Boris Johnson asked families to stay home last night as the Covid-19 death toll hit a new record. The government launched a new campaign blitz to get people to abide by the lockdown rules.
UK Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has appeared in advertisements urging us to stay home as the new variant of the virus has spread across the country.
Two terrifying new posters also show a patient dying in hospital and a health care worker wearing full PPE, warning the British, “If you go out, you can spread it. People will die. & # 39;
Mr Johnson said infections were growing at an alarming rate despite the new national lockdown imposed earlier this week.
And he warned the only way to prevent thousands more deaths is to follow the rules. The Prime Minister said: “I know the past year has taken its toll.
“But your compliance is now more important than ever. I have to say one more time to everyone to stay home, protect the NHS and save lives. & # 39;
Another 1,325 Covid deaths were reported on Friday – one per minute and more than the high of 1,224 in the first wave last April.
The gruesome death toll, which has doubled in a week, brings Britain to the brink of nearly 80,000.
Experts fear the daily death toll from rocket falls and hospitalizations will continue to rise, putting further pressure on Boris Johnson to accelerate the sluggish vaccination program that aims to take Britain out of circulation by mid-February.
Health Department figures show the UK has recorded more than 50,000 cases for 11 days in a row, with the five worst days of the pandemic all occurring since the beginning of 2021. The number of cases has increased by nearly 30 percent from week to week.
However, a senior SAGE official warned today that the actual number of Britons currently being infected daily is closer to 150,000, claiming the size of the second wave is now much worse than the first.
The source also fears England's third national lockdown won't lower the R-rate like it did in March because the country was dealing with a contagious mutant strain and compliance with the rules was dwindling.
In response to calls for even stricter restrictions, ministers are considering placing face masks in busy outdoor locations, such as the nightlife. B. in queues in supermarkets, to make it compulsory.
When London Mayor Sadiq Khan declared a serious incident, he said the virus was "out of control" and threatened to overwhelm hospitals in the capital:
- Confirmed coronavirus infections hit a record high of 68,053;
- According to an official survey, one in 15 people in the London borough of Barking and Dagenham may have the virus.
- A new highly contagious variant now makes up 81 percent of the cases in the capital;
- Senior officials warned of its virulence, which meant the current lockdown would likely contain the virus less effectively than the first.
- Other hospitals canceled other treatments, even cancer operations.
- The police were on standby to drive ambulances in London.
- Constabularies has taken action against lockdown breakers;
- One study suggested that the Pfizer vaccine would work against the new strain.
- UK regulators approved a third vaccine, but it won't be available until spring.
- Vaccination Czar Kate Bingham promised to meet the goal of vaccinating the 13 million most at risk by February 15.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has asked families to make a plea, asking them to stay home to save lives as the UK recorded its highest death toll since the pandemic began and the NHS launched a new advertising campaign led by Chris Whitty

Everyone in England is told to stay home and act like you have it in a major advertising campaign. including posters (pictured) encouraging the public to control the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives

A commuter wears a face mask as he sits in a bus shelter with signs for "Stay Home, Save Lives" in central London




The powerful advertising campaign was launched on television last night and hosted by Chief Medical Officer Professor Whitty. He said while vaccines are "clear hope for the future … for now we must all stay at home".
Professor Whitty, the most trusted government official on Covid, said the rapid spread of the virus had "put many people at risk for serious illnesses and put great pressure on our NHS".
Dramatic images carry the blatant message: & # 39; Coronavirus. If you go out, you can spread it. People will die. & # 39;
Prof. Whitty says: “Covid-19, especially the new variant, is spreading rapidly across the country. This puts many people with serious illnesses at risk and puts great pressure on our NHS.
“We all have to stay home again. When going out is important, remember to wash your hands, cover your face indoors, and keep your distance from others.
"Vaccines give clear hope for the future, but now we must all stay home, protect the NHS and save lives." The campaign also urges people to "act as you have it" adding that "anyone can spread it".
No. 10 fears that Mr Johnson's stay at home order will be disregarded – a suspicion supported by figures from Transport for London.
The number of passengers on the subway was 18 percent yesterday, compared to just 5 percent last April. The bus load is 30 percent of capacity, compared to around 18 percent when it was first blocked.
And the volume of traffic on the main roads in the capital was 76 percent of normal compared to 30 to 40 percent nine months ago.

Apple Mobility Trends shows a 44 percent decrease, a 62 percent decrease and a 68 percent decrease in transit in London

According to Tom Tom, commuters drive to work during rush hour as they stay constant at just 25 percent

It is also important to get key workers to and from their jobs in industries such as healthcare and construction

Most of the seats were taken at Canada Water on the Jubilee Line towards the city center, and some people had to stand



It shows driving, walking and transit data from Apple Mobility for the capital over the past year
The main incident explained by Mr. Khan yesterday is a proceeding previously initiated following the Grenfell Tower disaster and major terrorist attacks.
The mayor called for places of worship to be closed and for face masks to be routinely worn outside the home. Downing Street sources said there were "no more lockdowns on the way".
However, the mail knows that Health Secretary Matt Hancock and other ministers are investigating the case to expand the use of masks.
Mr Khan said the situation in the capital was dire, an estimated one in 50 infected Londoners. "It's like being in a theater of war," he said. "If we don't reduce the spread, the NHS will run out of beds."
City hall said Covid cases in the capital had exceeded 1,000 per 100,000 and there were 35 percent more hospital admissions with the virus than last April.
Professor Kevin Fenton, Regional Director of Public Health England for London, said: “This is the greatest threat our city has faced in this pandemic.
& # 39; The introduction of the new variant means that we are setting the record case rate at almost double the national average. At least one in 30 people (in London) now believes they are carrying the virus.
"Our NHS services are under immense pressure and there are currently another 800 people being admitted to our hospitals every day."
The London Ambulance Service receives up to 8,000 emergency calls a day and at a hospital in east London, patients appeared to be waiting for a bed 24 hours after arriving at A&E.
977 patients were hospitalized within 24 hours, according to the NHS London.


Cases a day in London

People hospitalized in London

Coronavirus deaths in London


He said the NHS had announced 477 deaths in London hospitals in the past three days alone after testing positive for Covid-19 (Piccadilly Circus pictured today).
The virus is spreading quickly outside the capital as well. Six out of ten hospitals in England now report more Covid patients than in the first wave – a situation that doctors describe as "catastrophic".
There were fewer than 500 in the hospital in early September, but the figure was 28,246 yesterday. That's an increase of more than 11,000 in two weeks.
A Merseyside doctor said her hospital was "near the limit" as patients had to wait in corridors or ambulances.
Scholars advising the government believe the current lockdown could lead to a plateau of cases across the UK rather than the dramatic cut in the lockdown in March and April.
They estimate that there are currently more than 100,000 new infections per day and possibly more than 150,000.
They believe that this estimate brings the current number of daily cases to a higher level than it was during the first wave of the pandemic. Hospitals are now seeing a lot more younger people than they did during the first wave.
There are also growing concerns about the implications for general public health.
Experts estimate that there will be thousands of deaths in this wave as a result of an interruption in cancer surgery. Some patients had vital operations stopped even after going to the hospital.
Campaign group catching up with cancer: “If you have Covid, you can have a bed, but if you have cancer you cannot have an operation. These cancer patients die at home and will be for the next five years. & # 39;
However, there was light at the end of the tunnel when a third vaccine in the fight against the coronavirus was approved for use in the UK on Friday.
The stab from the US biotech company Moderna was given the green light by the MHRA – along with vaccines from Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford / AstraZeneca.
The approval of the Moderna vaccine means the UK should use three vaccines when it goes live in the spring.
The government has increased the order of the vaccine to 17 million doses – enough to vaccinate 8.5 million people – with batches expected to be released in phases.
It has been shown in clinical studies to be 94 percent effective against Covid-19. Mr Johnson tweeted: & # 39; Excellent news that @MHRAgovuk has approved the use of the @ moderna-tx vaccine.
"Our national vaccination efforts are accelerating to vaccinate priority groups with our two existing vaccines, and the Moderna doses will help when they become available in the spring."



The Bureau of National Statistics found in its mass testing program that nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of the positive tests found in England appeared to be related to the new variant of the virus. In some regions – particularly London and the south – the number was higher but in others it was lower


In this week's ONS data, picked up by Professor Christ Whitty in a press conference earlier this week, positive cases in London, east and south-east England appeared to be falling or settling down

The new variant of the coronavirus (blue line) has become the dominant strain in England, but is not yet more common than other virus types in the rest of the UK, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to ONS tests

The Kent variant of the virus (blue line) has become dominant in London, east England and the south east, but not yet in other parts of the country, although it narrows the gap in most places

A graph presented by Professor Chris Whitty this week showed that the number of people who tested positive for the new variant of the coronavirus (blue line) appeared to be falling in London and the South East towards the end of December, although it did in others Countries has risen regions

The Covid Symptom Study, which uses reports from around a million people who have the app on their phones, showed that cases have increased steadily since the effects of the second lockdown in England ended in early December
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted, "This is fantastic news and yet another weapon in our arsenal to tame this terrible disease."
Almost 1.5 million people in the UK have been vaccinated with the Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford University / AstraZeneca vaccines. The government plans to stab 15 million of the most vulnerable people by mid-February.
With the current lockdown and rollout of vaccines, coronavirus deaths are expected to fall in February while hospital admissions should fall.
Coronavirus cases are expected to decline in the spring due to vaccinations and the fact that people spend more time outdoors, making it difficult for the virus to spread.
Research released on Friday suggests that Pfizer and BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine appears to protect against mutation in two coronavirus variants.
The pharmaceutical company and researcher from the University of Texas Medical Department performed laboratory tests on the strains from Great Britain and South Africa.
Both variants contain mutations, including N501Y, an alteration in the virus' spike protein that is a target for vaccines.
In the non-peer-reviewed study, subjects administered the Pfzier shock had neutralizing antibody levels that appeared to be effective against N501Y in the new strains.
However, one of the mutations in the South African variant called E484K has not yet been investigated and continues to be a cause for concern for experts.
While scientists at the top of government are increasingly believing that the British variant can be combated with existing vaccines, there is concern that the South African variant has the potential to make it less effective, despite studies being ongoing.
In the coming years, it is assumed that the Covid-19 vaccines will have to be adjusted annually, similar to the winter flu vaccination.
Meanwhile, government-published papers by the Pandemic Influenza Scientific Group on Conduct (SPI-B) advising ministers suggest that communication campaigns will be needed to ensure that those who are vaccinated continue to follow the lockdown rules adhere to.
There was evidence that "some of those vaccinated show a decrease in personal protective behavior due to a lack of mitigation measures," such as wearing masks and social distancing.
It is not yet known whether vaccination can prevent people from transmitting the virus to other people.
Problems caused by the poor … but we're finally saving lives with Pfizer's & # 39; Pizza Boxes From Heaven & # 39 ;: thousands of phone calls and up to a fifth of patients who refuse pokes – a medical professional reveals the reality behind all the rhetoric
It's the logistical challenge of your life: rolling out essential Covid-19 vaccines at a rate that will hopefully help rid the country of endless cycles of lockdowns.
Louise Kyle, a director of nursing at a large inner-city practice, shares a glimpse into the gigantic effort it takes to play just one vaccine hub, with 1.5 million doses delivered to date – and the promise of two million his part per week.
Monday December 7th
The usual Monday morning business is compounded by the news that our proposed vaccine hub has received OK to go live in eight days.
We had volunteered from the moment we were able to be an active "Wave One" site for the Pfizer jab. Now we were at the forefront of this historic exercise.

Louise Kyle, a nursing director at a large urban practice (pictured), shares a glimpse into the gigantic effort it takes to make just one vaccine hub play its part
It's exciting, but daunting given the great challenge that lies ahead. The extent will become apparent almost immediately if, within a day of receiving our news, NHS England changes its policy to require all vaccinated patients to stay 15 minutes after receiving the shock in the event of an allergic reaction – something given on the website we prepared the need for social distancing just isn't possible.
This means a hasty change to a new regime. In our case we are asking our district nurses to vacate their clinical rooms – the best we can do with a week's notice. Even so, it gives us some practice in thinking on our feet, which is sure to come in handy given the developments ahead.
Wed, December 9th
After our vaccination site has been confirmed, the focus is on logistics. Given the strict shelf life of the vaccine once it comes out of the freezer, we have a 90 hour window to vaccinate 1,000 people. This means that around 2,000 registered patients in our region who are older than 80 years will be reached in order to reach those who would like to accept the booked offer.
Time constraints mean we don't have time to reach them in the mail. Since we cannot rely on the mass text system with which we reach younger patients, we have a team of 12 employees in our practices who call patients solidly from morning to evening. I'm even recruiting my 19 year old son who is now home from university to manage the lines.
It's a complex business, not least because some of our patients don't have English as their first language, while others are lonely and want to chat for hours.
This is one reason why we give our team a script to adhere to. Fortunately, most patients are just too eager to take their offered appointment, but it's dismaying that one in five either refuses to get a sting at all or says they'd like to wait a little longer before making their decision.

It's the logistical challenge of your life: introducing essential Covid-19 vaccines. Pictured: Delivery of the first batch in a take-away box
Fri, December 11th
Two days of our first three-day vaccination schedule are now fully booked. More than 600 patients are to receive a sting next Tuesday and Wednesday, so that sorting only has to be done on Thursday.
The team is noticeably excited.
When I go home to have a well-deserved glass of wine, I hope this is the moment we turn the corner to fight Covid in our area where it is widespread.
Along with many of my colleagues, I caught the virus in March – before the first national lockdown – and although I got through well, it was still a pathetic experience. For others, of course, it can be a matter of life or death.
I have lost several popular patients to this cruel disease in the past few months.
So, December 13th
I spoke too early! My peaceful Sunday morning is overturned by an email telling us that the arrival of the vaccine has been delayed by 24 hours. Make a hasty fight to get coworkers to work to contact all patients on Tuesday and tell them to come on Friday instead.
Since many of them had relatives or friends who took the time to bring them in, this is a major inconvenience, but luckily most understand that it is not our fault.
Monday December 14th
Our "phone terriers" phoned again to book the remaining slots on Thursday while I visit a local hospital to see the vaccine bottles arrive and mix to ensure the correct dosage.
The answer to the former is how I find out that they come in an oddly small pizza box – very different from the science fiction cube that emits dry ice clouds that I half expected.
In ähnlicher Weise sind wir von der Ankunft des Kühlschranks, den wir uns alle als futuristische Nummer vorgestellt hatten, an der Basis zurückgeschlagen, aber in Wirklichkeit ist es wie eine kleine Angelegenheit unter dem Ladentisch, in der Sie Ihre Getränke möglicherweise zu Hause aufbewahren: "Ein G & T oder eine Dosis Pfizer, Liebling?" Mit der Lieferung aller Schürzen, Spritzen und Tücher, die wir brauchen werden, rüsten sich die Dinge, obwohl ich befürchte, dass wir nur noch wenige Stunden bis zum "V-Day" auf das nationale Protokoll warten, das dies zulässt Unsere Gesundheitshelfer und andere Nachwuchskräfte oder Laienimpfstoffe helfen uns bei der schnellen und sicheren Verabreichung.

Ralph Evans, 88, erhält den Impfstoff in Merthyr Tydfil. Er gehört zu den 1,5 Millionen, denen der NHS-Stoß gegeben wurde
Di, 15. Dezember
Es ist hier! Der Impfstoff kommt am Vormittag an, und angesichts der ganzen Aufregung war ich auf eine Elite-Gruppe von Spezialisten eingestellt, die ihn mit der Ehrfurcht vor einem heiligen Relikt hervorbrachte. Stattdessen ist es ein Mann in einem Van: mehr Amazon-Lieferungen als Indiana Jones. Trotzdem freuen wir uns alle, dass ein Kollege die "Pizza Box from Heaven" witzelt.
Im Inneren befinden sich 195 wertvolle Fläschchen mit jeweils fünf Dosen, dh 975 separate Impfstoffe.
Wir sind uns alle sehr bewusst, dass jetzt jede Sekunde von entscheidender Bedeutung ist, da der Countdown zur Einhaltung des strengen Ablaufdatums von fünf Tagen bereits begonnen hat, beginnend mit dem Verlassen des Laborgefrierschranks.
Im Gegensatz zu den Vintage-Töpfen mit Hummus in meinem Kühlschrank zu Hause gibt es hier keinen Spielraum für Mindesthaltbarkeitsdaten.
Unser Zeitplan basiert auf drei Impfstoffen, die von 9 bis 19 Uhr arbeiten und alle fünf Minuten einen Stich geben. Auf dem Papier sieht das machbar aus, bis Sie über die Realität des Umgangs mit älteren, manchmal gebrechlichen Patienten nachdenken, die Zeit brauchen, um sich zu bewegen, ihre Schichten Winterkleidung zu entfernen und so weiter.
Wenn Sie die strengen Anforderungen an die soziale Distanzierung einhalten, wird es noch schwieriger, insbesondere wenn Sie das zusätzliche Personal in dem Gebäude berücksichtigen, das nach den Richtlinien erforderlich ist: Neben unseren drei Impfstoffen müssen ein Hausarzt vor Ort, zwei Angehörige der Gesundheitsberufe und ein Team anwesend sein of five marshals to shepherd the patients around.
Wed, December 16, V-Day One
The big day arrives. My job is to take the vials and convert them into syringe-dosages, following a labyrinthine series of procedures which require such delicate handling we have taken to calling them our little 'V-babies'.
First the vials are removed from the fridge into a light-proof bag — they are light-sensitive as well as heat-sensitive.
I then take out the first six vials, mark them with a special time label, and leave them for ten minutes to get them to room temperature, before inverting each vial ten times and adding 1.8 millilitres of sterile saline and withdrawing the same amount of air.
They then have to be inverted another ten times before another date and time label is added.
With over 20 years' experience, I'm used to this kind of painstaking procedure, but I can't help thinking that for many of the groups proposing to join the 'vaccine army' it would be somewhat daunting and time-consuming. Unlike the flu jab, which comes 'arm-ready' as it were, this is more complicated. If the Government's going to hit its targets, there will need to be some swift training factored in.
I'm intrigued by the instruction to only take five 0.3 millilitre doses out of each vial and throw away what's left.
Out of interest I drew the last dose out of one vial and discovered it was 0.5 millilitres, which strikes me as a dose wasted. But rules are rules.
The day passes quickly, and it's heartening to learn from my vaccinating colleagues that every single one of their patients was so grateful to receive it, although some of them expressed guilt at being at the front of the queue and said they felt key workers and teachers should have been vaccinated first.
The day ends on a happy note when we learn that the traffic warden we'd spotted hovering outside wasn't handing out tickets, but helping our elderly patients out of their cars and taxis.
It's a Christmas miracle!
Thu, December 17
Another change from NHS England: overnight they decide we can now take six doses from each vial. That means we suddenly have 65 extra doses spare, and can vaccinate more patients. Our team hit the phones again. Every dose used is another life protected.
One step forward . . . two little hiccups back. Our IT system goes on the blink for an hour and a half, while we learn one of our marshals has called in sick with Covid.
Fri, December 18
Another busy day, and by 4pm, as we count the number of patients left waiting, with a handful of no-shows through the day, we realise we'll have a few vaccine shots left over.
But as the clock runs down, we're nearing the use-by deadline. Quick! We hit the phones to rally local healthcare professionals within a one-mile radius who, unlike more elderly patients, can get here pronto. We want to ensure not a precious drop is wasted.
We finish at 9pm, following an exhausting 12-hour shift: everyone had fitted the equivalent of a standard full NHS working week into three days.
We've administered 1,031 doses, we're all knackered, and my knees hurt, but there's a real buzz.
I spend much of Saturday morning trying to catch up on the Christmas shopping I've had no time to do, only to discover that afternoon that my area is to be plunged into Tier 4 rules, meaning non-essential shops will have to close. Sorry, kids, Santa's been a bit busy.
Mon, December 21
It's a return to normal business, as I try to catch up with all the patients I've had to cancel from my usual clinics to work on the vaccine roll-out.
That means everything from smear tests to 'frailty reviews' — managing elderly patients' end of life plans, and whether or not they would like to be resuscitated in the event of cardiac failure. There's a slightly grim irony in undertaking the latter with a patient who, just a few days earlier, had been given a life-saving jab.
It feels like saying: 'We've helped save your life, now how would you like to die?'
Wed, December 23
I thought I was off for Christmas, a time to recharge the batteries, but lo and behold the holiday's interrupted with another goalpost-moving missive from NHS England, this time informing us they are going to extend the period between the two vaccine doses from three weeks to 12 weeks.
This means that any area which started administering their vaccines on or after Wednesday 16th needs to cancel those patients due their second jab, and book a thousand new patients in for their first instead.
Oh, and we can't even tell the first thousand when they should come back, as the vaccine supply is so patchy at the moment we can't make plans that far ahead.
How on earth can we make those 2,000 phone calls in time? On a good day, one 'telephone terrier' working flat out can reach about 120-150 patients a day.
Frantic conversations between health chiefs ensue, until a pragmatic solution is reached. Huge relief!
Nonetheless, given all the coverage in the media, we still have to call all 1,000 patients to reassure them their appointments are going ahead.
Tue, January 5, 2021
Hallelujah! The second lot of vaccines arrive at our hub on schedule. This time I'm at least expecting a man-in-a-van, not the Messiah.
Wed, January 6
Round two gets under way. It feels calmer this time as we've established a good working rhythm. With a fair wind, we'll pick up speed, but the fiddly nature of the Pfizer jab means it's surely going to be a huge challenge to scale-up on a national level.
The Government are making promises to have administered 12 million doses by mid-Feb.
As my eye-rolling teenager would say: good luck with that.
Fri, January 8
Another day of mixed news. Our final tranche of Pfizer jabs is marred by the IT system used to register all vaccinations — called Pinnacle — going down for most of the morning.
Now all 480 patients due in will have to be logged by hand and inputted onto the database at a later date.
I worry the system is struggling to cope as more and more hubs join the national roll-out.
On the plus side, we get the first arrival of 400 doses of the alternative 'Oxford' or AstraZeneca vaccine, which are to go to local care homes as they're more transportable and require less gentle care than our Pfizer V-babies.
On paper, this is good news — if only we weren't all so hampered by NHS England's obsession with running all vaccinations through specific designated 'hubs' like ours.
The reality of this is that the maximum number of front-line vaccinators we can have working from the hub at any one time is four, whereas if we were allowed to give it out at our usual local GP surgeries too, I could have two vaccinators working at each of our ten sites — taking that number up to 20.
That's a huge potential to upscale, if only NHS England would listen. Overnight, we got another missive from them saying the Oxford vaccine can at least be delivered to different sites, but still no clarity on whether it can be administered there, too.
If it can't, then I'm afraid Boris's pledge of delivering two million doses a week doesn't stand a chance, especially given the baffling reality that by the time you read this, our hub will stand empty and unused.
At the time of writing, we have no further vaccine deliveries scheduled. And so we wait . . .
After all our efforts, it's disheartening. And very worrying.
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