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Dr. Christian Chidiac gets a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in La Croix-Rousse hospital, in Lyon, central France, Wednesday Jan. 6, 2021 (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)
PARIS, France (AFP) The spread of more infectious coronavirus strains in Britain and South Africa, with isolated cases of the UK variant appearing in dozens of countries, has made inoculating a maximum number of people as quickly as possible more urgent than ever, experts say.
Here’s a rundown on how the vaccination story is unfolding:
How many vaccines?
Drugmakers worldwide defied predictions by finalizing not just one vaccine in record time, but half a dozen.
“To have multiple vaccines authorized before the end of 2020 is truly remarkable,” said Richard Hatchett, CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.
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Government said there had been further 54,990 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus and 454 deaths in the UK
Trusts in London and the south-East are preparing to transfer critically-ill Covid patients to south-west trusts
Patients in the east of England will be moved to hospitals in the Midlands under emergency plans
Health officials have warned that people as young as 30 will die from Covid and are not immune to virus
More than 50,000 new coronavirus cases have been recorded for the sixth day in a row and another 454 deaths today as health officials warn that people as young as 30 will die from Covid .
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Health officials today warned that people as young as 30 will die from Covid as NHS hospitals in the West Country brace for an overspill of critically-ill patients from London under emergency plans.
Trusts in London and the south-east at the centre of the UK s epidemic are preparing to transfer patients to hospitals in the south-west while patients in the east of England will be moved to the Midlands.
The massive Nightingale hospital at the London Excel Centre, which was created in record-time early in the pandemic only to be swiftly mothballed, is also expected to reopen within a fortnight, the Times reports.
The UK Government has cancelled the planned reopening of schools in and around London but teaching unions want wider closures.
More than 40 countries have closed their borders to the UK leaving very limited flight options because travellers can t transit through certain countries.
The worsening COVID-19 outbreak in the UK is making it close to impossible for many Kiwis trying to get back home.
On Sunday the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced six cases of the new UK Variant were in New Zealand. The cases are all cared for with the same high level of infection prevention measures as all COVID-19 positive cases, with daily health checks and use of PPE, the MoH said in a statement.
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