England’s Covid testing blitz began today, with everyone in the country now able to get swabbed twice a week in the aim of getting life back to normal. Boots and local pharmacies are now offering tests that adults can go in and pick up for free, even if they don’t have any symptoms of the … Read more
Britain’s top scientific advisory committee will be reviewed over fears it holds too much sway over ministers decisions, it was claimed today. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), which has guided No10 through the pandemic, has been accused of using dubious data and scare-mongering the Government into locking the country down or prolonging curbs. … Read more
BOOK OF THE WEEK LIFE AFTER GRAVITY: ISAAC NEWTON’S LONDON CAREER by Patricia Fara (OUP £25, 288pp) So who exactly was Sir Isaac Newton? Legend has it that he invented the catflap, although this is much argued over by historians. In his year as an MP, he spoke only once in the House of Commons, … Read more
There isn’t a strong scientific argument for teachers to be prioritised for a Covid jab, the UK’s chief vaccine adviser said today. Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said data had shown categorically that school staff are not at an increased risk of catching or falling ill with the … Read more
Britons may NEVER go to work with a cough again because Covid has made it ‘socially unacceptable’, top scientific adviser predicts Professor Dame Angela McLean told Science and Technology Select Committee She said it would be ‘powerful’ if going in sick became ‘socially unacceptable’ Boris Johnson is not expected to give a firm date for … Read more
No10’s scientific advisers claim there may need to be a debate on whether to allow coronavirus to rip through the country once the most vulnerable Britons have been vaccinated. Boris Johnson will reveal his roadmap out of lockdown on February 22, which could allow aspects of life and the economy to resume by the summer. … Read more
Rishi Sunak ‘fears scientific advisors are “moving the goalposts” on when lockdown can end but tells allies he hopes “fat lady sings” moment when restrictions are banished for good is close’ Chancellor is eager to ease restrictions as soon as possible to kickstart recovery He is said to be anxious that nation’s top scientists are … Read more
France – birthplace of Louis Pasteur, who first discovered the principle of vaccination – last week abandoned its bid to create a coronavirus vaccine. The Pasteur Institute halted its project with US drugs company Merck after disappointing clinical test results. The announcement came as a blow to the pride of a country once hailed as a … Read more
As Britain is plunged into its third national lockdown, many are wondering whether the Covid nightmare will ever end. Here, we ask some of the country’s foremost scientific experts to consult their crystal balls, and give you their views on how and when we might return to normality… PULL TOGETHER AND GET A JAB SO … Read more
Don’t be in any doubt – the development of a highly effective vaccine for Covid-19 in less than a year is an extraordinary scientific achievement, perhaps the greatest of my lifetime. I’d put it on a par with Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928. It really is that transformative. And that’s because the implications … Read more