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VACCINE IMMUNITY 'WON'T JUST DISAPPEAR' IN FACE OF COVID VARIANTS - JCVI EXPERT

Imported coronavirus variants are unlikely to set lockdown easing back to "square one" because immunity from vaccines "won't just disappear", according to a key figure on the UK's immunisation committee.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said he expected a "gradual erosion" of vaccine protection as the virus evolves but not enough to "scupper" the Prime Minister's road map, as one leading scientist had predicted. On Friday, Imperial College's Danny Altmann said "we should be terribly concerned" after 77 cases of a potentially vaccine-busting Covid-19 mutation first discovered in India were identified in Britain.

"They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry," Professor Altmann told the BBC.

Prof Finn said he thought the immunology expert had been "a bit pessimistic" with his assessment.

"We've all expected evolution of this virus to occur from the start," he told Times Radio.

"I also think that we know from other viruses and previous experience that the immunity that vaccines give won't just disappear. It will be a gradual erosion. It won't be back to square one. I would be really surprised if that happened.

SPORT WELCOMES BACK SPECTATORS AS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BEGINS AT THE CRUCIBLE

Spectators returned to sport on Saturday morning as Ronnie O'Sullivan started the defence of his World Championship crown at the Crucible.

As one of the Government's pilot events, which are being used to help England and sport out of lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic, the venue in Sheffield opened its doors to fans again.

Six-time world champion O'Sullivan was taking on Mark Joyce in the first session of the tournament, with Martin Gould playing Yan Bingtao on the other table.

All four players walked to the table to applause from the crowd, which was set to be at 33 per cent capacity for the first round.

With sanitiser stations provided around the venue, fans had their tickets scanned before sitting in designated seats socially distanced.

INDIAN COVID VARIANT ‘MAY BE RESISTANT’ TO VACCINE AS EXPERT WARNS IT MIGHT ‘SCUPPER UK’S ESCAPE PLAN’ OUT OF LOCKDOWN

PM NOT ATTENDING PHILIP’S FUNERAL BECAUSE OF CORONAVIRUS GUEST LIMITS

Boris Johnson is not in attendance at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral to allow for the attendance of as many family members as possible during coronavirus restrictions, No 10 has said.

The Prime Minister was understood to have been expected to attend the ceremony for Philip by the royals, but offered to step aside with the number of guests allowed limited to 30.

The duke’s funeral will take place in Windsor Castle on April 17, but it will be unlike typical royal send-offs, with the public being told to stay away because of the pandemic.

A No 10 spokesman said: “As a result of the Coronavirus regulations, only 30 people can attend the funeral of HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

“The Prime Minister has throughout wanted to act in accordance with what is best for the royal household, and so to allow for as many family members as possible will not be attending the funeral on Saturday.”

THAILAND REPORTS RISE IN CASES

Thailand has reported 1,547 new coronavirus cases and two additional deaths today, amid a third wave of infections in the Southeast Asian country.

The new cases took the total number of confirmed infections to 40,585, with 99 fatalities.

DUBAI EXPANDS VACCINE ELIGIBILITY

The Dubai Health Authority today said it was allowing women who are breastfeeding and those planning on conceiving to take the Pfizer vaccine, according to the Dubai Media Office.

In a Twitter post, the media office said this was in line with the latest international studies and guidelines on coronavirus vaccines.

FIRST WEEKEND OF FREEDOM

Boozy Brits danced in the streets overnight as scuffles broke out on the first weekend of freedom since beer gardens reopened.

Millions flocked to newly-reopened bars after lockdown restrictions were eased in England this week - with scenes quickly descending into chaos.

Across England, revellers showed their joy at being able to enjoy a night out as they took to the streets.

In Manchester, pub-goers danced and threw their hands up in the air to celebrate the reopening of beer gardens on April 12.

And in Liverpool, boozers posed in the streets - with one even attempting a handstand after the night out.

THAILAND REPORTS RISE IN CASES

Thailand has reported 1,547 new coronavirus cases and two additional deaths today, amid a third wave of infections in the Southeast Asian country.

The new cases took the total number of confirmed infections to 40,585, with 99 fatalities.

SOUTH AFRICAN CASES DOUBLE IN A MONTH

Cases of the South African variant have doubled in a month - sparking fears Covid mutations able to escape vaccines could delay Britain's roadmap.

There are now 600 known infections, a rise on from 300 last month, according to Public Health England data.

London has seen a rise in cases, with tests deployed in Southwark as well as Wandsworth and Lambeth.

The government said the testing in South London is the "largest surge testing operation to date" aimed at suppressing any possible new cases of the variant.

AUSTRALIA TO CONTINUE JAB REVIEW

Australia will continue its review of coronavirus vaccines after a 48-year-old woman's death was likely linked to the jab, Health Minister Greg Hunt has said.

Yesterday, Australia reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot - the third case of rare blood clots in someone who had the jab.

"The government will ask ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) to ensure continuous review of all of the vaccines in terms of their safety and their efficacy," Hunt said at a televised briefing.

He said there will be no immediate change to further limit the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine and reiterated that the Pfizer vaccine remains the preferred option for people under the age of 50.

GLOBAL DEATH TOLL TOPS 3 MILLION

The global death toll from the coronavirus has topped a staggering 3 million people, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of lives lost is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine or Caracas, Venezuela.

Worldwide, deaths are running at over 12,000 per day on average and new cases at more than 700,000 a day.

RESTRICTIONS ON TRAVEL TO STAY 'FOR SOME TIME'

Professor Adam Finn, asked whether India should be placed on the "red list" following the discovery of a new variant there, said there needed to be caution about international travel still.

He added: "I think we're going to go on seeing restrictions on travel for some time to come, with the pandemic raging in so many countries around the world.

"We've got very big epidemics going on in India, in Brazil and in other countries that have previously been less affected. This is going to be a problem.

"We're going to need to continue to be really quite careful to avoid moving the virus around, so I think travel won't go back to normal yet."

IMMUNITY FROM JABS 'WON'T DISAPPEAR'

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said immunity from vaccines "won't just disappear" despite warnings that new variants could "scupper" the route out of lockdown.

He told Times Radio: "We've all expected evolution of this virus to occur from the start.

"The changes that we saw at the end of the year were not really vaccine-related, it was just the virus learning to be more infectious which, of course, gives it an advantage.

"As we see more and more immunity from the infection and vaccination occurring, then mutations in the virus that favour the virus and enable it to escape that type of immunity will inevitably occur.

"We always knew this was going to happen. I also think that we know from other viruses and previous experience that the immunity that vaccines give won't just disappear."

RUSSIA SEES CASES RISE

Russia today reported 9,321 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, including 2,822 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 4,693,469.

The country also reported another 398 deaths, raising the official toll to 105,193.

INDIA REPORTS RECORD DAILY RISE

India has reported a record daily rise in coronavirus infections, with 234,692 cases over the last 24 hours.

It was the eighth record daily increase in the last nine days.

Total cases reached nearly 14.5 million, second only to the United States which has reported more than 32 million infections.

43 PER CENT OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES SEE COVID RATE RISE

Of the 315 local areas in England, 135 (43 per cent) have seen a rise in case rates, while 53 per cent have seen a fall.

Luton has the highest rate in England, with 212 new cases recorded in the seven days to April 12 - the equivalent of 99.5 cases per 100,000 people.

This is up slightly from 92.0 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to April 5.

Bradford has the second highest rate, up from 77.4 to 90.0, with 486 new cases.

Doncaster has the third highest rate, up very slightly from 84.6 to 85.9, with 268 new cases.

FEARS THAT INDIAN VARIANT COULD 'SCUPPER' ROADMAP

The Indian coronavirus mutation could "scupper" the UK's march to freedom, a leading scientist has warned.

Covid-19 infections across the UK dropped to the lowest level since the autumn, according to the latest figures.

Imperial College's Danny Altmann said the discovery of the Indian variant in the UK should warrant India being placed on the UK's "red list".

"I think we should be terribly concerned about it," he told the BBC.

"They (variants of concern) are things that can most scupper our escape plan at the moment and give us a third wave. They are a worry."

SHOPS SEE 'POSITIVE BOUNCE'

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said high street shops had seen a "really positive" bounce after non-essential retail was allowed to reopen this week.

"It certainly started really well," she told BBC Radio 4's Today.

"Although footfall was down on two years ago - because there wasn't a lot of point measuring it against last year because we were already in lockdown in 2020 as well - it wasn't down anything like it had been during the period of lockdown.

"From a retail point of view, people really did come out and support their local businesses and all the retailers I've spoken to said those first few days of the past week or so had been really positive in terms of trading."

'HEALTHY' DAD PARALYSED

A “HEALTHY” dad was paralysed and unable to speak after getting the Johnson & Johnson Covid vaccine, as the jab is pulled due to the risk of very rare blood clots.

Brad Malagarie, 43, from St Martin, Mississippi, suffered a stroke caused by a blood clot in his left middle cerebral artery in his brain within four hours of being given the one-dose shot, according to his family.

The news about the dad-of-seven comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday they were recommending a pause in handing out the shot after six women developed rare, but serious, blood clots out of 7.2million vaccinations.

That figure was later updated to nine people which included two people who developed blood clots during clinical trials and seven after the vaccine had been approved for emergency use.

Read the full story here.

INDIAN VARIANT 'MAY BE VACCINE RESISTANT'

THE Indian Covid variant "may be resistant" to a vaccine - as an expert warns it could "scupper the UK's escape plan" out of lockdown.

Professor Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London, said India should be on the Government's "red list" of hotel quarantine countries due to the new strain.

And he said the variant first discovered there could "scupper" Boris Johnson's road map out of strict Covid restrictions.

Despite the warning, Downing Street insisted the Prime Minister's trip to India later this month will go ahead - although it will be drastically scaled down.

Public Health England reported that 73 cases of the Indian variant have been found in England, as well as four cases in Scotland.

JAPAN PM DETERMINED TO HOLD 'SAFE AND SECURE' OLYMPIC GAMES

Japan's prime minister told US President Joe Biden Friday that the Asian nation would do everything in its power to contain coronavirus infections and hold a "safe and secure" Olympic Games this year.

"Japan is listening to and learning from the WHO (World Health Organization) and experts," Yoshihide Suga said at a joint press conference with Biden at the White House, adding his country was doing its "utmost" to prepare for the Tokyo Games.

"They are doing everything possible to contain infection and to realize safe and secure games from scientific and objective perspectives," Suga said.

BRAZIL REGISTERS 3,305 COVID-19 DEATHS ON FRIDAY

Brazil registered 3,305 new COVID-19 deaths on Friday and 85,774 additional cases, according to data published by the nation's Health Ministry.

The South American country has now registered 368,749 total coronavirus deaths and 13,832,455 total confirmed cases.

UK COVID DEATHS PLUNGE BY 43 PERCENT IN A WEEK WITH 34 FATALITIES AND 2,596 CASES RECORDED IN LAST 24 HOURS

UK COVID-19 CASES AND DEATHS PER DAY

PEOPLE IN THEIR 60S HAVE ‘MUCH MORE TO FEAR’ FROM COVID THAN ASTRAZENECA JAB

People in their 60s have “much more to fear” from Covid-19 than they do from the AstraZeneca vaccine, a senior health official has said.

Dr Colm Henry said cases of blood clotting are “extraordinarily rare” and appealed to anybody in the 60-69 age group to have the vaccination.

The chief clinical officer’s comments came as the Health Service Executive’s Covid-19 vaccine registration portal opened to people aged 68.

“AstraZeneca vaccine is a really good vaccine,” Dr Henry told Newstalk Breakfast on Friday.

“I know there was bad publicity, and there’s talk and concern over what have been a very small number of cases.”