Sunny Daffs

I added some daffodils to my Sainsbury's shop this week and they've bloomed nicely. However, I am getting a few hayfever symptoms, which I've never had with daffs before. Lots of catch ups today with family and friends and a Zoom talk from the The National Archives on Belsen & the British as it's the week of Holocaust Memorial Day. 

Day 320 / Day 25 of Lockdown 3 (for my record only)
UK deaths up 1,245 to 104,371 (revised basis), with 29,079 new cases, 35,375 patients in hospital, 3,918 on ventilation and 2,903 new admissions (coming down from the peak).  The R no. is now estimated at 0.7-1.1 with wide Regional variations, and with a growth rate of between -5% and 0%.  The ONS weekly infection survey reports high levels and still has 1 in 55 in Eng with Covid in private households, 1 in 70 in Wales, 1 in 50 in NI and 1 in 110 in Scotland. A survey shows that we're doing less exercise (40% reported this) and watching more tv (20%) in lockdown 3 than lockdown 1 - certainly true for me! We're also working more, volunteering less and spending less time on hobbies. This lockdown is more of a struggle for a lot of us. 

 c7.9m have now received their first dose of the vaccine. Very good news today with the announcement of the two new effective vaccines, both of which the UK has orders for. Novavax is deemed to be 89% effective in late-stage trials. c15,000 people aged 18 to 84 took part in a UK clinical trial, 25% of whom were over 65. It also offers 86% protection against the new variant dominant in the UK, and 60% effectiveness against the South African variant. The UK already has 60m doses ordered, which are to be manufactured in Stockton-on-Tees. It's a new type of vaccine using the virus protein delivered in two shots, it only has to be stored at fridge temperature, it's slightly more expensive than the AZ vaccine, but cheaper than the others. It will now be assessed by the MHRA. Johnson & Johnson's single shot vaccine is 85% effective against the most serious symptoms and 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe symptoms 28 days after vaccination. It costs about the same as 2 doses of the AZ vacccine, only has to be kept at fridge temperature, and works across multiple variants. The UK has 30m doses on order pending MHRA approval, with an option on millions more.  The EU has authorised the AZ vaccine for use in adults in all age groups, against comments made in Germany yesterday who it is understood will still not give it to over 65s. Unbelievably after pressurising the UK to have a border with NI in the Irish Sea in order to keep an open border with Ireland, in under a month the EU has effectively closed that border in the context of preventing the export of Covid-19 vaccines from the EU outside the bloc, including to NI via triggering Article 16 (although NI doesn't receive its vaccines via this route).