News

Covid: Millions of vaccine doses destroyed in England

BBC reported that Around 4.7 million Covid vaccine doses – 4% of the total – ended up as wastage in England by the end of October 2021, a government report reveals. AstraZeneca shots made up 1.9m. The National Audit Office which scrutinises spending of public money, says the wastage is far lower than projected for the country’s most ambitious vaccination programme ever.

Covid-19 tests: Southern Health Trust investigates ‘inaccurate’ results

BBC reported that an investigation is underway at the Southern Health Trust in Northern Ireland after almost 200 people were possibly given an inaccurate Covid test result. A trust spokesperson told BBC News NI it appears the issue may be linked to one bottle of solution used within the laboratory.

England extends at-home abortion pill offer

BBC reported that a six-month extension has been applied to a temporary policy that allows women to take medical abortion pills at home. The measure was initially introduced when Covid hit, so that women would not have to visit a clinic and, instead, could access treatment after a telephone or online consultation.

Nicola Sturgeon accused by Anas Sarwar of ‘pretending’ all NHS problems caused by Covid

Daily record reported that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of pretending the problems with the NHS were all caused by the pandemic. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar reeled off a list of statistics that showed how the health service had struggled before Covid.

Wales TB outbreak: Hundreds of Llwynhendy contacts yet to be screened

BBC reported that hundreds of people identified as contacts following an outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) in a Carmarthenshire village are yet to attend a screening, health officials have said. Public Health Wales said 31 cases of active TB had been identified since the 2010 outbreak in Llwynhendy.

New taskforce to level-up maternity care and tackle disparities

New Maternity Disparities Taskforce to explore reasons for disparities in maternity care and address poor outcomes for women from ethnic minority communities and those living in deprived areas

Ovarian cancer symptoms are being ignored, UK charity warns

GPs and women are still ignoring key symptoms of ovarian cancer despite better awareness of the disease, a charity has warned, prompting fears that yet more patients will be diagnosed late and “die needlessly”.

Ovarian cancer symptoms are being ignored, UK charity warns

GPs and women are still ignoring key symptoms of ovarian cancer despite better awareness of the disease, a charity has warned, prompting fears that yet more patients will be diagnosed late and “die needlessly”.

Radical action needed to tackle racial health inequality in NHS

Radical action is needed urgently to tackle “overwhelming” minority ethnic health inequalities in the NHS, leading experts have said, after a damning study found the “vast” and “widespread” inequity in every aspect of healthcare it reviewed was harming the health if millions of patients.

NHS race review should be cue to finally tackle health inequalities

The creation of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, which has compiled a devastating review of inequalities suffered by people of colour within the health system, came after it emerged that people from different minority ethnic groups were at higher risk of dying from Covid. According to an Office for National Statistics analysis, black people were four times as likely as white people to die from coronavirus early in the pandemic.

Government confirms U-turn on mandatory vaccination policy

BBC, Express, Mail Online, Metro reports that the government is seeking to “revoke” its mandatory Covid-19 vaccination requirements for health and care staff in England. Health and social care secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons this evening that he believes it is “no longer proportionate” to require vaccination against Covid-19 as a condition of deployment for health and care workers.

Measles warning for young children as MMR jab rate drops in England

BBC reports that more than one in 10 school entry-age children in England are at risk of measles because they have not had their vaccine jabs, data reveals. Coverage for the two doses of MMR that helps protect five-year-olds against measles, mumps and rubella is currently at 85.5%.