Headlines
• Blood clots 8-10x more likely in Covid-19 sufferers than those vaccinated, OU
• 4.7m on NHS waiting lists
• Surge testing begins in Smethwick, West Midlands
• France to use J&J vaccine
• Hong Kong begins vaccinating under 30s
World news
• Researchers at the University of Oxford have released the results of an analysis of a database of 81m people, primarily in the US, highlighting that cerebral venous sinus thrombosis is around 8-10x more common among people who have had Covid-19, than those who have had a vaccine against the disease.
• Analysis of data from Public Health England shows that 82% of rapid tests taken since 8 March sent off for a confirmatory PCR test returned the same positive result.
• A total of 4.7m people were waiting for routine operations and procedures in England at the end of February 2021. Nearly 388,000 were waiting more than a year for non-urgent surgery. In February 2020, the number having to wait more than 52 weeks to start treatment stood at just 1,613.
• Surge testing is to be carried out in Smethwick in the West Midlands after a case of the South African variant was found.
• Portugal’s parliament has extended its state of emergency for 15 days.
• France will use Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine as planned despite its suspension in the US.
• Russia has announced the start of production of its Sputnik V vaccine in Serbia, the first European country outside Russia and Belarus to begin manufacturing.
• Germany’s health minister Jens Spahn has again urged the country’s 16 federal states to impose tougher restrictions.
• Hong Kong authorities said today that the city’s vaccine scheme would be widened to include those aged between 16 and 29 years old.
• Surge testing is to take place in Barnet, London. Today home testing kits will be delivered door-to-door in the N3 postcode.
• Positive tests in England are down by 34% in a week, according to NHS Test and Trace figures.
• Poland has started giving people Johnson & Johnson vaccinations today.
Company news
Technology
Deliveroo – Said that orders have soared by 121% in the UK in the past three months to 34m. In its overseas markets, orders were up 108% to 37m. The number of customers using the delivery firm each month also rose by 91% year-on-year to 7.1m.
