Displaying items by tag: Health

‘Vaccinating everyone on the planet against Covid-19 regularly every four to six months is not sustainable or affordable; the most at risk should be identified and prioritised instead’, says Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, who helped develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. He said the vaccine rollout had gone ‘extremely well’ in the UK, but other parts of the world were falling behind. ‘We haven't even managed to vaccinate everyone in Africa with one dose, so we're certainly not going to get to a point where providing fourth doses for everyone is manageable. There is not full certainty on whether another booster might be needed in the UK.’ He said the UK would be in a good position if variants continued to lead to milder disease, as has been the case with Omicron. Boris Johnson said the Government doesn't see any data to suggest that further restrictions would be the right approach in England, but the public should be in no doubt it will be a difficult time for the NHS.

Omicron is spreading rapidly, but Delta is not disappearing. The two variants are circulating together. Previously Alpha wiped out the original variant and was then displaced by Delta. It is believed Omicron can get past some of the body's defences built up by vaccination and previous infection. The two variants are not competing for the same people. Delta cases since summer have been stable, but Omicron infections are rapidly driving the numbers up. As cases go up there is pressure to introduce more restrictions or a full lockdown. However, restrictions don't stop the epidemic - they prolong it. Pray for God to reinforce research capabilities for medical scientists and clarity of thought to all in the front line fighting the pandemic. Pray for God to give courage to our leaders as they make difficult decisions. May they be surrounded by wise counsel that hears Your voice. See also next article: Covid circuit breaker request.

Twenty charities are calling for more support for patients with severely weakened immune systems who risk severe Covid illness if they catch the virus. Many have had three jabs, but still need a fourth for better protection. For example, Hal Cohen had a kidney transplant two years ago and takes immunosuppressants to stop his body rejecting the organ. He had his third vaccine in July but was told despite this that his body is not making enough antibodies to fight off the virus. The charities said, ‘Those who are immunosuppressed due to a health condition or treatment are advised to have a fourth Covid jab three months after their third dose.’ They are calling a smooth rollout of booster jabs for these people, which should provide much needed extra protection.

The national primary health care agency (NPHCDA) destroyed 1,066,214 expired doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine that were donated to them in October but had to be used by November. The decision to destroy the vaccinations followed several testing processes showing it was necessary to destroy them to protect Nigerians from being harmed. NPHCDA’s director said they had an option to try and use these vaccines beyond the labelled expiry date, but decided to destroy them at the point they expired. The vaccines came with a short life span, some as short as two weeks. NPHCDA said while Nigeria appreciated the gesture of the donors, it was not in the interest of Nigeria that vaccines with a short lifespan were sent there. Only ten million Nigerians have been vaccinated to date: Nigeria’s target is 110 million people.

WHO chief scientist Dr Swaminathan said reinfections with the Omicron variant 90 days after the virus first strikes are three times more common. While data on the virulence and transmissibility will take time, scientists know that Omicron is a dominant strain in South Africa. They have said there was no surge of re-infection during either the Beta or Delta waves, despite laboratory studies suggesting those variants had the potential to evade some immunity. But they are now detecting a spike in re-infections and the timing suggests the Omicron variant is the driving force. Prof Juliet Pulliam, from Stellenbosch University, said, ‘These findings suggest that Omicron's selection advantage is at least partially driven by an increased ability to infect previously infected individuals.’ However, it is still only one piece of the puzzle. See

Across the nations governments are planning how to respond to the new Omicron mutation. Pray according to 1 Timothy 2:1 for all who are in authority, so that we lead safe and peaceful lives. May our leaders' decisions and actions be in God’s will - not man’s opinions. May the media be prevented from exaggerating facts or promoting half-true opinions to gain attention. Father, let all that You desire for our governments and scientists to accomplish be done. Anoint every discussion on how to respond to Omicron with immunisations and health and safety bylaws with your wisdom and not out of panic. Do not allow politics to influence the governments’ coronavirus guidelines. Guide all research that is being done to both develop vaccines and medicines to treat those who are infected - and guard it from any big pharmacy companies' maneuverings or financial greed. We ask you for scientific breakthroughs that will bless the nations of the world.

A disturbing but common feature of modern warfare is incidents of violence against hospitals, patients and healthcare workers. A recent report cites 806 incidents of violence against or obstruction of healthcare in 43 countries and territories in ongoing wars and violent conflicts in 2020, ranging from the bombing of hospitals in Yemen to the abduction of doctors in Nigeria. At least 185 health workers were killed and 117 kidnapped. Attacks continue with impunity, as several states fail to act on global commitments and frameworks intended to safeguard medical professionals saving lives. The nature of conflict now includes more non-state armed groups, but they all attack healthcare. Pray for health workers alone, with very little support, suffering trauma from violence.

Europe has become seriously affected by the pandemic, and several countries are introducing restrictions amid rising cases. Two million Austrians not fully vaccinated are in lockdown as Covid-19 surges. Germany's Covid cases hit 65,371 and Angela Merkel said a fourth wave of Covid is ‘hitting us with full force’. New restrictions are expected. Holland’s ‘lockdown-lite’ measures are imposed to limit social contacts after a sharp infection increase. The measures include closing restaurants and shops early, and barring spectators from sporting events. Vaccination rates are significantly lower in some eastern European nations. Latvia has re-imposed a lockdown, Russians have shut shops, restaurants and schools in a partial lockdown and workers had nine days’ paid holiday to curb infections. The UK, with one of the highest infection rates, has yet to reintroduce restrictions.

Richard Webber from the College of Paramedics said that members with thirty years’ service have never experienced anything like this. Lives are at risk because patients face unacceptably long waits for 999 emergency callouts for heart attacks and strokes, with some seriously ill patients waiting up to nine hours for an ambulance. Numerous investigations are going on into deaths linked to delays. The problems have forced all ambulance services to be put on their highest levels of alert - meaning that patients who can make their own way to hospital are told to do so. A number of services have brought in the military to support crews, and patients are taken to hospital in the back of police cars. Cases involve waits for crews to reach patients and delays when they arrive at overcrowded A&E‘s and spend hours queuing outside. Also hospitals cannot discharge patients fit to leave because of a lack of community support.

England's deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, predicted that there are hard months to come in the winter because Covid levels are running very high. Too many people believed the pandemic was now over, and winter could ‘potentially be problematic’. He also said there were signs that infections were starting to ‘penetrate’ older age groups, and how Christmas is affected would depend on a whole range of behaviours. We can pray for the nation to recognise that caution is still needed around the elderly, and face coverings should continue to be worn in appropriate places along with social distancing. Meanwhile the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, which provides advice to the Government, said that while the infection rate is high, the current case numbers are not ‘out of control’ although we are at a ‘relatively important crux point’. The total of UK infections recorded on 3 November was 41,299, higher than most of Europe.