UK's Covid outbreak continues to grow: Daily infections rise to 42,076
UK’s Covid outbreak continues to grow: Daily infections rise 10% in a week to 42,076 and deaths jump by a fifth with 121 more victims – while hospital admissions creep closer to 1,000
- Sharp rise in deaths has occurred due to fewer deaths than normal posted last Friday during the bank holiday
- But other metrics been on steady incline with country now averaging 34,000 cases a day and 930 admissions
- Comes as UK’s vaccine panel today said healthy children under the age of 16 do not need to be vaccinated
Britain’s Covid outbreak continued to grow today as daily infections and hospitalisations both rose week-on-week and deaths jumped by a fifth due to the bank holiday weekend.
The Department of Health said there were 42,076 infections across the country over the past 24 hours, a rise of nearly 11 per cent on the figure last Friday.
Another 121 coronavirus deaths were also registered in that time, marking a 21 per cent jump compared to a week ago. The country is now recording 114 deaths per day, on average, the highest since March.
The sharp rise has occurred because fewer deaths than normal were posted last Friday due to a recording lag during public holidays.
Latest hospital data shows 985 patients were admitted with the virus on August 30 in a small 4 per cent increase on the previous week.
It comes as the UK’s vaccine advisory panel today said healthy children under the age of 16 do not need to be vaccinated against Covid.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the virus posed such a low risk to 12 to 15-year-olds that the benefit of vaccination to their health would be marginal.
The ruling came amid fears that the rising Covid metrics could shoot up now that schools are going back from the summer break.
Separate data today showed Scotland’s Covid cases soared by more than two and a half times in the fortnight after classes resumed last month.
The Office for National Statistics’ weekly surveillance report estimated 69,500 Scots, or one in 75 people, were infected with the virus on any given day in the week to August 27, up 170 per cent.
The JCVI today resisted growing pressure from senior ministers and scientists who urged it to follow the likes of the US, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands, and recommend vaccines for healthy children.
However, it is recommending the jabs for 200,000 more children with chronic heart, kidney, lung and neurological conditions in that age group. A total of 350,000 children aged 12 to 15 are now eligible for the vaccine.
The expert panel said that youngsters under 16 with severe conditions have a one in 10,000 chance of falling seriously ill with Covid compared to the one in 500,000 risk for healthy children.
Scotland’s Covid cases soared by more than two and a half times in the fortnight after schools went back from the summer break, official figures showed today — in a clear warning sign to the rest of the country.
The Office for National Statistics’ weekly surveillance report estimated 69,500 Scots, or one in 75 people, were infected with the virus on any given day in the week to August 27, up 170 per cent.
In England infections have plateaued but remain stubbornly high with the ONS estimating 766,100 people had Covid last week or one in 70, barely a change from the previous seven-day spell.
Experts fear infections could spiral as children returned to classrooms in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this week.
But the UK’s vaccine advisory panel today said healthy children under the age of 16 do not need to be vaccinated against Covid.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the virus posed such a low risk to 12 to 15-year-olds that the benefit to their health would be marginal. They have told the Government to seek advice from elsewhere to determine whether a mass rollout in schools would have wider benefits, such as keeping classrooms open and avoiding future lockdowns.
Britain is becoming an international outlier with France, the US, Canada, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands all already administering jabs to over-12s. Last night Norway became the latest country to OK the move.
But some experts say letting children get Covid naturally is a better way to create immunity because the virus itself poses such a low risk to them, whereas the vaccines come with dangerous side effects in rare cases.
The spike in Scotland has also led to growing calls for No10’s vaccine advisory body to recommend a mass booster campaign. But it could be weeks before it is signed off. Former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt today urged ministers to sign off on boosters and not wait for their advisory panel’s decision.
It said that a very rare heart complication associated with the jabs meant the benefits of vaccination ‘only marginally’ outweighed the risks.
However, the JCVI has told the Government to seek advice from elsewhere to determine whether a mass rollout in schools would have wider benefits, such as keeping classrooms open and avoiding future lockdowns.
The UK’s four chief medical officers will spend the next week weighing up whether vaccinating secondary school-aged children will have a broader benefit on society.
Scientists and ministers were at war today over whether the UK should be routinely vaccinating children against Covid ahead of the announcement from the JCVI.
Experts pushing back against the plans today argued that it would be ‘ethically dubious’ to jab children solely to protect adults, because Covid itself poses such a tiny risk to youngsters.
Others believe it is better for children to catch Covid and recover to develop natural immunity than to be reliant on protection from vaccines, which studies suggest wanes in months.
But the move to jab healthy kids for Covid has been backed by several experts who warn that letting the virus rip through schools could result in more disruptions to education and force lockdown restrictions to be rolled back.
Newly-eligible under-16s will be offered the Pfizer vaccine because there is enough trial data to show it is safe and effective in youngsters with health conditions.
The independent medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has approved the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for people aged 12 and over after they met strict standards of safety and effectiveness.
The JCVI has advised that the health benefits of vaccinating children are marginally greater than the potential known harms.
It has advised the Government to seek further input from the Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) on the wider impacts.
The CMOs will now convene experts and senior leaders in clinical and public health to consider the issue. They will then present their advice to ministers on whether a universal programme should be taken forward.
Insiders said it was likely that it would take several days before they reached a decision.
The JCVIs decision comes exactly a week after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed preparations were under way to ensure the NHS was ready to offer coronavirus jabs to all 12 to 15-year-olds in England from early September.
The department said they wanted to be ‘ready to hit the ground running’.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘Our Covid vaccines have brought a wide range of benefits to the country, from saving lives and preventing hospitalisations, to helping stop infections and allowing children to return to school.
‘I am grateful for the expert advice that I have received from the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.
‘People aged 12 to 15 who are clinically vulnerable to the virus have already been offered a COVID-19 vaccine, and today we’ll be expanding the offer to those with conditions such as sickle cell disease or type 1 diabetes to protect even more vulnerable children.
The Office for National Statistics’ weekly surveillance report estimated 69,500 Scots, or one in 75 people, were infected with the virus on any given day in the week to August 27. This was up 170 per cent in a fortnight and the highest number of Scots that were estimated to have been infected since the ONS started modelling the country’s outbreak
In England infections have plateaued but remain stubbornly high with the ONS estimating 766,100 people had Covid last week or one in 70, barely a change from the previous seven-day spell (shown above)
Across England, the ONS found that cases were surging fastest in the South West. The area has seen a spike in cases amid a staycation boom and the kickstarting of music festivals. The above graphs show Covid cases by region
The above graph shows estimated Covid cases by age group. It predicts that cases may have been rising in school age tchildren even before they went back to the classroom, and among 25 to 34-year-olds. There is also an uptick in the over-70s
‘Along with Health Ministers across the four nations, I have today written to the Chief Medical Officers to ask that they consider the vaccination of 12 to 15 year olds from a broader perspective, as suggested by the JCVI.
‘We will then consider the advice from the Chief Medical Officers, building on the advice from the JCVI, before making a decision shortly.’
The Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union Kevin Courtney said if the CMOs decide that children should not be vaccinated, it would make additional measures to control Covid in school ‘all the more important’.
Vaccine watchdog WON’T recommend giving Covid jabs to healthy children aged 12 to 15 because the virus poses such a low risk to them
Healthy children under the age of 16 do not need to be vaccinated against Covid, the Government’s vaccine advisory panel ruled today.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the virus posed such a low risk to 12 to 15-year-olds that the benefit of vaccination to their health would be marginal.
However, it is recommending the jabs for 200,000 more children with chronic heart, kidney, lung and neurological conditions in that age group. A total of 350,000 children aged 12 to 15 are now eligible for the vaccine.
The expert panel said that youngsters under 16 with severe conditions have a one in 10,000 chance of falling seriously ill with Covid compared to the one in 500,000 risk for healthy children.
It said that a very rare heart complication associated with the jabs meant the benefits of vaccination ‘only marginally’ outweighed the risks.
The JCVI has resisted growing pressure from senior ministers and scientists who urged it to follow the likes of the US, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, and the Netherlands, which are pressing ahead with the move.
However, the JCVI has told the Government to seek advice from elsewhere to determine whether a mass rollout in schools would have wider benefits, such as keeping classrooms open and avoiding future lockdowns.
The UK’s four chief medical officers will spend the next week weighing up whether vaccinating secondary school-aged children will have a broader benefit on society.
Scientists and ministers were at war today over whether the UK should be routinely vaccinating children against Covid ahead of the announcement from the JCVI.
Mr Courtney said: ‘If the decision not to vaccinate is upheld by the chief medical officers, this makes additional safety mitigations in schools all the more important.
‘Sadly, in taking away so many safety measures last term, without replacing them with others, the Government has left schools open to another rise in case counts – which will mean many children and staff missing school if they test positive.’
Scottish Health Minister Humza Yousaf said: ‘I want to thank the JCVI for today’s advice regarding vaccination for 12 -15 year olds.
‘While the JCVI has agreed that the benefits marginally outweigh the risks they are not yet prepared to recommend universal vaccination of 12-15 year olds, however, they have suggested that Health Ministers may wish to ask their respective CMOs to explore the issue further, taking into consideration broader educational and societal impacts. Therefore, I have agreed with the other three UK Health Ministers to write a letter asking the four Chief Medical Officers to consider this latest guidance and explore whether there is additional evidence to suggest it would be beneficial to offer vaccination to all 12 – 15 year olds. We have asked for this further work to be conducted as soon as possible.
‘A further update will be issued once these discussions have taken place.
‘In the meantime, we will offer the vaccine to those children and young people currently recommended.
‘The recent increase in cases of Covid means it remains crucial that everyone who is offered a vaccination takes up the offer.’
Northern Ireland Health Minister Robin Swann: ‘I welcome the extension of the vaccination programme to include a wider group of children aged 12-15 years of age with underlying medical conditions. The importance of vaccination is evident and I would urge those who are eligible to get vaccinated as soon as possible to help protect themselves and those around them.
‘I am also grateful for the JCVI advice on 12-15 year olds and agree that this issue warrants further consideration. It is entirely appropriate that our most senior medical advisers take forward this piece of work urgently. I look forward to seeing their considerations in the near future.’
Welsh Government Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: ‘I would like to thank the JCVI for fully considering the issue of vaccinating 12-15 year olds and for taking the care to form a balanced view. Our intention as it has been from the start of the pandemic is to follow the science and evidence, and I have asked my Chief Medical Officer to provide guidance at the earliest opportunity on the clinical and wider health benefits of vaccinating this age group.’
The Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid, has asked the NHS to put preparations in place to roll out vaccinations to 12 to 15 year olds, should it be recommended by the Chief Medical Officers.
If this group is offered the vaccine, parental or carer consent will be sought, just as with other school immunisation programmes.
The vaccination programme has so far provided protection to over 48 million people over the age of 16 across the UK – including over 48 million first doses and over 43 million second doses.
The latest data from Public Health England and Cambridge University shows vaccines have saved more than 105,000 lives and prevented 143,600 hospitalisations and 24 million cases in England.
Senior ministers were said to be increasingly embittered at the failure of Government experts to authorise the rollout of Covid vaccines to under-16s ahead of the decision from the JCVI.
A Whitehall source said there was ‘palpable frustration’ among Government figures with the JCVI. Both Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Sajid Javid are said to be keen to get on with vaccinating school children.
Ministers fear the new academic year will trigger a fresh wave of the virus in classrooms. This means that without a jab, children could face more disruption to their education throughout autumn and winter.
Last night one Whitehall source admitted: ‘There is palpable frustration that this is taking so long. The jabs have been approved for months, other countries have been doing it safely for months – we are becoming an outlier.
In the meantime, we have missed the window of opportunity in the summer and the schools are going back.’
Meanwhile, in a clear sign of the enthusiasm for the jab among teenagers, figures showed half of 16- and 17-year-olds have already had a vaccine dose in just four weeks.
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