Category Archives: coronavirus

Wales Move To End ‘Pingdemic’ Before England Piles Pressure On Boris Johnson

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Wales first minister Mark Drakeford and prime minister Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson is under fresh pressure to fast-track plans to exempt fully vaccinated adults from Covid quarantine after the Welsh government announced it would introduce the move from August 7.

Double-jabbed adults in Wales will no longer have to self isolate after coming into contact with someone with the virus, with the change kicking in a full nine days earlier than England’s August 16 deadline.

The prime minister has this week insisted that his own date for the major shift in policy is “nailed on” and Downing Street confirmed on Thursday that he was “pretty emphatic” about his timetable.

But Tory MPs and businesses crippled by staff shortages are sure to demand a similar acceleration in England after fresh figures showed the “pingdemic” has hit record numbers.

Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford announced that NHS Wales’ Test Trace Protect (TTP) service will use the Welsh Immunisation Service to identify fully-vaccinated adults who will no longer be required to self-isolate.

He added that children in Wales will also be exempted from the need to home quarantine from August 7 – the day that the country is expected to finally come out of most Covid restrictions, known as “level zero”.

Drakeford stressed that everyone who tests positive for coronavirus or has symptoms must continue to isolate for 10 days, whether they have been vaccinated or not.

“We know a full course of the vaccine offers people protection against the virus and they are far less likely to contract it when they are identified as close contacts. This means they no longer need to self-isolate for 10 days,” he said.

“We can remove the need for self-isolation for the two million adults who have completed their vaccine course, helping to keep Wales safe and working.”

Wales is keen to ease pressure on vital services caused by the recent rapid rise in Covid cases, driven by the delta variant over the last two months.

Cases have risen by 800% since the end of May, when they were at very low levels. Over the last week case rates have started to fall in all parts of Wales.

The acceleration of the exemption date is also in part because 80% of adults in Wales have been fully vaccinated – the best rates in the UK and some of the best in the world. In England, the double-jabbed figure is 71%.

Some 689,313 alerts were sent to users of the NHS Covid-19 app in England and Wales, telling them they had been in close contact with someone who had tested positive for coronavirus.

The latest NHS figures, for the week to July 21, were an 11% rise on the previous record high of 619,733 alerts a week earlier.

From 7 August, instead of instructing fully-vaccinated adults to isolate, contact tracers and advisers in Wales will provide them with advice and guidance about how to protect themselves and stay safe.

The TTP service will provide a “warn and inform” service for all fully-vaccinated adults and under-18s, who are identified as close contacts.

Some extra safeguards will be put in place for those working with vulnerable people, particularly health and social care staff, including a risk assessment for staff working in health and care and daily lateral flow tests.

Members of the public will be strongly advised not to visit hospitals and care homes for 10 days.

Everyone identified as a contact of a positive case will continue to be advised – but not required – to have a PCR test on day two and day eight, whether they are fully vaccinated or not.

The new policy will affect adults where 14 days have passed since their last dose of the vaccine.

Separately, on Thursday the Welsh government announced that young adults aged from 17 years and 9 months were now being invited to book a jab or attend walk-in vaccination clinics for their first dose.

Again, this is ahead of England and appears to be due to the country’s higher vaccination rate.

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What Are The US And EU Travel Changes? Your Questions, Answered

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Fully-vaccinated US and European citizens will soon be able to travel to England from an amber list country without having to quarantine.

The UK government will formally recognise US vaccine certificates that prove a traveller has been double-jabbed, as well as accepting the EU equivalent, from Monday August 2.

Making the announcement on Wednesday, transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “We’ve taken great strides on our journey to reopen international travel and today is another important step forward.

“Whether you are a family reuniting for the first time since the start of the pandemic or a business benefiting from increased trade – this is progress we can all enjoy.”

While the news has been welcomed by families and friends long separated by the complex rules around international travel, the announcement has also left many people confused about the small print. Here are your questions on the latest travel rules answered.

What are the changes and when do they come into effect?

Currently, only travellers who have received two doses of a vaccine in the UK are permitted to enter England from an amber country without self-isolating for 10 days, excluding France which is “amber plus” status, due to recent high levels of the Beta variant that originated in South Africa.

From 4am on Monday August 2, US vaccine certificates, both digital and hard copy, as well as the EU version that confirms you have been double-jabbed, will allow citizens of those countries to enter England without needing to self-isolate for 10 days.

Who will the quarantine exemption apply to?

“The changes will apply to fully vaxxed people with an FDA or EMA vaccine – they’ll still need to do the usual pre-departure test before arrival and take a PCR test on day 2 of returning to the England,” Shapps tweeted.

An FDA vaccine is one authorised by the US Food and Drug Administration, so the Pfizer, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccines, received in the US; while an EMA vaccine is one authorised by the European Medicines Agency, so Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, received in Europe.

All visitors must still have proof of a negative Covid-19 test to travel to England from abroad. You must take a test even if you’ve been fully vaccinated and/or are traveling from a country on the green list.

Are all European countries exempt from quarantine?

The changes apply to citizens from the US and all EU countries. However, it’s important to note that they will only apply to journeys made to England from amber list countries.

All arrivals from France, for example, which is currently in amber plus status, will still be required to enter quarantine for 10 days. Falling rates of the Beta variant in France do mean the amber plus list is expected to be scrapped at the next traffic light review on August 4, though.

Has the US advice on travel to the UK changed?

While the UK government is willing to accept US travellers – on the condition they follow the amber entry requirements – the US government is still advising against travel to the UK.

The US State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued a travel advisory telling US citizens not to travel to the UK because of the current case count of Covid-19.

“Because of the current situation in the United Kingdom, even fully vaccinated travellers may be at risk for getting and spreading Covid-19 variants,” the CDC website states.

So, will this make travel to the US and Europe easier, too?

Currently, there are strict limits on travel to the US from the UK – it’s not possible for most British nationals to enter if they have been in the UK, Ireland, Europe, Iran, Brazil, China, South Africa or India within the previous 14 days.

Meanwhile, entry requirements for UK citizens vary from country to country in Europe. Regardless of a country’s traffic light status from the UK government, it’s worth doing your homework before booking a holiday as the traffic light system is not reciprocal. There may be extra tests and quarantine times to factor in when you arrive, which could increase the cost of your trip.

Grant Shapps said on Wednesday that he expected that rules for Brits travelling to the US to become more relaxed “in time”. Asked whether he was confident the US and Europe would reciprocate on the government’s change in rules, he said: “It will depend. We can only set the rules at our end, and that has always been the case. People should always check the rules on the other side.

“I’ve just spoken to my US counterpart today and in the US they still have an executive order which prevents travel from the UK, from Europe, from several other countries to the US. So we’re saying, ‘You can come here, you can come visit, you can come see friends, you can come as a tourist if you’ve been double vaccinated and follow the rules without quarantine’.

“We can’t change that on the other side, but we do expect that in time they will release that executive order, which was actually signed by the previous president, and bans inward travel.”

Are these latest travel changes safe to make?

Grant Shapps said the government would “continue to be guided by the latest scientific data” on its travel guidelines. However, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the opposition had “real concerns” about the change in policy, especially given the rise in Delta variant cases in the US.

“There doesn’t seem to be a system in place yet for an international vaccine passport which the Government said that they were going to bring forward,” she said while on a visit to Hull.

“Each individual US state does things differently. They don’t have a National Health Service that has a vaccine programme like we do with the certifications. So we’re really concerned about making sure that new variants do not come into the UK and that we do have a system that identifies where we have variants of Covid where infection is and we’re able to isolate it.”

Rayner added: “We cannot stress enough that new variants pose a risk and therefore we’ve got to make sure our borders are safe and that we open up international travel in a safe and secure way.”

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Labour Would Give Employees Legal Right To Work From Home

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Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has said all workers should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of home working even once the Covid pandemic was over.

A Labour government would give employees a legal right to work from home, deputy leader Angela Rayner has announced.

Under a new package of reforms, all staff would also also be granted a “right to switch off” to avoid being contacted via phone or email by bosses outside working hours.

Rayner said that Labour would place on duty on employers to provide “flexible working” from day one of employment, where there was no reason a job could not be done with varying hours or remotely.

The shadow secretary for work said all workers should be allowed to enjoy the benefits of home working even once the Covid pandemic was over.

Home workers would also be encouraged to join trade unions to allow them to continue to collectively organise on terms and conditions of work.

The right to flexible working – including flexible hours, staggered hours and flexibility around childcare and caring responsibilities – was aimed at ensuring “work fits around people’s lives instead of dictating their lives”, she said.

Among the changes the party wants to see is flexibility around school runs for parents, as well as childcare during school holidays.

Labour is also calling for the end of “one-sided flexibility” that currently benefits bosses, so all workers have secure employment and regular and predictable working.

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Commuters, most of them continuing to wear face masks, at Waterloo station

Unions would be granted greater access to workplaces, including to home workers, t”o ensure fair flexibility for all is delivered through a collective voice for all staff, including those who are working flexibly or remotely”.

“Labour will make flexible working a force for good so that everyone is able to enjoy the benefits of flexible working, from a better work-life balance to less time commuting and more time with their family,” Rayner said.

“The ‘new normal’ after this pandemic must mean a new deal for all working people based on flexibility, security and strengthened rights at work.

“The right to flexible working will change our economy and the world of work for the better, stop women losing out at work or even dropping out of the workforce altogether, end the sexist assumption of Dad being at work in the office and Mum looking after the kids at home and improve the lives of millions of workers.”

Boris Johnson pledged in the 2019 Conservative manifesto to make flexible working the “default” but appears to have shelved the plans along with an Employment Rights Bill.

Last month the Prime Minister’s spokesperson said: “We’ve asked people to work from home where they can during the pandemic, but there are no plans to make this permanent or introduce a legal right to work from home…It is important to stress that there are no plans to make working from home the default, or introduce a legal right to work from home.”

The TUC has found that 82% of workers want to work flexibly (87% for women workers), whereas the most popular form of flexible working, flexi-time, is unavailable to over half of the UK workforce.

Some 30% of flexible working requests are turned down because staff do not have a statutory right to work variable hours. The UK ranked 24th out of 25 countries on how often job demands interfere with family life.

Two-thirds of working mothers lack childcare during these summer holidays, and before Covid only 3.6% of eligible fathers took shared parental leave.

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Boris Johnson Under Fire From Business Chief Over Hi-Viz ‘Chain Gangs’ Plan

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Boris Johnson has come under fire from a leading businessman over plans to humiliate offenders by making them work in “fluorescent-jacketed chain gangs”.

The prime minister unveiled plans to put more people doing community service into hi-viz jackets as they cleared rubbish and graffiti.

At the launch of his new crime crackdown plan, Johnson said that he wanted a more visible way of showing offenders working in the streets.

“If you are guilty of antisocial behaviour and you are sentenced to unpaid work, as many people are, I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t be out there in one of those fluorescent-jacketed chain gangs visibly paying your debt to society,” he said.

“So you are going to be seeing more of that.”

But James Timpson, who runs the Timpson’s shoe repair and key cutting chain that is one of the largest employers of ex-offenders in the country, hit out at the PM’s plan on Twitter.

“Instead of making offenders wear high viz jackets in chain gangs, how about helping them get a real job instead?” he wrote.

“In my shops we employ lots of ex offenders and they wear a shirt and tie. Same people, different approach, a much better outcome.”

Timpson’s brother Edward is a Tory MP and the firm has frequently been cited by the government for its social enterprise work.

Campaigners and some Labour MPs also criticised the plan, which Johnson first floated when he ran for Mayor of London in 2008 but didn’t implement.

Civil rights group Liberty said the proposal would not make communities safer but was designed “to create more stigma and division” and was “a short-term stunt that will cause long-term generational harm”.

The Home Office itself had not used the phrase “chain gangs” in its announcement.

It preferred instead to say it would be “making unpaid work more visible by getting offenders to clean up streets, alleys, estates, and open spaces, and ensuring justice is seen to be done”

Johnson’s “Beating Crime” plan, which also included proposals to expand controversial Stop and Search powers, follows Labour’s own campaigns to highlight rising levels of anti-social behaviour across the UK.

During the launch, the PM appeared to admit that the problem was getting worse, but partly blamed Covid lockdowns.

Speaking at Surrey Police HQ, he said: “I do think that the lockdown has driven some anti-social behaviour and we need to deal with it. That’s why we are backing the police in the way that we are.”

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Dustbin Collectors And Prison Officers To Get Daily Covid Tests To Avoid Staff Shortages

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Dustbin collectors, prison officers and the armed forces will be able to use daily Covid tests to avoid isolation under a dramatic expansion in workplace testing sites.

All those who have been doubled jabbed in the critical services sectors will be exempted from rules requiring home quarantine following close contact with people with the virus.

Some 2,000 testing sites will be created across the country in total, building on the 800 sites lined up for the food industry, transport workers, Border Force staff, frontline police and fire services.

The decision to provide special test sites for refuse collectors followed pleas from council chiefs, and followed fears that household waste could pile up due to a shortage of staff.

In addition, people working in energy, pharmaceuticals, telecoms, chemicals, communications, water, space, fish, veterinary medicine and HM Revenue and Customs will also be prioritised for the extra 1,200 new daily contact testing sites.

Daily testing using rapid lateral flow tests will enable eligible workers who have received alerts from the NHS Covid 19 app or have been called by Test and Trace and told they are a contact and to isolate, to continue working if they test negative each day.

Key NHS staff are already allowed to exempt themselves from the isolation rules, as long as they are double jabbed and can show that their absence would affect clinical care.

The move follows the latest meeting of the “Covid-O” operations committee which oversees key policy responses to the pandemic.

Ministers acted after Oxford University research for the department of health and social care (DHSC) found that in schools, daily contact testing was just as effective at controlling transmission as the current 10-day self-isolation policy.

Organisations are being contacted by the DHSC so they can mobilise sites this week to ensure critical workers can continue their vital roles safely, although it is understood that less than 50 have so far been set up.

The workplace testing scheme is separate from another government programme to allow individuals to apply for exemptions in key industries.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said: “Whether it’s prison guards reporting for duty, waste collectors keeping our streets clean or workers in our energy sector keeping the lights on, critical workers have been there for us at every stage of this global pandemic.”

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Critical workers up and down the country have repeatedly stepped up to the challenge of making sure our key services are delivered and communities are supported.

“We all owe them a huge debt of gratitude and will continue to support them to do their jobs safely and securely. This expansion of the daily contact testing centres is vital and hugely welcome.”

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace added: “Our Armed Forces have worked tirelessly throughout this pandemic, ensuring operations and training at home and abroad continue while at the same time providing round the clock support to the nation’s response to Covid.

“Expanding the daily contact testing scheme is hugely welcome, allowing our personnel to continue that vital work across the UK and abroad.”

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Piers Morgan Reveals He Caught Coronavirus Watching Euros Final At Wembley

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Piers Morgan has revealed he thinks he caught coronavirus while watching England play in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

The journalist and television presenter told the Mail on Sunday he contracted Covid despite being double vaccinated.

In a post on Twitter, he said it has been “a long ten days”.

He added: “Yes, it’s certainly been one of the more interesting (and unnerving…) experiences of my life, but it gave my a new perspective on covid, vaccines & where we are.”

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Piers Morgan

Writing in his column for the newspaper, Morgan said he thinks he caught the virus during England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy.

“My confidence that the event would be ‘covid safe’ had disintegrated,” he said.

“It was turning into an unregulated free-for-all.”

According to the newspaper, he began to feel unwell two days after the match and subsequently tested positive for the virus.

“As I’m sure everyone who gets it feels, it’s a strange, disquieting moment to know I have this killer virus inside me,” he said.

The former Good Morning Britain presenter added that coronavirus is “definitely the roughest I’ve felt from any illness in my adult life”.

“I’m still here – unlike so many millions around the world who’ve lost their lives to Covid in this pandemic,” Morgan said.

“For that, I owe a heartfelt debt of thanks to the brilliant scientists up in Oxford who created the Astra-Zeneca vaccine with such astonishing speed.”

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Unvaccinated Man Hospitalised With COVID-19 Still Refuses To Get The Vaccine

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An unvaccinated man who was hospitalised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after he contracted Covid-19 and developed severe pneumonia said he still won’t get the vaccine.

“Before you got sick, if you would have had a chance to get the vaccine and prevent this, would you have taken the vaccine?” CBS News’ David Begnaud asked Scott Roe on his hospital bed at Our Lady of the Lake Medical Center in an interview this week.

“No,” Roe, a Republican, responded.

“So, you’d have gone through this?” asked Begnaud.

“I’d have gone through this. Yes, sir. Don’t shove it down my throat. That’s what local, state, federal administration is trying to do,” Roe replied.

“What are they shoving, the science?” asked Begnaud.

“No, they’re shoving the fact that it’s their agenda. Their agenda is to get you vaccinated,” Roe said, claiming there were “too many issues” with the shots. Millions of Americans have received the shots, which have proven remarkably effective at preventing infection and severe illness. 

Watch the interview here:

In the same segment, pharmaceutical researcher Paula Johnson expressed regret at putting off getting the vaccine.

She ended up in hospital.

“I honest to God thought I walked my last day on this earth. I could not breathe. I just, all of a sudden, my lungs just didn’t work,” Johnson told Begnaud.

“I have no comorbidities, nothing, never had a lung problem. Don’t smoke, nothing,” Johnson explained. “And it took my lungs and just … I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s like trying to breathe in and hitting a wall in like a second.”

Her warning came as the highly transmissible delta variant continues to spread across the country. It echoes those delivered this week by other unvaccinated people (who now make up 99.5% of American deaths from COVID-19) who were hospitalized with the disease and are now urging others to take the shot.

William Hughes, from Arkansas, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday that he wished he’d had the jab.

“I mean, the vaccine may not have kept me from getting COVID, but it may have decreased greatly the pain and suffering I had to go through to get to the point where I am now,” he said.

Watch the video here:

Donald McAvoy, an unvaccinated 33-year-old gym manager from Jacksonville, Florida, said he was initially “skeptical” about the shot.

“I was like, ‘Eh don’t get it, I don’t need it. I’m healthy. I’m young. I’m good. I’m OK,’” McAvoy told Action News Jax. “If there’s one thing I could say to the public and everyone out there is get vaccinated now.”

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How Much Time To Leave Between Your Two Pfizer Vaccine Doses

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Leaving eight weeks between your first and second dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is the optimum gap for immunity and protection, say scientists.

A new study, funded by the Department of Health and Social Care has found that a 10-week gap between doses produces higher antibody levels, as well as a higher proportion of infection-fighting T cells, compared to just four weeks.

However, scientists involved in the study have described an eight-week dosing interval as the “sweet spot” when it comes to generating a strong immune response while also protecting the UK population against the Delta variant of coronavirus – to which people can still be vulnerable after just one jab.

At the start of the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) decided to recommend 12 weeks between two doses for the two vaccines that were available at the time: Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca.

This was when vaccines were in short supply and early research suggested that widening the gap from the manufacturer-recommended four weeks to 12 ramped up the jabs’ immune response.

In May, the guidance was changed to eight weeks as cases associated with the Delta variant – which was first identified in India – continued to rise in the UK.

Professor Susanna Duanchie of the University of Oxford, joint chief investigator in the study, said: “The original recommendation from JCVI was 12 weeks and this was based on a lot of knowledge from other vaccines that often having a longer interval (between doses) gives your immune system a chance to make the highest response.

“The decision to put it to eight weeks is really balancing all the wider issues, the pros and cons – two doses is better than one overall. Also, other factors need to be balanced: vaccine supply, the desire to open up, and so on.”

She added: “I think that eight weeks is about the sweet spot for me, because people do want to get the two vaccine (doses) and there is a lot of Delta out there right now. Unfortunately, I can’t see this virus disappearing so you want to balance that against getting the best protection that you can.”

Researchers recruited 503 healthcare workers for the study, 44% (223) of whom previously had Covid-19, and studied the immune responses generated by the Pfizer jab. They found that both short (three to four-week) and long (10-week) gaps between the Pfizer vaccine doses generated strong antibody and T cell immune responses.

But the longer gap led to higher antibody levels and a higher proportion of helper T cells, which according to the researchers, supports immune memory.

After the second dose, a wider gap also resulted in higher neutralising antibody levels against the Delta variant and all other variants of concern, they found. But in this instance, antibody levels dropped off between first and second dose – leaving the recipients vulnerable against the Delta variant after one jab.

Dr Rebecca Payne, one of the study’s authors from Newcastle University, said the cellular response from infection-fighting T cells remained consistent across both long and short dosing gaps, suggesting they play an important role in protecting against Covid-19 between the first and second jab.

“After the second dose on the longer dosing schedule, antibody levels surpassed those seen at the same timepoint after a shorter dosing interval,” she added. “Although T cell levels were comparatively lower, the profile of T cells present suggested more support of immune memory and antibody generation.”

Researchers said there may be exceptions where the gap between doses may need to be shortened from eight weeks to four, such as before treatments that may affect the immune system, such as cancer or organ transplant.

Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government took the JCVI’s advice to shorten the dosing interval from 12 to eight weeks to help protect more people against the Delta variant.

“This latest study provides further evidence that this interval results in a strong immune response and supports our decision,” he added.

“I urge every adult to get both doses of the vaccine to protect yourself and those around you and we are looking to offer millions of the most vulnerable a booster jab from September to ensure this protection is maintained.”

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Labour Will Oppose Boris Johnson Plan for Compulsory Covid Passports For Nightclubs

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Boris Johnson’s plans to force nightclubs to make Covid ‘passports’ a condition of entry are hanging in the balance after Labour came out against the idea.

The PM’s proposal, which would from the end of September restrict entry to people who have been double-jabbed, has met with a backlash from club owners.

It is already opposed by a number of Tory MPs, who fear it would open the way for similar curbs on pubs, and Labour’s opposition now means that the government cannot be sure of getting it passed by parliament.

Even though the PM has a majority of more than 80, more than 40 Tory MPs have come out against the idea of compulsory ‘Covid passports’ at a time when most other restrictions have been lifted.

Keir Starmer prefers a rival plan to immediately mandate clubbers to get a negative Covid test before entry, believing it would offer better health protection at a time when the Delta variant of the virus is ripping through younger age groups.

Labour believes that proof double-jabbing is no guarantee that people don’t carry the virus, as the forced isolation of health secretary Sajid Javid underlined last weekend.

“We oppose the use of Covid vaccination status for everyday access to venues and services. It’s costly, open to fraud and is impractical,” a spokesperson for Starmer said.

“Being double-jabbed doesn’t prove you aren’t carrying the virus. Testing for access to venues would be more efficient, and would give people and businesses more certainty.”

Under surprise plans announced by the PM on Monday, the day when most restrictions were lifted in England, nightclubs have until the end of September to comply with a new scheme to restrict entry to the double-jabbed.

So far, some 42 Tory MPs have signed a cross-party declaration by the Big Brother Watch lobby group, which states they are against “Covid status certification to deny individuals access to general services, businesses or jobs”.

Several Conservatives are furious because ministers ruled out the idea of compulsory ‘Covid passports’ after a review by Michael Gove’s Cabinet Office.

But this week, neither the PM nor No.10 ruled out introducing mandatory passports for other crowded indoor venues such as pubs – even though Johnson said he was ”keen” to avoid the need to provide “papers for a pint”.

Labour believes that waiting until the end of September means the risk of clubs acting as ‘super spreader’ venues is too high and it wants immediate testing as a condition of entry.

The issue surfaced in prime minister’s question time, when Starmer pointed out that the PM had once promised to “eat an ID card if he ever had to produce one”.

“When it comes to creating confusion, the Prime Minister is a super spreader. Why is it okay to go to a nightclub for the next six weeks without proof of a vaccine or a test, and then from September it will only be okay to get into a nightclub if you’ve’ got a vaccine ID card?”

Johnson hit back: “Everybody can see that we have to wait until the end of September, by which time, it is only fair to the younger generation when they will all have been offered two jabs before we consider something like asking people to be double jabbed before they go into a nightclub.

“That is blindingly obvious to everybody. It is common sense, and I think most people in this country understand it. Most people in this country want to see younger people being encouraged to get vaccinations.”

Shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips told TimesRadio: “I just don’t think it will work. I just don’t think that businesses – like your local nightclub or local pub – would be able to police it, and I don’t think it’s fair on them.”

Downing Street confirmed that legislation would be needed to make the passports compulsory.

In a clue to government nervousness over the forthcoming vote on the plans, PoliticsHome reported that cabinet minister Simon Hart had on Wednesday pleaded with rebels to back the PM.

“As far as a rebellion is concerned, if I was in a position to talk to colleagues who are uncomfortable about these proposals [I’d say] that absolutely none of these things are ever done with any degree of enthusiasm or glee,” the Welsh Secretary said.

“It’s always done with the heaviest of hearts and on the basis of what we think is really compelling advice and evidence. I very much hope that if we get to a vote on this that we can take as many colleagues with us as possible.”

Starmer was himself forced to enter self-isolation after one of his children tested positive for coronavirus around the time he was in the Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions.

The Labour leader tested negative on Wednesday morning ahead of his appearance in parliament where he grilled Johnson over his isolation policy.

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Will My Child Get The Covid Vaccine? A Guide For Parents

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The vaccine programme has been rolled out to more children across the UK, but it’s not open to all under 18s just yet.

Health secretary Sajid Javid said that he has asked the NHS to prepare to vaccinate the newly eligible groups “as soon as possible”. Here’s what you need to know as a parent or guardian.

Can my child get the vaccine?

Under previous advice, teens aged 16 to 17 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious Covid should have already been offered a jab. The latest announcement extends the vaccine rollout to more vulnerable children.

Vulnerable children between the ages of 12 and 15 will now be offered a Covid vaccine. Those who’ll be offered a jab include children with severe neurodisabilities, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities.

The vaccine will also be offered to 17-year-olds who are within three months of their 18th birthday.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also recommended that children and young people aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person be offered the vaccine, to indirectly protect their immunosuppressed household contacts.

What vaccine will vulnerable children get?

The medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has already approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for use among children aged 12 and over in the UK, so it is likely this is the vaccine they will receive.

Why is there caution about the vaccine for kids?

The government has said it will continue to review whether or not to offer the vaccine to all under 18s.

The caution is due to a lack of available trial data, says Helen Bedford, Professor of Children’s Health at UCL. There’s also a careful balancing act between the benefits of the vaccine vs any potential negative impacts on kids.

“Healthy young people and children become seriously ill with COVID-19 extremely rarely, so there would be few direct benefits for them of vaccination but it would contribute to increasing population immunity,” she explains. “Before recommending vaccination for all children and young people we therefore need to be very clear about of the safety of the vaccines in this group.

“Although there is now good trial data and experience of vaccinating very large numbers of adults and the vaccines have been shown to be safe, we cannot automatically assume this applies to children. More information is needed from trials and experience of using these vaccines in young people and children before the programme is rolled out further.”

What are other countries doing?

Nearly half of European countries have decided to offer the vaccine to children aged 12 and over, including France, Spain, Italy and Austria. Some vaccination programmes have started, while others are imminent, with plans to vaccinate children before the new school term in September widespread.

What about long Covid?

While children are less likely to suffer severe illness from coronavirus, they aren’t untouchable. Hundreds of children in the UK are struggling with long Covid months after becoming sick.

In rare instances, some children have developed a multi-system inflammatory syndrome linked to Covid-19 which can lead to organ damage. Scientists will consider this when continuing to weigh up the pros and cons of vaccines.

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