Covid-19: Millions more in England joining Tier 4 from Thursday - BBC News

EPA

Millions more people across England will join the toughest tier of Covid restrictions from Thursday.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock told MPs the Midlands, North East, parts of the North West and parts of the South West are among those escalated to tier four.

Earlier, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in the UK, with the first doses to be given on Monday.

But the PM warned that people should not "in any way think that this is over" as "the virus is really surging".

Under tier four rules non-essential shops, beauty salons and hairdressers must close, and people are limited to meeting in a public outdoor place with their household, or one other person.

Mr Hancock also said that rising cases across England mean it is "therefore necessary to apply tier three measures more broadly too, including in Liverpool and North Yorkshire".

In tier three areas, household mixing is banned indoors and in private gardens, while the rule of six applies in public spaces. Shops, gyms and personal care services can remain open, but hospitality settings must close except for takeaway.

All of the tier changes will come into effect at 00:01 GMT on Thursday 31 December.

• Hospital staff asked to cancel holidays
• What are the lockdown and tier four rules?
• New coronavirus variant: What do we know?

Speaking to the BBC earlier, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that 60% of UK coronavirus cases were now the new, more transmissible, strain of Covid-19.

Asked by political editor Laura Kuenssberg if the government had been too slow to act, he said: "What we, unfortunately, were not able to budget for was this this new variant."

He added: "It's spreading rapidly from the places where it's started, in the east of London and in Kent. And, alas, it's starting to seed across the country."

The areas joining tier four from Thursday are:

• Leicester City
• Leicestershire (Oadby and Wigston, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Blaby, Charnwood, North West Leicestershire, Melton)
• Lincolnshire (City of Lincoln, Boston, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Holland, East Lindsey)
• Northamptonshire (Corby, Daventry, East Northamptonshire, Kettering, Northampton, South Northamptonshire, Wellingborough)
• Derby and Derbyshire (Derby, Amber Valley, South Derbyshire, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire, Chesterfield, Erewash, Derbyshire Dales, High Peak)
• Nottingham and Nottinghamshire (Gedling, Ashfield, Mansfield, Rushcliffe, Bassetlaw, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, Broxtowe)
• Birmingham and Black Country (Dudley, Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall, Wolverhampton)
• Coventry
• Solihull
• Warwickshire (Rugby, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwick, North Warwickshire, Stratford-upon-Avon)
• Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent (East Staffordshire, Stafford, South Staffordshire, Cannock Chase, Lichfield, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle under Lyme, Tamworth, Stoke-on-Trent)
• Lancashire (Burnley, Pendle, Blackburn with Darwen, Ribble Valley, Blackpool, Preston, Hyndburn, Chorley, Fylde, Lancaster, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire, Wyre)
• Cheshire and Warrington (Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Warrington)
• Cumbria (Eden, Carlisle, South Lakeland, Barrow-in-Furness, Copeland, Allerdale)
• Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan)
• Tees Valley (Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees )
• North East (County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland)
• Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Forest of Dean, Cotswolds, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Cheltenham)
• Somerset Council (Mendip, Sedgemoor, Somerset West and Taunton, South Somerset)
• Swindon
• Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
• Isle of Wight
• New Forest

The areas joining tier three are:

• Rutland
• Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
• Worcestershire (Bromsgrove, Malvern Hills, Redditch, Worcester, Wychavon, Wyre Forest)
• Herefordshire
• Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, Wirral, St Helens)
• York & North Yorkshire (Scarborough, Hambleton, Richmondshire, Selby, Craven, Ryedale, Harrogate, City of York)
• Bath and North East Somerset
• Devon, Plymouth, Torbay (East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Plymouth, Torbay)
• Cornwall
• Dorset
• Wiltshire

Announcing the rule changes, Mr Hancock said: "I know that tier three and four measures place a significant burden on people, and especially on businesses affected, but I am afraid it is absolutely necessary because of the number of cases that we've seen."

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said people across England "will be deeply worried" that they have now been "in a form of restriction for months and months and months".

"It's having a huge impact on families and small businesses," he added.

Elsewhere in the UK, Wales and Northern Ireland are both in lockdown, as is mainland Scotland.

On Tuesday, 53,135 new Covid cases were recorded in the UK - the highest single day rise since mass testing began - as well as 414 more deaths within 28 days of a positive test.

The approval of the Oxford vaccine - of which the UK has ordered 100 million doses - means vaccination centres will now start inviting patients to receive the first of their two doses from next week.

Priority groups for immunisation have already been identified, starting with care home residents, the over-80s, and health and care workers.

The health secretary told the Commons the UK already has 530,000 doses available from Monday, "with millions due from AstraZeneca by the beginning of February".

He added that the "clinical advice is that the Oxford vaccine is best deployed as two doses up to 12 weeks apart"

More than 600,000 people in the UK have been given the Pfizer-BioNTech jab since Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to be given a Covid vaccine outside a clinical trial.

It is hoped that about two million patients a week could soon be vaccinated with the two jabs that have now been approved.

• TESTING: How do I get a virus test?
• LOOK-UP TOOL: How many cases in your area?
• THE R NUMBER: What it means and why it matters

• FILMS FOR EVERYONE: Check out what films are streaming now on BBC iPlayer
• IDRIS ELBA MEETS PAUL McCARTNEY: Listen to the exclusive interview now...

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiJmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3VrLTU1NDg5OTMy0gEqaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmJjLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYW1wL3VrLTU1NDg5OTMy?oc=5

2020-12-30 15:42:00Z
52781275651028

Brexit: MPs overwhelmingly back EU-UK trade deal ahead of end of transition period - Sky News

MPs have overwhelmingly approved the Brexit trade deal to pave the way for the UK-EU agreement to come into force at 11pm tomorrow.

The House of Commons backed the agreement, struck between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU on Christmas Eve, by 521 votes to 73 - a majority of 448.

The deal, which stretches to 1,246 pages and covers £660bn worth of trade, will now pass to the House of Lords to be considered by peers.

The government is hoping the agreement will pass through all of its required parliamentary stages in a single day on Wednesday.

And, therefore, it will be fully ratified ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period at 11pm on New Year's Eve.

Advertisement

Image: Boris Johnson arrives back at 10 Downing Street after voting on the Brexit trade deal in the House of Commons

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was due to formally sign the agreement in Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon, earlier told MPs the deal would allow the UK to take control of its "national destiny".

"The central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something that the British people always knew in their hearts could be done but which we were continually told was impossible," he said.

More from Boris Johnson

"We were told we could not have our cake and eat it... namely that we could trade and cooperate with our European neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill, whilst retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national destiny."

Mr Johnson hailed the deal as allowing "a new relationship between Britain and the EU as sovereign equals".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had ordered his party to vote in favour of the deal, arguing the alternative would be for the UK to leave the Brexit transition period without a EU trade agreement in place.

In a message to those MPs who planned to vote against the deal - including some within his own party - he said: "When the default is no deal it's not a mark of how pro-European you are to reject implementing this treaty.

"It isn't in the national interest to duck a question or to hide in the knowledge that others will save you from the consequences of your own vote."

Sir Keir said the agreement would "put in place a floor from which we can build a strong future relationship with the EU".

However, the Labour leader criticised the "thin deal" as having "many flaws" and said there was a "gaping hole" in the agreement's provisions for the services sector.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

PM on Brexit: We have nothing to fear

One Labour MP, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, voted against the deal while 36 other Labour MPs recorded no vote.

This suggested they also rebelled against party leader Sir Keir by failing to back the EU trade deal through abstaining.

Among those was Helen Hayes, who resigned her shadow cabinet role after choosing not to support Labour's official position.

Two Conservative former cabinet ministers, Owen Paterson and John Redwood, also did not register a vote despite both Brexiteers speaking in the preceding Commons debate, suggesting they also abstained.

During the more than four hours' debate on the deal, former prime minister Theresa May took Sir Keir to task for failing to back her efforts in negotiating with the EU last year.

She told the Labour leader: "He said he wanted a better deal - he had the opportunity in early 2019 when there was the opportunity of a better deal on the table and he voted against it."

Mrs May welcomed Mr Johnson's agreement, but suggested Brussels would be favoured under the terms of the deal.

"We have a deal in trade that benefits the EU, but not a deal in services that would have benefited the UK," she added.

Senior Conservative eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash compared the prime minister to both Ancient Greek statesman Pericles and Alexander the Great, adding Mr Johnson had "saved our democracy".

His fellow Tory MP Mark Francois, who chairs the European Research Group of Conservative Brexiteers, claimed he and his other Leave-supporting "Spartans" could now "lower our spears" in the "battle for Brexit".

The SNP, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrats all confirmed their opposition to the agreement.

And the DUP also reiterated their anger at the post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border - known as the Northern Ireland Protocol - that Mr Johnson signed up to with the EU last year.

"We are people who believe that the United Kingdom should leave, should leave as a whole, and that is not happening," said DUP MP Sammy Wilson.

Earlier on Wednesday, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both formally signed the trade agreement in Brussels.

The document was then flown to London by RAF plane for Mr Johnson to add his own signature in Downing Street.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2JyZXhpdC1tcHMtb3ZlcndoZWxtaW5nbHktYmFjay1ldS11ay10cmFkZS1kZWFsLWFoZWFkLW9mLWVuZC1vZi10cmFuc2l0aW9uLXBlcmlvZC0xMjE3NTY0NtIBeWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9icmV4aXQtbXBzLW92ZXJ3aGVsbWluZ2x5LWJhY2stZXUtdWstdHJhZGUtZGVhbC1haGVhZC1vZi1lbmQtb2YtdHJhbnNpdGlvbi1wZXJpb2QtMTIxNzU2NDY?oc=5

2020-12-30 15:45:00Z
52781275482250

Brexit: MPs overwhelmingly back EU-UK trade deal ahead of end of transition period - Sky News

MPs have overwhelmingly approved the Brexit trade deal to pave the way for the UK-EU agreement to come into force at 11pm tomorrow.

The House of Commons backed the agreement, struck between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the EU on Christmas Eve, by 521 votes to 73.

The deal, which stretches to 1,246 pages and covers £660bn worth of trade, will now pass to the House of Lords to be considered by peers.

The government is hoping the agreement will pass through all of its required parliamentary stages in a single day on Wednesday.

And, therefore, it will be fully ratified ahead of the end of the Brexit transition period at 11pm on New Year's Eve.

Advertisement

Image: Boris Johnson arrives back at 10 Downing Street after voting on the Brexit trade deal in the House of Commons

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was due to formally sign the agreement in Downing Street on Wednesday afternoon, earlier told MPs the deal would allow the UK to take control of its "national destiny".

"The central purpose of this bill is to accomplish something that the British people always knew in their hearts could be done but which we were continually told was impossible," he said.

More from Boris Johnson

"We were told we could not have our cake and eat it... namely that we could trade and cooperate with our European neighbours on the closest terms of friendship and goodwill, whilst retaining sovereign control of our laws and our national destiny."

Mr Johnson hailed the deal as allowing "a new relationship between Britain and the EU as sovereign equals".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had ordered his party to vote in favour of the deal, arguing the alternative would be for the UK to leave the Brexit transition period without a EU trade agreement in place.

In a message to those MPs who planned to vote against the deal - including some within his own party - he said: "When the default is no deal it's not a mark of how pro-European you are to reject implementing this treaty.

"It isn't in the national interest to duck a question or to hide in the knowledge that others will save you from the consequences of your own vote."

Sir Keir said the agreement would "put in place a floor from which we can build a strong future relationship with the EU".

However, the Labour leader criticised the "thin deal" as having "many flaws" and said there was a "gaping hole" in the agreement's provisions for the services sector.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

PM on Brexit: We have nothing to fear

During the more than four hours of debate on the deal, former prime minister Theresa May took Sir Keir to task for failing to back her efforts in negotiating with the EU last year.

She told the Labour leader: "He said he wanted a better deal - he had the opportunity in early 2019 when there was the opportunity of a better deal on the table and he voted against it."

Mrs May welcomed Mr Johnson's agreement, but suggested Brussels would be favoured under the terms of the deal.

"We have a deal in trade that benefits the EU, but not a deal in services that would have benefited the UK," she added.

Senior Conservative eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash compared the prime minister to both Ancient Greek statesman Pericles and Alexander the Great, adding Mr Johnson had "saved our democracy".

His fellow Tory MP Mark Francois, who chairs the European Research Group of Conservative Brexiteers, claimed he and his other Leave-supporting "Spartans" could now "lower our spears" in the "battle for Brexit".

The SNP, Plaid Cymru and Liberal Democrats all confirmed their opposition to the agreement.

And the DUP also reiterated their anger at the post-Brexit arrangements for the Irish border - known as the Northern Ireland Protocol - that Mr Johnson signed up to with the EU last year.

"We are people who believe that the United Kingdom should leave, should leave as a whole, and that is not happening," said DUP MP Sammy Wilson.

Earlier on Wednesday, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen both formally signed the trade agreement in Brussels.

The document was then flown to London by RAF plane for Mr Johnson to add his own signature in Downing Street.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2JyZXhpdC1tcHMtb3ZlcndoZWxtaW5nbHktYmFjay1ldS11ay10cmFkZS1kZWFsLWFoZWFkLW9mLWVuZC1vZi10cmFuc2l0aW9uLXBlcmlvZC0xMjE3NTY0NtIBeWh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2FtcC9icmV4aXQtbXBzLW92ZXJ3aGVsbWluZ2x5LWJhY2stZXUtdWstdHJhZGUtZGVhbC1haGVhZC1vZi1lbmQtb2YtdHJhbnNpdGlvbi1wZXJpb2QtMTIxNzU2NDY?oc=5

2020-12-30 14:42:55Z
52781275482250

Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in UK - BBC News - BBC News

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Covid-19: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in UK - BBC News  BBC NewsView Full coverage on Google News
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiK2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnlvdXR1YmUuY29tL3dhdGNoP3Y9SGVZekZRQTFQRzDSAQA?oc=5

2020-12-30 14:31:29Z
CCAiC0hlWXpGUUExUEcwmAEB

U.K. Authorizes Covid-19 Vaccine From Oxford and AstraZeneca - The New York Times

Health officials hope to soon vaccinate a million people per week as the country’s hospitals are overwhelmed by cases of a new, more contagious coronavirus variant.

LONDON — Britain on Wednesday became the first country to give emergency authorization to the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, clearing the path for a cheap and easy-to-store shot that much of the world will rely on to help end the pandemic.

In a bold departure from prevailing strategies around the world, the British government also decided to begin giving as many people as possible a first vaccine dose, rather than holding back supplies for quick second shots, greatly expanding the number of people who will be inoculated.

That decision put Britain at the vanguard of a far-reaching and uncertain experiment in speeding up vaccinations, one that some scientists believe will curb the suffering wrought by a pandemic that has been killing hundreds of people each day in Britain and thousands more around the world.

The global effort to accelerate vaccinations, coming as a new, more contagious variant of the virus has emerged in Britain, gathered steam on Wednesday as China said clinical trial results showed high efficacy for one of its vaccine candidates, an announcement that sent positive signals about the global rollout of Chinese vaccines but was short on crucial details.

The effects of delaying second doses as a way of giving more people the partial protection of a single dose are not fully known. Britain, believed by experts to be the first country to undertake such a plan, will also delay second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which has been in use in the country for several weeks and has been shown in clinical trials to have considerable efficacy after a single dose.

Some participants in the clinical trial of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were given the two doses several months apart. British regulators said on Wednesday that the first dose of the vaccine had 70 percent efficacy in protecting against Covid-19 in the period between that shot taking effect and a second shot being administered, though those figures held for a limited subset of trial participants and have not been published.

How the Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Works

An adenovirus helps prime the immune system to fight the coronavirus.

Together, the two moves by Britain — authorizing the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and lengthening the gap between doses — offered the clearest signal yet of how countries still in the grip of the virus might hasten the pace of vaccination programs.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca shot is poised to become the world’s dominant form of inoculation. At $3 to $4 a dose, it is a fraction of the cost of some other vaccines. It can be also shipped and stored in normal refrigerators for six months, rather than in the ultracold freezers required by vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, making it easier to administer to people in poorer and harder-to-reach areas.

“This is very good news for the world — it makes a global approach to a global pandemic much easier,” said Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Of the decision to delay the second doses, he said, “In a pandemic, it will be better to get more people some level of protection than to have all of the people being vaccinated get full protection.”

Instead of administering the two shots of the coronavirus vaccines within a month as was originally planned, clinicians in Britain will wait as long as 12 weeks to give people second doses, the government said. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said people would start receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine early next week.

For Britain, where hospitals are overwhelmed by a deluge of cases of a new, more contagious variant of the virus, the decision by its drug regulator offered some hope of a reprieve. The health service is preparing to soon vaccinate a million people per week at makeshift sites in soccer stadiums and racecourses.

The Royal Free Hospital in London. British hospitals are flooded with coronavirus patients.Andrew Testa for The New York Times

When given in two full-strength doses, AstraZeneca’s vaccine showed 62 percent efficacy in clinical trials — considerably lower than the roughly 95 percent efficacy achieved by Pfizer and Moderna’s shots. For reasons that scientists do not yet understand, AstraZeneca’s vaccine showed 90 percent efficacy in a smaller group of volunteers who were given a half-strength initial dose.

No one who received the vaccine in the clinical trials developed severe Covid-19 or was hospitalized.

British regulators authorized the vaccine at two full-strength doses, saying that the more promising results from the other regimen were not borne out by a full analysis. They cautioned that the promising results for efficacy after a single dose of the vaccine held only in a limited number of trial participants.

In recent days, the Oxford scientists who developed the vaccine have voiced some support for delaying second doses. Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said in a radio interview on Monday that it made “a lot of sense to get started with as many people as possible” by delaying the second dose.

Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker

A look at all the vaccines that have reached trials in humans.

Britain’s health service must now figure out how to persuade people to take a vaccine that appears less effective than other available shots, but that nevertheless could hasten the end of the pandemic.

The authorization relied on data from late-stage clinical trials in Britain and Brazil. India’s drug regulator is also expected to decide soon whether to authorize the vaccine, which is being manufactured there by a local vaccine producer, the Serum Institute.

A decision is further off in the United States, where the Food and Drug Administration is waiting for data from a separate clinical trial. The study was halted in September and delayed for nearly seven weeks — much longer than in other countries — as regulators investigated whether an illness in a participant in Britain was related to the vaccine. American regulators ultimately allowed the trial to proceed.

Vaccinations have so far been proceeding slowly in many countries, but China and Russia announced on Wednesday what they described as positive developments for inoculations they had developed and that are already in widespread use.

China said that an early analysis of Phase 3 trials of one of its vaccine candidates, which is already in use in the country, showed it had an efficacy rate of 79 percent. If supported, the results would bolster officials’ claims that China’s vaccine candidates are safe and effective.

Russia also secured a vote of confidence in the safety of its Sputnik V vaccine, with Belarus and Argentina this week becoming the first countries outside Russia to begin injecting it on a large scale. Sputnik V has been dogged by criticism since President Vladimir V. Putin announced in August that the vaccine was ready for use even though clinical trials had not been completed.

Scientists working on the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine at the University of Oxford last month.Andrew Testa for The New York Times

AstraZeneca has set more ambitious manufacturing targets than other Western vaccine makers, saying that it expects to be able to make up to three billion doses next year. At two doses per person, that would be enough to inoculate nearly one in five people worldwide. The company has pledged to make it available at cost around the world until at least July 2021 and in poorer countries in perpetuity.

But the company has also been dogged by communication blunders that have damaged its relationship with United States regulators and raised doubts about whether the vaccine will stand up to intense public and scientific scrutiny. Those blunders have set back the vaccine’s timeline in the United States, where key F.D.A. officials were stunned to learn of the pause in its clinical trials in September not from AstraZeneca, but from the news media.

These setbacks have not dampened enthusiasm in Britain for the country’s leading homegrown vaccine, one that analysts have said could right the course of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s careening tenure if rolled out quickly.

Having ordered 100 million doses, 40 million of which are supposed to be available by March, Britain has made the AstraZeneca shot the linchpin of its vaccination strategy. Since authorizing Pfizer’s vaccine on Dec. 2, Britain has used it to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of people. But the country has struggled to administer it beyond hospitals and doctor’s offices, leaving some of its highest-priority recipients, like nursing home residents, still vulnerable.

Giving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination to patients in Cardiff, Wales, this month. Britain will now push to give more first doses of the vaccine.Andrew Testa for The New York Times

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiW2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm55dGltZXMuY29tLzIwMjAvMTIvMzAvd29ybGQvZXVyb3BlL3VrLWNvdmlkLTE5LXZhY2NpbmUtb3hmb3JkLWFzdHJhemVuZWNhLmh0bWzSAV9odHRwczovL3d3dy5ueXRpbWVzLmNvbS8yMDIwLzEyLzMwL3dvcmxkL2V1cm9wZS91ay1jb3ZpZC0xOS12YWNjaW5lLW94Zm9yZC1hc3RyYXplbmVjYS5hbXAuaHRtbA?oc=5

2020-12-30 14:20:00Z
52781275240124

Theresa May slams MPs for failing to back her 'better' Brexit deal - Daily Mail

The lone rager: Masked Theresa May vents fury at MPs for failing to back her 'better' Brexit deal last year while branding Boris Johnson's agreement 'disappointing' - but says she WILL vote for it

• Theresa May was lone figure wearing coronavirus mask in House of Commons
• The ex-PM complained that MPs failed to back her 'better' Brexit deal last year
• Branded Boris Johnson's Brexit agreement 'disappointing' but will vote for it 

By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline

Published: 12:32 GMT, 30 December 2020 | Updated: 13:53 GMT, 30 December 2020

Theresa May donned a coronavirus mask in the Commons today as she raged at MPs for failing to back her 'better' Brexit deal last year.

The ex-PM was a lone figure using a face covering as she joined the debate over Boris Johnson's trade agreement with the EU.

And she only ditched the mask to deliver an excoriating rebuke to Sir Keir Starmer for playing games when she had a package in place that would have kept the UK more closely aligned to Brussels.

Mrs May said the pact Mr Johnson had struck gave the EU what it wanted with no tariffs or quotes on goods, but 'disappointingly' lacked any provision for the UK's critical services sector.

However, she confirmed that she will be voting for the deal, citing 'very important' security arrangements. 

Theresa May was a lone figure wearing a mask in the Commons chamber, but took it off to deliver her assessment of the deal

Mrs May delivered an excoriating rebuke to Sir Keir Starmer for playing games when she had a package in place that would have kept the UK more closely aligned to Brussels

As the one-day Parliamentary process for the Brexit legislation began this morning, Mrs May was wearing a distinctive mask - in contrast to other MPs who were bare faced, albeit socially distanced.

In her speech she said: 'I welcome this deal and I will be supporting it today and I welcome the fact that the official opposition will be supporting this deal, but I did listen with some incredulity to what the leader of the Opposition said.

'He said he wanted a better deal. He had the opportunity in early 2019 when there was the opportunity of a better deal on the table and he voted against it, so I will take no lectures from the leader of the Opposition on this deal.'

'Central to this deal the PM has said is the tariff free and quota free trade arrangements subject of course to rules of origin requirements. It would have been unforgiveable for the EU not to have allowed tariff free and quota free access given that they signed up to that in the political declaration signed with my Government in November 2018.

'One of the reasons for supporting this deal is the security arrangements that have been put in place which are very important.'

Mrs May said she was 'disappointed' about the deal's approach to services, telling the Commons: 'It is no longer the case that UK service providers will have the automatic right of access to provide services across the EU – they will have to abide by the individual rules of a state.

'I understand if you're a lawyer advising on UK law in the Czech Republic you will have to be resident, and in Austria you will have not to be resident – just as an example of the difference of those rules.'

Mrs May said the 'key area' is financial services and she pledged in 2018 to work to get a 'truly ground-breaking' deal for this sector, adding: 'Sadly it has not been achieved.

'We have a deal in trade which benefits the EU but not a deal in services which would have benefited the UK.'

Mrs May said the treaty is clear future negotiation on these points are possible, adding: 'I hope the Government will go to that negotiation with alacrity and vigour.'

Opening the Commons debate, Mr Johnson insisted that Britain had 'taken back control' by cutting ties with the bloc, urging an end to the 'rancour and recrimination' that have soured the past four years since the referendum.

Sir Keir has ordered his MPs to support the plan as it is better than No Deal - even though dozens of his own side are expected to rebel

Opening the Commons debate, Mr Johnson insisted that Britain had 'taken back control' by cutting ties with the bloc, urging an end to the 'rancour and recrimination' that have soured the past four years since the referendum

He said now decades of tensions with the EU had been 'resolved' Britain can be its closest friend, a free-trading power, and a 'liberal, outward-looking force for good'. He suggested far from trade being hit by leaving the single market and customs union it should mean 'even more' business being done.

'Having taken back control of our money, our borders, our laws and our waters by leaving the European Union on January 31, we now seize this moment to forge a fantastic new relationship with our European neighbours based on free trade and friendly co-operation,' Mr Johnson said.

'At the heart of this Bill is one of the biggest free trade agreements in the world.' 

The rallying cry came as legislation implementing the historic deal is being rushed through the Commons and Lords in just one day, ahead of the end of the transition period at 11pm tomorrow. 

The agreement's passage is assured with Tory Eurosceptics - who lavished praise on Mr Johnson, saying Churchill and Thatcher would be 'proud' - fully on board.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir is ordering his MPs to support the plan as it is better than No Deal - even though dozens of his own side are expected to rebel.

In a tough message in the Commons, Sir Keir said: 'Those that vote ''no'' are voting for No Deal.' 

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtOTA5ODg2MS9UaGVyZXNhLWRvbnMtQ292aWQtbWFzay1zbGFtcy1NUHMtZmFpbGluZy1iZXR0ZXItQnJleGl0LWRlYWwuaHRtbNIBdmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtOTA5ODg2MS9hbXAvVGhlcmVzYS1kb25zLUNvdmlkLW1hc2stc2xhbXMtTVBzLWZhaWxpbmctYmV0dGVyLUJyZXhpdC1kZWFsLmh0bWw?oc=5

2020-12-30 12:32:00Z
52781275482250

COVID-19: Second dose of COVID vaccines to be given later after guidelines change - Sky News

The second dose of the coronavirus vaccines will be given later than originally planned, experts have said.

Live COVID updates from UK and around world

The move is to ensure more people are given a first dose to help fight the UK's rising coronavirus infection rate, with the second dose administered up to three months later.

Speaking at a briefing at Downing Street, Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee of Vaccinations and Immunisations, said the "immediate urgency" was for the rapid rollout of the new Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and to ensure high levels of uptake.

He said: "We recommend delivery of the first vaccine should be prioritised for both the Pfizer/BioNTech and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Advertisement

"This will allow the greatest number of people to receive the vaccine in the shortest possible time - and that will protect the greatest number of lives."

But Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicine Expert Working Group which looked into the efficacy and safety of the Oxford vaccine warned it did not take effect until after three weeks, so safety measures should be followed in the interim.

More from Covid-19

A first dose of the jab gives around 70% effectiveness from three weeks after immunisation.

However, he said it was 80% effective when there was a three-month interval between the first and second doses.

He added: "We examined the half-dose regime but we felt that the results were not borne out by the full analysis."

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

'Oxford vaccine does not protect immediately'

The Oxford vaccine was approved for use in the UK earlier by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The first doses of the Oxford jab are due to be given on Monday amid rising coronavirus cases in the UK.

The panel also outlined new advice for dosage of the first approved vaccine - the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Previous guidance had suggested the second dose could be taken up to 21 days after the first, but today that changed to at least 21 days after the initial vaccine.

And it also announced changes to the advice for those with allergies and for those pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Dr Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said previous advice had not recommended its use by pregnant and breastfeeding women due to "an initial lack of evidence on a precautionary basis".

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Vaccine assessment was 'robust process'

But she told a briefing: "Now that we have reviewed further data that has become available, the Commission on Human Medicines has advised that the vaccine can be considered for use in pregnancy when the potential benefits outweigh the risks, following an individual discussion with every woman.

"And as the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca is the same, women should always be discussing benefits and risks of having the vaccine with their health professional, reaching a decision together based on individual circumstances, and women who are breastfeeding can now also be given the vaccine, subject to that individual discussion."

On the issue of those with allergies, the advice also changed.

Dr Raine said growing evidence from a pool of at least 800,000 people in the UK and probably 1.5 million people in the US who have had the vaccine, had "raised no additional concerns".

This, she continued, "gives us further assurance that the risk of anaphylaxis can be managed through standard clinical guidance and an observation period following vaccination of at least 15 minutes.

"And so the Commission on Human Medicines has now advised that anyone with allergy to food or other medicine or vaccine can have the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

"Of course, anyone with a history of allergic reaction to this vaccine, or its ingredients, should not."

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vbmV3cy5za3kuY29tL3N0b3J5L2NvdmlkLTE5LXNlY29uZC1kb3NlLW9mLWNvdmlkLXZhY2NpbmVzLXRvLWJlLWdpdmVuLWxhdGVyLWFmdGVyLWd1aWRlbGluZXMtY2hhbmdlLTEyMTc1NDU20gF4aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2NvdmlkLTE5LXNlY29uZC1kb3NlLW9mLWNvdmlkLXZhY2NpbmVzLXRvLWJlLWdpdmVuLWxhdGVyLWFmdGVyLWd1aWRlbGluZXMtY2hhbmdlLTEyMTc1NDU2?oc=5

2020-12-30 13:30:00Z
52781275240124