout for the vaccination programme would be difficult as occupational status was not well recorded in primary care records.
"If we went down the route of restructuring the programme by occupation we would run the risk of missing some people because not all occupations are well-documented and we don't know all the occupations that are at risk," he told an online news briefing.
"So, we might be able to identify some occupations that are at higher risk but there will be other people in other occupations that we may miss them.
"If we go down an age-based programme it is simpler and we are less likely to to miss people who are at risk themselves."
- Jon Rogers
JCVI BACKS LOCALISED APPROACH TO OFFERING VACCINE
The JCVI supports a localised approach to offering vaccines, even where that means deviating from the age-based plan, Prof Wei Shen Lim said.
Asked whether he supported local teams vaccinating prisons in one go in order to minimise vaccine waste and the need for return visits, the JCVI Covid-19 chair said: "We want to see local flexibility and, indeed, NHS England have told us that having local flexibility is helpful in the way they deploy, both for efficiency and to avoid vaccine wastage.
"I can't tell you what happens at particular local levels but, as a general principle, that is something we support."
PHE's Dr Mary Ramsay added it was important the right "balance" was struck, saying: "It comes back to this issue of speed and certainly we encourage the NHS to work with their local directors of public health.
"It is very important that if they are doing the operational flexibility then it is seen to be fair and not to be seen to be disadvantaging another group who might be at high risk."
- Jon Rogers
GETTING THE VACCINE WILL HELP COMMUNITIES
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisations at Public Health England (PHE), said people should remember that getting the vaccine will help their communities, not just them.
She told the press conference: "We are beginning to suspect that the vaccine may actually help to reduce infection rates as well, so I think it's important for those individuals to be seeing this not just as something to protect themselves but potentially something that might help protect their communities, their families and friends and their vulnerable elderly relatives.
"That's an important message to keep going as we get into the younger age ranges."
- Jon Rogers
UNION 'DISAPPOINTED' TEACHERS NOT GIVEN PRIORITY
A headteachers' union has said it is "disappointed" the JCVI had decided against prioritising education staff for the next phase of the vaccine rollout.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "The Government needs to make a policy decision on this matter having insisted that education is a national priority and having announced a 'big bang' return to the classroom in England.
"It must now back that up by providing a clear direction that education staff will be prioritised in the next phase of the programme.
"This is important not only in reassuring staff who it expects to work in busy and crowded environments, but also in terms of minimising disruption to education caused by staff absence as a result of Covid."
- Jon Rogers
'CONCERN' OVER GROUPS OF PEOPLE NOT GETTING JAB
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Covid-19 chair for JCVI, said he was concerned about groups of people not taking up the offer to be vaccinated.
He told the press conference: "We are certainly concerned about groups of people who are not taking up the offer of vaccination because vaccination is the way to be protected against severe Covid.
"So the JCVI has looked at the information on vaccination uptake and coverage, and we are in regular contact with the Department of Health as well as NHS England to ask them to keep close attention to these groups and do everything possible to increase uptake."
When asked about whether the priorities of the vaccination programme will continue to be reviewed, he added: "We will be reviewing the priorities all the way down, even as we are doing so now.
"You are absolutely right as we move down the age groups the risk of severe disease will be lower and lower, and so we will be checking to make sure it is still the right thing to do to offer all these people a vaccine."
- Jon Rogers
OCCUPATIONS WON'T BE GIVEN PRIORITY IN ROLLOUT
Professor Wei Shen Lim has said the JCVI had decided against prioritising particular occupations for the next phase of the vaccine rollout.
He told an online briefing: "An occupation-based vaccine programme has never been tested before on a large scale in the UK. It is, in that sense, untested and untried.
"Trying to switch from an age-based programme to an occupation-based programme would be more complex and potentially introduce more delays to the programme.
"Speed is the critical factor here."
- Jon Rogers
EU EXPECTED TO APPROVE J&J JAB EARLY MARCH
The European Union's medicines regulator is expected to recommend drugmaker Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine on March 11, Bloomberg News reported on Friday, a move that could give the region its fourth coronavirus vaccine.
The U.S. drugmaker said earlier this month it had submitted a conditional marketing application for its vaccine with the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Last week, the regulator said it could issue an opinion by mid-March on whether to approve J&J's vaccine under a speedy review.
The EU has so far approved vaccines made by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc and AstraZeneca Plc-Oxford.
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