Markus Andrews

A government vaccine adviser has said cutting the interval between a second dose of a Covid jab and a booster shot will be considered, but insisted data points to a six-month wait as the “sweet spot”.It comes after the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt urged the government to look at reducing the wait to protect more people over the winter amid intense criticism from Labour for the “stalling” booster scheme as cases exceeded 50,000.Professor Anthony Harnden, the deputy chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said the delay between jabs was “something we will need to consider” as reports suggested it was being discussed by ministers and experts.Under current government guidance – issued in September – those aged over 50 and vulnerable groups who were double jabbed six months ago are now eligible for a booster dose.Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Boris Johnson said the period between doses was an “extremely important point”, after Mr Hunt asked MPs: “Does it really matter, when it’s only nine weeks till the Christmas holidays, if someone has a booster jab after five months?”Asked about cutting the wait, professor Harnden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Well, I think it’s something that could be considered, but I think the data showing is that six months is a sort of sweet spot.“Whether it’s five months or whether it’s seven months isn’t so important, but I think what is important is that people get their booster dose.”He stressed that individuals should book their booster appointment with the NHS if six months had elapsed since having a second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, adding: “If people get that booster dose they will get that extra bit of protection.”He went on: “Whether it’s five months, six months, seven months – on JCVI we’ve advised six months because that’s what the data shows is the sweet spot – but as you know with the 12-week which was the appropriate gap for the second dose that was brought down to eight weeks when infection rates were high.”Quizzed again on whether cutting the wait was something the JCVI was planning to look at, professor Harnden said: “Well I think it’s something we will need to consider in due course”.According to the Daily Telegraph, the proposal is being discussed in Whitehall and would mean all over 65s could be offered a vaccine by early November, rather than early in December, but No 10 will wait for any change in advice from the JCVI.At the beginning of the UK’s vaccine rollout, the JCVI originally recommended a 12-week wait between doses of both the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca jabs, but later changed the guidance, reducing the interval to eight weeks in May.Pressed on reports that discussions were underway to cut the interval between a second dose and a booster shot, Gillian Keegan, a health and social care minister, stressed on Friday that any change in advice would depend on the experts at the JCVI.“The JCVI look at all the data,”she said. “They’ve advised us six months. Of course they continually look at the data but they are the only people who can really answer this question.“If they advise us, our job then would be to get ready to do whatever they say. But at the moment it is six months. It is not unknown, the JCVI have changes over periods of time and have reacted.” More

A government minister has defended not implementing the plan B contingency measures to stem the spread of Covid, claiming death rates were “still very low”.As cases topped 50,000 for the first time for three months, Gillian Keegan, a health and social care minister, also claimed the link between cases and deaths had been “broken” — despite government scientists repeatedly only going as far to say the link has been weakened.Asked why the government was not putting in place plan B — as ministers also warn cases could reach 100,000 per day — Ms Keegan told Sky News: “We’ve laid down plan A and plan B, and we’ve just started five weeks ago with plan A.“The most important thing: get that vaccine rolled out, get those booster rolled out.”Ms Keegan said “of course” there was a plan B in reserve, involving mandatory face masks, working from home advice and vaccine passports, but insisted the government’s focus was on the booster jab programme and rolling out new anti-viral treatments for Covid.“When we opened up on 19 July, we did that because we’d shown we’d broken the link between the cases and the deaths — and that’s still the case, the cases are high and obviously we’re not complacent about that, but the death rate is still are very low.”According to official government figures, 912 deaths were recorded within 28 days of a positive test this week— up 10 per cent on the previous week. Hospitalisations are also recording with a 15 per cent rise on people being admitted from last week.Ms Keegan was also quizzed about the lack of Conservative MPs wearing face masks in the Commons — before Sajid Javid, the health secretary, told a press conference that politicians should “set an example”.“Throughout the summer not many of us have had masks on,” she said. “You’ll find more and more as we go into winter, people will be wearing masks. But we shouldn’t be making it this sign of virtue or not, people have to make sensible choices.”Amid reports the delay between the second dose of the Covid vaccine and the booster jab could be reduced from six to five months, Ms Keegan stressed it would depend on the advice of the experts on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).In the Commons on Thursday, the government faced intense criticism from Labour for the “stalling” booster programme, while the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt urged ministers to look at cutting the wait between a second Covid jab and a booster.“The JCVI look at all the data,” Ms Keegan said. “They’ve advised us six months. Of course they continually look at the data but they are the only people who can really answer this question.“If they advise us, our job then would be to get ready to do whatever they say. But at the moment it is six months. It is not unknown, the JCVI have changes over periods of time and have reacted.” More

The delay between a second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and a booster could be cut from six months to five under plans reportedly being considered to speed up the rollout of third doses. Boris Johnson said the time period between jabs was an “extremely important point” and stressed the need to “keep going as fast as possible” to deliver booster vaccines.A media blitz is to be launched to encourage people to take up the booster shots, which ministers hope will drive up demand which has so far failed to match the enthusiasm of the initial vaccination programme.Government officials and ministers said the time interval between doses was a matter for the experts on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).But The Guardian said Downing Street sources confirmed the option was being examined, while The Daily Telegraph said the JCVI was showing an interest in the idea of giving booster doses a month early.Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “Does it really matter when it’s only nine weeks until the Christmas holidays if someone has their booster jab after five months?“And should we not look at whether there should be flexibility in that decision so we can get more people in more quickly for their booster jabs?”During a visit to Northern Ireland, the prime minister said: “On the issue of timing, all I will say is I think we just need to keep going as fast as possible.”Mr Johnson stressed that, unlike the early stages of the vaccine rollout, there were no problems with supply of doses, instead “it’s a demand issue”.Speaking on Friday, the care minister told Sky News: “The JCVI look at all the data. They’ve advised us six months. Of course they continually look at the data but they are the only people who can really answer this question.“If they advise us, our job then would be to get ready to do whatever they say. But at the moment it is six months. It is not unknown, the JCVI have changed over periods of time and have reacted.”In a sign that demand may be picking up, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said a record 234,000 booster vaccine bookings were made on Wednesday.“Getting your booster when offered is vital to keep you protected from Covid-19 over winter,” he said. “I urge everyone to book theirs as soon as eligible.”A booster shot of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has a dramatic effect, the firms claimed after a trial.In the trial, a booster dose given to patients who had the initial two jabs showing a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.6 per cent when compared to those who did not receive a booster.The Prime Minister said the findings, which have not yet been peer reviewed, were “great results”.The push to encourage vaccine take-up came as the daily number of cases reported in the UK surpassed 50,000 for the first time since mid-July.But Mr Johnson is continuing to resist calls from health leaders for tighter Covid restrictions despite the rising levels of infections.The Prime Minister acknowledged the numbers were “high” but said they were “within the parameters” forecast by scientists advising the Government.His comments followed calls from the NHS Confederation and the British Medical Association (BMA) for ministers to activate their winter Plan B for England amid fears the health service could be overwhelmed.BMA council chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul said the refusal to introduce supplementary measures – including Covid passports, mask-wearing in crowded public spaces and a return to working from home – amounted to “wilful negligence”. More

GPs are set to be balloted on industrial action over controversial reforms proposed by health secretary Sajid Javid.The “outraged” doctors in England have voted unanimously to reject the government’s plans at a British Medical Association (BMA) meeting.The government wants to see GP surgeries ranked in league tables to “name and shame” those that do not carry out enough face-to-face appointments with their patients.From early November, GPs will have to have their names and wages published if they earn an NHS salary of more than £150,000.The BMA says that forcing GPs to publish their earnings “provides no benefit to patients or their care, yet will potentially increase acts of aggression towards GPs, will damage morale amongst the profession, and only worsen practices’ ability to recruit and retain GPs”.GP surgeries will not be eligible for new funding if they fail to provide an “appropriate” number of in-person consultations. Patients will also be asked to rate their GPs via text message.Mr Javid has insisted that his plans would improve patients’ access to primary care – but the union representing the GPs says it has been “left with no alternative” but to ballot over whether to take industrial action.At the BMA GPs committee meeting on Thursday, 53 out of 57 members voted in favour of calling on all local medical committees in England to “disengage from any participation with the implementation of that plan”.It also pledges its “full support to protect and defend any constituent GPs who refuse to engage or comply with the unreasonable contractual impositions” – which was backed by 54 out of 57 members.The union has advised the doctors against complying with the “very worst aspects” of Mr Javid’s plans, that they have said would also see some GPs forced to oversee the extra duties required by the Covid vaccination exemption scheme.The BMA insisted that services including the Covid vaccination programme and annual flu jab plan will not be affected by any industrial action that could be taken.Dr Richard Vautrey, the chairman of the BMA GP Committee, said: “GPs have been left with no alternative but to take this action.“All efforts to persuade the government to introduce a workable plan, that will bring immediate and longer-term improvement for doctors and their patients, have so far come to nought.“The government has completely ignored our requests for a reduction in bureaucracy to allow us to focus more on patient care, and we are therefore encouraging doctors to withdraw from this bureaucracy themselves.“The ultimate outcome should be to end the current crisis in general practice, and to properly support practices to manage their workload pressure.“[This includes] safely getting through the backlog of care caused by the pandemic, delivering a safe service to patients, and allowing time to create an agreed long-term plan to make general practice sustainable for the future.”Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Daisy Cooper urged Mr Javid to engage in talks with the union.She said: “This shows the government’s deliberately provocative plans to name and shame GPs has backfired.“Sajid Javid must now dial down the rhetoric and get round the table with doctors and patient groups to find a way forward.”Mr Javid’s measures will also see GPs freed from some duties, as other NHS workers will instead be responsible for providing statements over whether a patient is medically-fit to work or drive.NHS England said the new plans, that include a £250m winter access fund, will enable GP practices to improve availability and increase the number of face-to-face appointments and same-day care amid the Covid pandemic.A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “GPs have done phenomenal work through the most difficult 18 months in living memory.“We want patients to be able to see their GP promptly and in the way they choose. Our plan will improve access and drive up face-to-face appointments, it includes providing a further £250m to GPs in order to boost capacity.“We are also cutting bureaucracy and GP teams will be given targeted support which will take pressure off staff and free up their time so it can be spent with patients.” More

Twitter’s algorithm amplifies right-wing news outlets more than others – but the social network is not exactly sure why – according to internal research posted on its website on Thursday.Since April, the company has examined if, and how, its algorithm that recommends content to users amplifies political content.In six out of seven countries – all but Germany – tweets posted by accounts from the political right receive more exposure by the algorithm than the political left when studied as a group.The first part of the study examined millions of tweets posted by elected officials, such as MPs, in seven countries – Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Spain, the UK, and the US – between 1 April to 15 August 2020.The company used this data to test whether or not these tweets are amplified more on the algorithmically-ordered “timeline” of tweets than the reverse-chronological feed, and whether there was variety of results within a political party. Twitter also studied whether its recommendation algorithms amplify political content from news outlets. To do this, the company also analysed hundreds of millions of tweets containing links to news stories shared by people on Twitter between April and August last year.Right-leaning news outlets see greater algorithmic amplification on Twitter compared to left-leaning news outlets – the researchers found. The initial results only show bias in amplification, and not what causes it. Rumman Chowdhury, the head of Twitter’s machine learning, ethics, transparency and accountability team, called it “the what, not the why” in an interview with tech news website Protocol.Since 2016, people on Twitter have been able to choose between viewing algorithmically-ordered posts first in the Home timeline, or viewing the most recent tweets in reverse-chronological order.Twitter found that tweets about political content from elected officials, regardless of party or whether the party is in power, are algorithmically amplified on the Home timeline when compared to political content on the reverse-chronological timeline.The first setting displays a stream of tweets from accounts that the account holder has chosen to follow, as well as recommendations of other content that Twitter thinks the person might be interested in based on their existing list of people that they follow.Group effects did not translate to individual effects, Twitter said, since party affiliation or ideology has not been a factor that the network’s systems consider when recommending content to users.Therefore, “two individuals in the same political party would not necessarily see the same amplification” – Twitter said.Twitter wrote on its blog: “As a result, what an individual sees on their home timeline is a function of how they interact with the algorithmic system, as well as how the system is designed.”It added that it hopes its findings will “contribute to an evidence-based discussion of the role these algorithms play in shaping political content consumption on the internet.”Twitter argues that “algorithmic amplification is not problematic by default” as “all algorithms amplify”, but that it would be an issue if there is “preferential treatment as a function of how the algorithm is constructed versus the interactions people have with it.”The company said it is willing to share the aggregated datasets it used in the study to third-party researchers “upon request”. More

More than 40 celebrities have written to Boris Johnson calling for a kinder, fairer and more effective asylum system while his government seeks to impose new “anti-refugee” immigration laws.Actors Olivia Colman, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry are among the famous arts and media personalities to have signed an open letter calling on the Prime Minister to “think again” on the Nationality and Borders Bill that is making its way through Parliament.The letter, organised by the coalition of campaign groups Together With Refugees, calls on Mr Johnson to do more to help refugees.They said: “We are refugees, descendants of refugees and supporters of refugees. For some of us, if we were living in Afghanistan right now, our lives could be in danger, and we would have to become refugees.“We are proud the UK is offering protection to those Afghan refugees able to get onto an official scheme. People up and down the country are doing incredible things to make them welcome as they start their new lives.“But many others have been left behind in grave danger. They will have to escape any way they can – by foot, boat or hiding in the back of a lorry. But proposed new laws would mean our country turning away people like them who are in desperate need of safety.“As a nation we must – and can – do more. That’s why we are backing Together With Refugees’ call for a kinder, fairer and more effective system for refugees in the UK.“Now is not the time to turn them away. Now is the time to offer our hand in kindness and protection. We urge you to think again.”Signatories also include fellow actors Fiona Shaw, Simon Callow, Imelda Staunton, Zoe Wanamaker and Thandiwe Newton, the band Kaiser Chiefs, TV personalities Robert Rinder and Gok Wan, as well as comedians Romesh Ranganathan, Frankie Boyle and Shaparak “Shappi” Khorsandi.Ms Khorsandi said: “I had to flee from Iran with my family when I was a child when my father’s life was in danger, just because he is a popular humorist who opposed those in power.“It’s horrendous to think of the many more people all over the world, including Afghanistan, living in fear for their lives just because of who they are or what they say.“I can’t imagine what would have happened if my family hadn’t been welcomed here in the UK.“We must not turn our back on those who have struggled to reach our shores in need of safety. The Prime Minister must oppose this anti-refugee Bill.”Mr Rinder said: “In 1945 my grandfather arrived in the UK as a child refugee from the hell of the Holocaust.“We can help provide sanctuary to those in danger now who have overcome terrible struggles to find their way to safety and freedom. This is what our country is at its very best. We must not turn our backs.”Protests, demonstrations and other events have been taking place this week in several parts of the UK against home secretary Priti Patel’s proposed laws, which campaigners have dubbed the “anti-refugee Bill”.Ms Patel has defended the Bill by saying it would create a “firm but fair” asylum system to allow a post-Brexit Britain to “take full control of its borders”.She also said the proposed laws would “break the business model” of people-smuggling gangs after record numbers of migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats.On Wednesday, Lord Alfred Dubs told a crowd at a large pro-refugee rally in Parliament Square that he hoped the Bill will be defeated by the House of Lords in the later stages.Lord 
Dubs, who was one of the 669 children saved from Nazi-occupied Prague in then-Czechoslovakia, said the Bill “make criminal of the refugees seeking safety” if they knowingly arrive in the UK without permission and the right paperwork.This means that the Bill – currently at the committee stage in the House of Commons – could, for the first time, allow an “illegal” entry into the UK to impact an asylum case and the subsequent immigration status of a person if their claim is successful.It would also give the government extended rights to deport migrants who did not arrive in the UK with the necessary documents. More

Government changes to education funding have redistributed cash from poorer areas to richer areas, a scathing report by a parliamentary committee has found.The cross-party Public Accounts Committee found that the new national funding formula has cut funding in the most deprived parts of the country by 1.2 per cent but increased it by 2.9 per cent in the least deprived.Further cuts to pupil premium spending have also cut £90 million from the most disadvantaged children, the MPs’ investigation found.The findings come despite the government’s rhetoric and repeated claims to be “levelling up” left-behind parts of the country. A spokesperson for the Department for Education said the redistribution “ensures resources are delivered where they are needed the most”.But the cross party group of MPs says ministers “failed to take enough account of the impact of its decisions on individual schools and their pupils” and that adverse effects are falling “disproportionately on deprived local areas and schools”.Meg Hillier, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Schools are facing a perfect storm of challenges with promises of teacher pay rises, per pupil funding changes and falling rolls but no clear plan from the Department for Education. “Schools and pupils in deprived areas are being hit hardest by the funding formula at a time when the government’s commitment is to level up. “Add to this the ongoing delays in the review of support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities and some of the most vulnerable children are facing an uncertain future – on top of the impact of Covid. “Every part of government has faced challenges but the impact of the exam chaos, funding uncertainties and repeatedly delayed decisions is hitting young people hard and risks scarring their life chances.”Opposition parties seized on the findings as evidence that the government had the “wrong priorities”.Kate Green, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said: “Even before the pandemic, schools were facing a crisis of rising costs and funding cuts. “With the gap in learning between children on free school meals and their peers widening throughout the pandemic it couldn’t be clearer the Government has got the wrong priorities for school funding.“Labour is ambitious for every child. Our Children’s Recovery Plan – extending the school day for new activities, tutoring for all who need it, mental health support in every school – would deliver the new opportunities to learn, play and develop all children need.“The Conservatives’ continual delays to the SEND review, their cut to the pupil premium and ‘feeble’ recovery plan show their continual disregard for children and their future opportunities.”A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The National Funding Formula replaced a system which was unfair, untransparent and out of date where similar schools and local areas received very different levels of funding, with little or no justification. The funding system now ensures resources are delivered where they are needed the most.“Additionally this Government has provided the largest cash increase for schools in a decade, with an additional £14.4 billion being invested over three years up to 2022-23. An extra £3 billion has been invested to deliver the Government’s ambitious recovery programme, which includes world-class training for thousands of teachers and high-quality tutoring for millions of pupils.“The Government continues to invest in education to ensure young people all over England, including from the most deprived areas, leave school better educated, better skilled and ready for the world of work.” More

Parliament’s walls and ceilings are crumbling so badly experts spent thousands of hours surveying cracks and defects around the decrepit Victorian stonework.Engineers planning the much-needed restoration to the Palace of Westminster have been examining its crumbling stones, cracking ceilings and warping windows in detail.Over 50 architectural surveyors, ecologists, acoustics and lighting specialists, spent a combined 4,700 hours over Parliament’s recent recess probing the building.Problems were uncovered in many of the historic features, including original Victorian stained-glass windows, which are warping and sagging due to age.Surveyors also studied the enormous basement and the miles of outdated and interweaving gas, electrics, water, sewage, and heating pipes to get up to date records on the problems that need fixing.The building is at high risk of sudden failure from major fire, flood or stone fall, the heating, ventilation, water, and electrical systems are outdated and steam pipes run alongside electrical cables throughout the building, the experts warned.The Palace of Westminster is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most recognisable buildings in the world, but despite a programme of maintenance works, it’s falling apart faster than it can be fixed and is in urgent need of a programme of essential restoration. More