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 Vaccine roll-out won't achieve herd immunity this year
The roll-out of coronavirus vaccines in many countries will not
provide herd immunity this year, several health experts said on
Monday, citing limited access for poor countries, community trust
problems and potential virus mutations.
"We won't get back to normal quickly," Dale Fisher, chairman of the
World Health Organization's Outbreak Alert and Response Network,
told the Reuters Next conference.
"We know we need to get to herd immunity and we need that in a
majority of countries, so we are not going to see that in 2021,"
Fisher said. "There might be some countries that might achieve it
but even then that will not create 'normal' especially in terms of
border controls."
UK steps up vaccinations as COVID surges
Britain is facing the worst weeks of the pandemic, its chief medical
officer said on Monday, with the health service facing a "dangerous
time" as deaths and cases hit record highs before the rollout of a
mass vaccination programme.
Deaths from the virus have now exceeded 81,000 in the United Kingdom
- the world's fifth-highest toll - with more than 3 million people
testing positive. A new, more transmissible variant of the disease
is surging through the population, with one in 20 people in parts of
London now infected.
Britain is rushing out its largest ever vaccination programme, with
shots to be offered to all those in its top four priority categories
by the middle of next month.
China reports biggest daily case jump in over 5 months
Mainland China saw its biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases in
over five months, the country's health authority said on Monday, as
new infections in Hebei province surrounding Beijing continued to
rise.
A county in northeastern Heilongjiang province on Monday moved into
lockdown after reporting new infections, state television also
reported.
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 Hebei accounted for 82 of the
85 new local infections. The total number of new
cases stood at 103, the highest since 127 cases
were reported on July 30.
Indonesia approves Sinovac vaccine
Indonesia gave Sinovac Biotech's vaccine its
first emergency use approval outside China on
Monday as the world's fourth most populous
country launches nationwide inoculations.
A lack of data and varying efficacy rates
reported for the vaccine from different
countries could undermine public trust in the
rollout, according to public health experts.
Interim data from a late-stage human test of CoronaVac showed it is
65.3% effective, Indonesia's food and drugs authority said - lower
than figures in Brazil and Turkey which have yet to launch mass
vaccinations.
Japan preparing to expand emergency
Japan is preparing to expand a state of emergency to the western
prefectures of Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo by the end of the week, Jiji
news agency reported on Monday.
The three prefectures on Saturday asked the government to impose a
state of emergency, which is already in place in around Tokyo.
Separately, the governor of the central prefecture of Aichi said he
and authorities in the neighbouring prefecture of Gifu aimed to ask
the government as early as Tuesday to expand the state of emergency
to their areas.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Giles Elgood)
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