Britain’s daily Covid cases fall by a third in a week with 2,763 more infections – while deaths rise slightly to 45
- Department of Health chiefs said they had identified 2,763 cases and 45 Covid deaths in the past 24 hours
- More than 31.7million Britons – or three in five adults – have now received their first dose of the vaccine
- Britain’s medical regulator has recommended under-30s be offered an alternative to AstraZeneca’s jab
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Britain’s daily Covid cases have fallen by a third in a week but deaths rose slightly, official figures revealed today.
Department of Health data showed there were 2,763 new lab-confirmed cases recorded and 45 Covid deaths, which was two more than last Wednesday.
More than 31.7million Britons – or three in five adults – have also now received their first dose, after the national drive began to pick up the pace yesterday following the Easter bank holiday.
It comes as the UK’s medical regulator today recommended all healthy under-30s should be offered an alternative to AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine amid mounting evidence that it may cause blood clots in very rare cases.
In a blow to the programme, the Government’s vaccine advisory group recommended healthy people aged 19 to 29 should be offered either the Pfizer or Moderna jabs when the roll-out is expanded.
A review by the drugs watchdog the MHRA found that by the end of March, 79 out of 20million Britons vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab had suffered deadly blood clots in the brain or arteries – a rate of about one in 250,000. Nineteen of these individuals died and three were under the age of 30.
Anyone who has already had their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, regardless of their age, is being advised to go for their second appointment as planned.
Experts stressed the blood clots were very rare, and deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van Tam said the risk from Covid always outweighs that from vaccine side-effects for older age groups who are more likely to suffer hospitalisation and death if they catch the virus.
The European medicines agency today said blood clots should be listed as a side-effect of the AstraZeneca jab, although it did not recommend that an alternative should be found for any age groups.
Europe is currently battling against a third wave – with France in lockdown and Angela Merkel calling for another national shutdown in Germany – which likely influenced the regulator’s decision not to restrict the jab’s use.
In a boost to Britain’s roll-out today, however, Wales became the first UK nation to start dishing out the Moderna Covid vaccine. More than 100,000 doses of the US-made jab are set to arrive in the country this month, with deliveries expected to ‘significantly increase’ from May.
