This is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. Large scale trials of a Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Oxford University and astrazeneca show it is 70 effective at preventing covid 19, rising to 90 depending on the dosage. It really looks as if there is a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. The uk government has secured 100 million doses of the vaccine enough for most of the uk population. We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month. The bulk of the vaccine roll out programme will be in january, february, march. And we hope that sometime after easter, things will be able to start to get back to normal. Its expected all shops in england will be allowed to open in the lead up to christmas, but pubs and restaurants could face tougher restrictions as part of new government measures to fight coronavirus. Three prominent hong kong activists face the prospect of imprisonment after pleading guilty to Unlawful Assembly during last years mass protests. Almost three weeks after the us election, Senior Republicans urge donald trump to drop his attempts to overturnjoe bidens victory. And also coming up this hour lockdown, superspreader, furlough, words associated with coronavirus dominate this years word of the year list. Hello and welcome if youre watching in the uk or around the world, and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. Oxford university and the pharmaceutical firm astrazeneca have published the preliminary results from large scale trials of their Coronavirus Vaccine, showing that it is 70 effective at preventing the disease. The vaccine proved less potent than those produced by two other companies, pfizer and moderna, which were 95 effective. Some data shows that protection did rise to 90 in the oxford trials when people were given a low dose followed by a high one. However, the oxford vaccine is far cheaper and is easier to store than the other two vaccines, which explains why more countries have made orders, including developing countries. In the uk, there are four million doses ready to go, with another 96 million to be delivered. Care home residents and staff
will be the first in queue, followed by Health Care Workers and the over 85s. But nothing can happen until the vaccine has been approved by regulators. The uk Prime Minister says the results are fantastic and incredibly exciting. He will later set out plans for a strengthened three tier system of covid restrictions when lockdown ends on december 2nd. While parts of the tier system will be tougher, the 10pm closing time for pubs and restaurants will be relaxed, with gyms and shops reopening. The expansion of Rapid Testing is also expected to be announced, as well as mass testing in all tier 3 areas. The head of the oxford vaccine, Andrew Pollard, gave his reaction to the studys findings. It really looks as if theres a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. So when we are talking about the 70 result,
that is against all infection, including the milder forms of it. But there was no one that ended up in hospital or with severe disease. Astrazenecas executive Vice President sir mene panglos has said immunisations could begin in december if the regulators give the new vaccine the go ahead. We are extremely excited, because what the data has shown us is that the vaccine is clearly effective in terms of reducing infections. It is clearly effective in terms of reducing people getting sick and going to hospital. It is potentially reducing transmission, and i think, it has every chance of being a very successful, very effective vaccine that can get us back to normal. We got the results yesterday, and we still have a lot more to get through, and there is a lot more data
still to come, but i think what im very confident about is that people are not getting sick with this vaccine, which means that, ultimately, even if you were to get ill, you have mild symptoms. So i think thats incredibly important, because it will keep hospital beds free and people wont be dying from this virus. I think one of the real benefits of this vaccine is the fact that we can manufacture at scale. It is a relatively easy vaccine to distribute around the world. I hope that if the regulators deem the vaccine to be safe and effective, which i hope they will, we should be able to start immunising people in december. The uk Health Secretary, matt hancock, said the news about the oxford jab was really positive. We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month. The bulk of the vaccine roll out programme will be injanuary, february, march, and we hope that sometime after easter things will be
able to start to get back to normal. So this is really, really positive news, as i say, to have a. In one of the formulations of the doses, to have an effectiveness of 90 , is really excellent, 70 overall. And on twitter the Prime Minister said, incredibly exciting news the oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials. There are still further safety checks ahead, but these are fantastic results. Well done to our brilliant scientists at university of oxford and astrazeneca, and all who volunteered in the trials. With me is our Health Correspondent michelle roberts. I think all of us feel like jumping forjoy at the i think all of us feel like jumping for joy at the prospect of a vaccine thatis for joy at the prospect of a vaccine that is going to help, not only people in the uk but potentially around the world as well. This
7090 around the world as well. This 70 90 difference, lots of people focusing on that. Is it a meaningful difference . 50 the 70 is an average, that is why they have given that figure, in the large trial that they have done, we still need the final read of this trial, it is the endgame, if you like, before getting approval, but we need to get the full data to the regulators. The 90 we are talking about as well is a subgroup of the people who received the vaccine, and i had a slightly different dosing, so they had a smaller dose to begin with, it is given as two jabs, so they got a half dose and then the full dose. |j think that was about 3000 people in that subgroup, so would would seem more logicalfor that to that subgroup, so would would seem more logical for that to be the way forward 7 more logical for that to be the way forward . These figures are based on how many people got coronavirus in the group that received a realjab and how many got it in the other group that got a dummyjab, didnt
get the Covid Vaccine. And so the 70 versus the 90 just tells you the numbers in both arms of that trial. Really, in terms of what it means on the ground, both results are very good. Obviously, we would rather have 90 than 70, but we will definitely take 70, that will give amazing protection to a lot of people who really need it. But how will we know which is the best way forward 7 will we know which is the best way forward . Who will decide that . The regulator . The regulator will look at all the data, notjust on this vaccine but the moderna and the Pfizer Biontech vaccines, so there isa Pfizer Biontech vaccines, so there is a lot of data that they are sifting through, but a brilliant news is that we have some really good vaccines out there, and they are within reach, we could get doses going into people in december. And can you mix and match between these vaccines . What about some people thinking, if moderna has 95 , i would rather have that than the
oxford one. It will initially be based on clinical need and what we can get our hands on foot. It looks like we might have the Pfizer Vaccine first, and that would be given to health care homes, as well as residence there, because they are the highest risk. As more vaccine comes on board, whether it is pfizer, moderna or the astrazeneca, it will be rolled out as quickly as possible, filtering down the age groups to get to younger and younger. And in terms of numbers on the success rates, has the data been put together in the same way, are they comparable numbers by these three companies . All of these trials are done in a very similar way, where you give some people the real jab, other one is a placebo. They have been done in Different Countries, the moderna was done in the us, whereas the astrazeneca one went to south america as well as south africa to try to get enough
people into the trial. So you are not necessarily comparing exact data, but they are done in very similar ways, data, but they are done in very similarways, and data, but they are done in very similar ways, and the amount of protection you can be fairly confident about. So if people are thinking, ok, i am vulnerable, confident about. So if people are thinking, ok, iam vulnerable, i wa nt to ta ke thinking, ok, iam vulnerable, i want to take one of these vaccines as soon as possible, how will it be administered . Will you be contacted by yourgp . Administered . Will you be contacted by your gp . So you will be contacted, theres no point in you badgering people, even though i can understand why people would want to do that. The first group will be ca re do that. The first group will be care homes, so there will be teams that will go in with full protective gearand that will go in with full protective gear and will be giving these jabs as soon as it is proved in the green light is given. There are also centres that might be set up in sports halls, big stadiums, once we get onto the next phase ofjabbing more people, as well as gps contacting people on the list. In
terms of safety, i would love my ageing parents to have this jab, but is it completely safe . Should they be first in line . Well, once the regulators have looked at the data, they will only approve it if they are fully satisfied that it takes all the boxes, and if it is given his permission, which it is looking like it will be, then certainly, we heard from jonathan van tam, the chief scientific adviser, saying that, you know, he would be putting his mum up for the jab as soon as he could. And on the asymptomatic and transmission data on this, because it is quite complex, isnt it, in terms of whether you can still get the symptoms but pass it onto other people . What the data on that . At the moment, it is looking like it may offer some protection against transmission, but we dont know how much, so we have to be very careful with that. We have heard from astrazeneca saying they have some data, but we havent seen full data
on this. At the moment, all of these vaccines are talking about protecting people from getting ill with the infection, rather than stopping the spread, and that is quite an important difference, because if these jabs dont actually prevent people passing it on, then we have still got to be very careful until the very vulnerable have been immunised and got some immune protection. Yes, and absolutely my final question, how long do we think we get immunity for, about a year . And what about mutations, will these jabs protect against bigger mutations . So far, it doesnt look like there have been any significant mutations to the virus, which is great news, so these jabs which are designs now appear to be working, thats great. And also the way some of them are designed, it is quite quick to make tweaks if there was a mutation, which is more good news. In terms of immunity, we only have data from when these trials started,
so we know that the astrazeneca trial started around may, so weve got data, but we havent got the full year yet, so we dont know how long the immunity will last, but experts are hoping and fairly confident that it is working and it is sticking around for long enough to be worthwhile. Health correspondent michelle roberts, thank you so much for answering all those questions. Dr David Nabarro is special envoy to the World Health Organisation on covid i9, and said the oxford vaccine success was great news for the fight against the virus. I have such a big smile on my face. My face is all creased up and i am so pleased. You just said it in your report, this is a relatively inexpensive vaccine. It is a vaccine that can be kept at normal fridge temperature. And it is a vaccine that does seem, as we heard, in certain dose combinations, to be as effective as some of the other vaccines that need to be kept under different circumstances, and will be more expensive. So this is really good. And im so, so excited. Congratulations to all involved. The scientists, the volunteers, 50,000 of them. Great. But, as with all good bits of news, there is always that extra bit. There is still work to be done to take all the data, and there is more data to come in, to the regulators so that they can decide whether they are ok to give an emergency use authorisation for the uk, or whether they think more work has to be done. And then we have one other thing, which is this vaccine is not going to reach everybody in britain, and certainly not everybody
in the world, until at least april. And i think it may take longer. There are still steps that have to be worked through. And so we must be really careful, and we must have brilliant test, trace and isolate, even with the new ideas on isolation. If we make a bit of a mistake in the coming four months, orfive months, and we end up with really big surges of the virus, then it will create a big problem for us. Please, everybody, in anticipating all of the vaccine is coming through, please follow the requests up until then. Please be careful. Because this is still a really horrible and dangerous virus. Of course, it is indeed. In terms of the numbers of protection, 70 or 90 since quite a big difference. What do you make of that, the idea that if you give a half dose first, it seems to be working better . I saw that always with these kinds of approaches, you are depending on the way the body reacts to the vaccine. Its super hard to predict in advance, even when you have done all sorts of trials first. So, yes, they came out with this idea that the smaller dose at the beginning, followed by a rather larger booster dose, gives you this very high coverage. But work still has to be done to check that out. I am not exercised whether it is 70 or 90 , when we are dealing with vaccines, that level of protection, 70 , is pretty good. So lets just take away with us the fact that there is this extraordinary piece of work being done by astrazeneca and Oxford University, it is something that we can keep in the fridge and it seems to be
an awful lot cheaper than some of the other candidates around. Thats the great news. And well be answering your questions on Covid Vaccines and testing here on the bbc news channel at 11 30. Do send your questions using the hashtag bbcyourquestions or email them using yourquestions bbc. Co. Uk. Well be putting them to our experts at 11 30. Later today, the Prime Minister will explain in detail the return of englands return to the three tier system when lockdown ends on 2nd december. Gyms and nonessential shops in all areas are expected to be allowed to reopen. Under the new plans, last orders in pubs and restaurants allowed to open will remain at ten, but customers will have an extra hour to drink up. However, it has been reported that pubs in tier 3 will only be open for takeaway,
while those in tier 2 must serve substantial meals, even to outdoor customers. Our Political Correspondent chris mason said the mood from the uk government was one of excitement following the latest announcement in the race for a Coronavirus Vaccine. Incredibly exciting news is how Boris Johnson tweeted his reaction to this vaccine news in the last couple of hours. He is still holed up, of course, in there, in self isolation, until thursday morning, completing what will be about a ten day stint, having come into contact with a conservative mp who later tested positive. What we are going to get in the next couple of days, news on the tiers system returning in england, and the geography of how that will play out, plus, we hope, news around christmas, the strategy for what it does between now and when the various vaccines come properly onstream,
because of course they have to go through regulatory checks, and then theres the whole business of manufacturing them at scale before that starts to kick in, the government hopes, at the beginning of next month, and on a far wider scale in the early months of next year. Chris, were getting a number of announcements potentially this week, one of them is on self isolation, perhaps being changed to daily tests for a week. Now, i thought, until now, we have been told you are potentially infectious for 1h days after any contact with covid. Is there any indication out of downing street that there is Science Behind cutting that to seven . Yeah, their argument is that the likelihood of you testing positive after seven days is pretty small, basically, and therefore their hope, having run a pilot that will start imminently, is that opposed to you having to isolate, as the
Prime Minister is currently doing, for 1h days from the point of potential exposure to the virus, is that for the first seven days after you are alerted to the fact that you have been exposed, you will be tested daily. If those tests continue to come back negative, you can continue to behave normally, and once you get beyond that seven day window, you can continue to behave and act normally. Of course, those seven days often kick in and start a couple of days after you have been exposed, because the point at which the app or Contact Tracing system will flag up your potential exposure. So by the time you get to day seven, you are quite possibly ten days on from the point of initial exposure, and the argument is that the likelihood beyond that point of showing a positive result, as a result of the original exposure, is negligible. And, chris, when are we going to get the details of the different tiers
that regions are going to be put into, and of course christmas . The answer to your first question is thursday, that is when the geography of the new tiers will be set out. We will get the detail of the new tiers in a commons statement at around 3 30pm this afternoon, so the various restrictions in the tiers, pretty much a boosting of all three tiers, albeit with some liberalisation around the abandoning of the 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants. But the geography, in other words what are the rules where i am, that answer will come on thursday, the government says it needs the precious data in order to make those decisions, so it will do that on thursday ahead of it kicking in in the middle of next week. As far as christmas is concerned, a meeting over the weekend involving all of the devolved leaders around the uk and the government here at westminster, they hoped to
have it signed off by now, they havent done, suggesting there has been disagreement. Some of the ideas being kicked around, you could have three households being able to mix for a period of five days, someone suggesting perhaps 23 27th december. That is not yet signed off, still subject to further discussion, there is a separate discussion between the Northern Ireland executive and the Irish Government in dublin to see if an arrangement can be arrived at as far as travel throughout the island of ireland is concerned for a period of time over christmas as well. So lots of discussion and debate and announcements we expect to come in the next couple of days, as we continue to grapple with life before the vaccines with the big news this morning from oxford. And we will bring you the Prime Ministers statement on the governments plans for a strengthened tiered system in england from 3 30 here on the bbc news channel. The government says it will introduce mass testing for all areas in tier 3 when the tier system returns after the lockdown in england. Borisjohnson says Rapid Testing with military support, as used in liverpool, will form part of the stricter system. Testing will also be rolled out for care home visitors across england from next month with every care home resident able to have two visitors tested twice a week. It means people who live in care homes will be able to hug relatives by the end of the year, the government has said. Adam finn is an Infectious Diseases expert and professor of paediatrics at the bristol childrens vaccine centre, university of bristol. He was lead on a project to help increase the uks Testing Capacity and explained a little earlier on radio 4 how important testing is to detect asymtomatic people. This is all about trying
to detect asymptomatic infections and recognising that that is a problem. Currently it is symptoms that drive the testing system, and a lot of the time people have no idea at all that theyve got the infection they dont have any symptoms, and yet they have got the virus. And doing these kind of tests improves on that. So my contention, really, is that having a rapid test, even if its not quite as sensitive as the pcr, is a big improvement on symptoms, a lot more on the covid front on the website, if you want to catch up on all the changes, a lot of announcements this week. Three prominent hong kong activists joshua wong, agnes chow and ivan lam have been remanded in custody after pleading guilty to charges relating to the siege of Police Headquarters in june last year. The three are members of hong kongs pro democracy movement, which has faltered since
a new National Security law gave the government sweeping powers to suppress the opposition. Their charges relate to last years protests against a controversial extradition bill, when thousands of demonstrators surrounded the Hong Kong Police building. The bill, which would have allowed for criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland china, was formally scrapped four months later. Joshua wong had this to say before he went into court. This case will draw the worlds attention to the arbitrary power of the criminaljustice system, whose impartiality is manipulated by beijings undue influence and systemic violence, in greater detail. To sum up, whatever happens today, i thank my family and colleagues for their unwavering support, for the safety and health of the 12 activists held in china. They are in my daily prayers. I also pray for agnes, i for peace and wisdom. May god bless hong kong. And we will continue to fight for freedom. And now is not the time for us to kowtow to beijing and surrender. Danny vincent in hong kong has more on what the impact of this law has been. What activists would say is that the National Security law has essentially silenced the street protest movement. Injuly, when the law was imposed by mainland china, by beijing, on hong kong, many observers felt that the likes ofjoshua wong would likely be perhaps the number one target of this law. Hes remained defiant, in some ways. He is facing other charges, as we know, as of today. But it seems that the National Security law, activists would say, has had quite a powerful impact on the pro democracy movement. People are afraid to take to the streets. But theres also a further crackdown here in hong kong, or at least that is the language
that activists would be using. We have seen pro democracy lawmakers arrested, and also weve seen pro democracy lawmakers resign en masse. So the activists that ive been speaking to, they feel its very difficult to fight back at the moment because the street protests that were so abundant last year has essentially fallen silent. And even the formal opposition, well, many of them, have resigned due to what they would say is pressures from beijing. An american child who was made to threaten President Donald Trump in an Islamic State group propaganda video says it was sweet relief to arrive back in the us. Matthew was just eight years old when he was taken to the is stronghold of raqqa in syria by his mother and stepfather. He has spoken for the first time about his ordeal to bbc panorama and frontline pbs. Film makerjosh baker has this report. Its been two years since matthew, who is now 13,
was rescued from war torn syria. Hes had counselling and support and is now living back in america with his dad, juan. The first time i saw my dad, i was happy, very happy. Did you ever imagine, after all the time, that youd be back here . No. Ill be honest, i never did. Matthew was taken to raqqa in 2015 by his mother, Samantha Sally and stepfather moussa elhassani. Whats it like seeing isis around you . Its like thinking of someone that basically has your life in their grasp. Say one wrong thing, and they could easilyjust kill you. In the summer of 2017, as a Us Led Coalition attack to raqqa, the terror group used matthew to deliver a message of defiance. This battle is not going to end in raqqa or mosul. Its going to end in new orleans,
when the will of allah will have victory. So get ready, for the fighting has just begun. Some people will have seen the isis propaganda video of you. What is it that you would want people to understand . That not all kids actually want to do that. That a lot of times they are forced. In december 2017, i travelled to syria and spoke to matthews mother, whod escaped with her children and was being held in a kurdish detention camp. She claimed she had been tricked into going to syria by her husband, moussa elhassani. I didnt know what was happening. I assume that i was being lied to. I see my husband crossed through friends, and he just goes. He knows he knows im going to follow him. What am i going to do . Her husband, who had become an Islamic State group sniper, was killed. Matthew and his mother were flown back to the us injuly 2018. When you first came back to america, what did it feel like . Its like being in tight clothes
or tight socks and shoes all day, and then just taking it off, thats what it felt like. Like sweet relief. Matthews mother, Samantha Sally, was arrested and charged with providing Material Support for terrorism, which she denied. A year later, in november 2019, she took a plea deal and admitted financing terrorism and supporting her husband to join the terror group. I spoke to her injail. Do you accept that the choices you made put your children through some of the worst experiences you could imagine for a child to have for years . I accept that i was unable to make the decisions to protect them better. Earlier this month, she was sentenced to six and a half years. For her son matthew,
the ordeal is now behind him. Whats the best thing about being home . Everything. Just everything, like there isnt a best part. Just being here is nice. Hello, this is bbc news. Larges scale trials of a Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Oxford University and astrazeneca show it is 70 effective at preventing covid 19, rising to 90 depending on the dosage. It really looks as if there is a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease and, importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. The government has secured 100 million doses of the vaccine enough for most of the population. We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month. The bulk of the vaccine roll out programme will be injanuary, february, march. And we hope that, sometime after easter, things will be able to start to get back to normal. Close contacts of people who test positive for covid 19 in england are to be offered the chance to take daily tests, its expected all shops in england will be allowed to open in the lead up to christmas but pubs and restaurants could face tougher restrictions as part of new government measures to fight coronavirus. Almost three weeks after the us election, Senior Republicans urge donald trump to drop his attempts to overturn joe bidens victory. More now on the Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Oxford University, which stops 70 of people developing covid symptoms and, in certain doses, as much as 90 . Lets hear a little more from oxfords professor Andrew Pollard about the news. Weve got very high effectiveness. 70 is better than the flu vaccine is in most years. We have very high effectiveness, and that is with two full doses that we get the result. The 90 is an intriguing result. When we give a half dose as the first dose, which means we have more vaccine available, after the second dose we see 90 protection. That is an exciting and intriguing result that we need to dig further into. But it really looks as if there is a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. Importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. So when we are talking
about the 70 result, that is against all infection, including the milder forms of it. But there was nobody that ended up in hospital or with severe disease. The study with the low dose first, and then the full dose, we had this intriguing 90 protection. Is there a possibility, then, that there is a build up an immunity, in simple terms . I think it is more to do with the way in which the immune response starts. So, with a lower dose, we are changing the way the immune system responds so that it alters, after the second dose, either the quality or the quantity of the immune response. That is what we really have to dig into now, to understand how we have got these interesting results. I know you have been working day and night over the last several months, but from what you are saying there is clearly still more work to do. What happens now with your vaccine . Well, where we are now
is that we have a huge amount of data, we met the requirements for efficacy that allow us to now put this together with our partner, astrazeneca, to submit to regulators for them to review and make a decision about whether this meets all of the requirements for licensing, under some sort of emergency process. We will continue to collect data over the next month, until that moment. But we already have enough to be able to provide that to regulators. So it could be that, if they were to approve it, that things could start moving quite quickly. Because there are doses in vials already ready to go if the vaccine is approved. So how much will a Coronavirus Vaccine cost, and will it be affordable around the world . Other vaccines shown to be effective might never make it to developing nations. Modernas vaccine was developed
with Us Government funds, which means america gets first shot literally. The Pfizer Vaccine is likely to be 19. 50 a dose in the us, so 39 for the double shot, which would make it expensive and has some very specific distribution challenges. But astrazenica says it wont make a profit from the vaccine developed with Oxford University during the pandemic, so could it be a game changer . Dr Richard Mihigo is a regional coordinator for immunisation and Vaccine Development in africa for the World Health Organisation. He welcomes this latest news. Clearly, it is not going to be for free. But i think we are clearly saluting the announcement that was made this morning by professor andrew pollock, that this is for nonprofit. We know that the price that was announced for the other two vaccines, that were announced a couple of days ago, were quite
prohibitive for many countries in the developing world, particularly africa. On top of the additional challenges, with the operational challenges, with the operational challenges, i think it was quite a nightmare to see how this vaccine was going to be rolled out in africa. So, the news with the oxford vaccine, i think it is a very positive development. We know very well that this is a vaccine that is going to be used through the current, existing chain and logistics system. Borisjohnson will later explain in detail the return of englands return to the three tier system when lockdown ends on 2nd of december. Gyms and non essential shops in all areas are expected to be allowed to reopen. Under the new plans, last orders in pubs and restaurants allowed to open will remain at 10 oclock, but customers will have an extra hour to drink up. However, it has been reported that pubs in tier three will only be open for takeaway while those in tier two must
serve substantial meals, even to outdoor customers any easing of the National Lockdown could help many of the Small Businesses who have been struggling to survive. We can discuss this more now with dharmi schumacher, founder and owner of goody gujarati a mobile caterer of indian street food. Thanks forjoining us. First of all, your thoughts on the vaccine. I guess big news of light at the end of the tunnel. How do you feel about that . Of course, it is always good news. How it is going to affect us in terms of trading and as a business, we are unsure. It does mean that it shortens the time of potential real difficulty . Yes, absolutely. Its so uncertain. The industries have to change so much. So we are really going to wait and see what happens. Hopefully, fingers crossed, may be march of next year we will be looking at a full and busy season again for 2021. Thats
the hope. Lets hope so. More immediately, we are looking at the end of lockdown in england, on december the 2nd, and a three tiered approach. Are you likely to be on one of the top tiers . If so, how will that affect you . I dont actually know, really. As a mobile caterer, we operate nationally and regionally. So it really depends on which areas have been under the higher lockdowns, whether those are places that we tend to trade. So, there are options, because we work with Different Event organisers. We will have to wait and see what the exact rules are for the different areas, and then wait and see what our clients, the event organisers, are looking to do for the remainder of this year. Most of us are trying to get as many events in as possible before the year closes. Do you think you will be able to trade at all in the run up to christmas . I imagine thatis the run up to christmas . I imagine that is pretty important, the whole holiday season. Absolutely. I do
believe so. We have one event that was pre booked that will be going ahead next weekend. What do you actually do . You say you cater for events, because i thought they were not really going ahead . We are street food caterers, we can do sporting events and all sorts of things, but we also work at street food events. Events which are solely dedicated for coming to eat, and enjoy street food. These are Outdoor Events and we work in birmingham, sheffield, derby and across the country. Ok. How much of a hit have you taken this year, and how difficult has it been . An enormous hit, the entire calendar got wiped out in the space of 48 hours, which i think out in the space of 48 hours, which ithinka out in the space of 48 hours, which i think a lot of people did. We were lucky that we managed to recover and did a bit of nhs work initially, and then slowly, towards the end of summer, we picked up the defence here and there. But nothing in comparison to what we should have been doing. Yes, its been hard, it has been hard, but we have had to
stay flexible and keep on our toes, and work with what we can, as things are changing. In terms of, for example, government restrictions on how many people can meet in a group outside, presumably that affects how many people might be coming to you for sales . Absolutely, definitely. From when we were last trading, just before the second lockdown, it was Table Service only. A maximum of six people per table, of the same bubble. Usually, you dont have six people on the table, so you average three four. You know, its pre booked tables only, to enable track and trace. So, yes, there was an enormous reduction in football. But also, the way we are trading, the way we are working, has com pletely the way we are working, has completely changed. There is no custom interface any more. We dont see our customers or talk to them any more. That has changed the whole way of working. I guess in the first
lockdown, the weather was, luckily, marvellous for most parts of the country. It is cold outside, which must affect how much customers are prepared to come outside . Definitely, that is a concern. We a lwa ys definitely, that is a concern. We always work outside anyway, but partly the events are inside and outside venues, which wont be the case any more. We are hoping, with the festivities that people are looking forward to in the coming weeks, people will want to still come out and enjoy what they can. They may feel safer to come to an outdoor event, rather than being enclosed in a restaurant, for example. But we willjust have to see what happens. There is no saying. It is really uncertain. We just have to trade and see what happens. Good luck, stay safe and i hope that you manage to get a bit more business through. Thank you very much. The impact of coronavirus on airlines is expected to be discussed today
when the industrys trade body, the International Air transport association, holds its annual general meeting in geneva. Airline operators say thousands ofjobs are at risk, and have been calling on governments acorss the world for their help. Our business presenter ben thompson has more on this. We are desperate to be able to go on holiday, but of course this is very much also about jobs . Yeah, hundreds of thousands of jobs much also about jobs . Yeah, hundreds of thousands ofjobs right much also about jobs . Yeah, hundreds of thousands of jobs right across the aviation industry. If you take into account not only pilots, aircrew, but also all of the supporting industries that rely on is going on our holidays, travelling for business, for their livelihoods. And the industry is already saying it doesnt expect to travel to get back to the sort of levels it was at before this crisis until 2024. So, quite a long haulfor them to deal with. Lots of implications forjobs. They are calling on the governments around the world for additional help to prop up their industry until they can get back to something that
resembles normality. As you said, the Industry Trade body meeting today in geneva, discussing how they will respond to this crisis. Lets talk about some of those issues with the chief executive of the advantage travel partnership. Good morning. So many issues for the industry to content with right now. What is going to be the top of the list in terms of what they need to do first to prop up an industry that is really struggling . Good morning. Top of the list is undoubtedly going to be testing. A regime that enables us to travel through the ability of testing at airports, without the need for quarantine. We need is harmonised, globally. Because with the current restrictions, we may be able to fly in a travel corridor as and when the International Ban is lifted, but there are so many restrictions on countries that we are arriving in that it will make travel exceptionally complicated and very difficult. And we know that
there needs to be a morejoined up approach. The different rules, depending on where you go, very different. Some require tests before you go, some when you arrive. A vaccine might help change things. As far as consumers and passengers are concerned, it is so confusing and it is easier, in many respects, just do not bother . It is definitely not worth not bothering, the fact is, this is why it is really important that we need to have a harmonised approach so that it is really clear to travellers when they are leaving a point of exit of the uk, that they know exactly what the rules are, when they arrive locally. Because it is exceptionally confusing and exceptionally difficult. I would really urge everyone to be using travel agents and travel Management Companies to help them with their trips. Because they will have the most up to date advice and ensure that their travels can be stress
free. People may be watching this and worrying, thinking, if ive booked through a travel agent, there is another layer of middle man i need to go through to try to get my refu nd need to go through to try to get my refund if the flight doesnt go ahead. What reassurance would you have a people trying to book a trip right now, in terms of what are their rights to get their money back, if they cant travel for whatever reason . Really good question. We saw when the pandemic hit in march, given the scale of the enormity that we have to go through in terms of processing refunds, it was pretty extraordinary. Hopefully, we are never going to be in that position again. What a travel agent and the intermediary can offer is that they can offer the extra support when you cannot get through to airlines. We have all done it over the summer. We tried to get through to airlines, we try to get through to airlines, we try to get through to airlines, we try to get through to call centres that were exceptionally busy. But your reports this morning talk about local businesses. And that is why it is really important to support them. The vast majority of travel agents are Small Businesses and desperate to help their customers. And they
have been pivotal in ensuring customers, throughout the pandemic, who had travel booked, managed to get their refund without all of the stress of trying to get through to a call ce ntre stress of trying to get through to a call centre thatjust stress of trying to get through to a call centre that just doesnt answer. So, it actually adds another layer of protection to help support travellers in as stress free possible way they can. Yeah, one that we will keep a really close eye on. For now, thank you very much. The chief executive of the advantage travel partnership. Its really difficult for the industry to see how much can change until there is the roll out of the vaccine, not only in the uk but around the world. And also whether testing will become more widespread at airports, for example, whether the rules can be harmonised across Different Countries to make sure Everybody Knows exactly what they need to do before they go away. And its for that reason that the industry is not expecting travel to get back to the sort of levels it was at before the
crisis until 2023 24. So, sort of levels it was at before the crisis until2023 24. So, quite sort of levels it was at before the crisis until 2023 24. So, quite a long slog until things get back to anything like normal. Thanks very much indeed, good to see you. Travel restrictions between australias two biggest states have been lifted. The border between New South Wales and victoria closed injuly because of an outbreak of covid 19 around melbourne. It was the first such Border Closure since 1919, when australia was battling the spanish flu. Our australia correspondent Shaimaa Khalil reports. This is the flight theyve been waiting months to board and, for antonia curic, this moment could not have come fast enough. Today is the day i get to meet my four month old grandson for the first time. How does that feel . My hearts jumping out of my chest. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Before the pandemic, melbourne to sydney was one of the busiest air routes in the world. Now, with the borders open, victorians can visit once again. Ive missed my friends, ive missed my home. Were flying to see my husband
who we havent seen for four months. We are so excited, we are so excited. After one of the Worlds Toughest lockdowns, its another big moment for a victoria. Busy streets were unimaginable in melbourne even just a few weeks ago. This was the epicentre of australias second covid 19 wave. But for more than three weeks now, there have been no new cases recorded in the whole of victoria and, around the world, people are asking how they did it here. Masks became mandatory in the whole of the state. Melbournes five million residents were put under a night curfew as part of the stringent lockdown. A so called ring of steel patrolled by the army and police separated melbourne from the rest of victoria. And other states closed their borders to victoria, effectively sealing it off. Health experts say this was the only way to get the virus under control. A lesson to the rest of the world. To go hard and to go fast, thats the real message here. If you dont get started early enough and do it in a co ordinated way, with really clear communication, because youve got to have the community on side, then i think you wind up with rolling lockdowns that dont really have the effect you want, but start to undermine Community Buy in. But this success has come at a huge cost. The state has lost 70 million a day during lockdown. Tens of thousands ofjobs disappeared and demand for Mental Health services soared. There were days where we just didnt want to get off the couch. Ijust wanted to stay home and cry. Since reopening her cafe, melissa says it feels like shes starting from scratch. Weve lost a lot of our regular customers, our corporate customers in the area. A lot of the residents moved. So were literally rebuilding from the start. So the weekends were fortunate theres definitely an appetite for people to go out. But, during the week, its a different story. Covid 19 may have been crushed here, but so too has the economy. It will take months, if not years, for one of the worlds most liveable cities to fully come back to life again. Shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. Donald trump is facing pressure from some Senior Republicans to abandon his efforts to overturnjoe bidens victory in the us president ial election. The former newjersey governor and confidant of the president , chris christie, described the conduct of mr trumps legal team as a national embarrassment. With more, heres our north america correspondent david willis. President trump has been dividing his time between the golf course on his twitter feed, as legal efforts to overturn the election result have repeatedly hit the bunker. He is continuing to claim, without evidence, that the result was rigged, writing on twitter, in certain swing states there were more votes than people who voted, and in big numbers. Does that not really matter . Stopping poll watchers, voting for unsuspecting people, fake ballots and so much more,
such egregious conduct, the president added. We will win. Some of his closest allies are dubious, however. Speaking on abcs this week programme, the first state governor to endorse mr trump for president called his legal team a national embarrassment. They allege fraud outside the courtroom, but when they go inside the courtroom they dont plead fraud and they dont argue fraud. Elections have consequences. And we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didnt happen. What we are really dealing with here. A former member of that legal team has now parted company with the group after promoting unproven conspiracy theories. Sidney powell alleged communists from china and cuba, amongst others, were to blame for widespread voter fraud. A terse statement from trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said, simply, Sidney Powell is practising law on her own. Meanwhile, the president elect,
seen here attending church over the weekend, has been working on appointments to his cabinet. Joe biden continues to be denied access to intelligence and other government briefings, which his Transition Team says are increasingly vital. Our transition is not getting access to Agency Officials to help develop our plans. And theres a lot of focus on that vaccine roll out plan thats going to be critical in the early days of a biden presidency. We have no access to that. And we are not getting background checks. We are not in a position to get background checks on cabinet nominees. So, there are definite impacts. One of the top jobs in the incoming biden administration, secretary of state, is expected to go to this man, antony blinken, a career diplomat who served under barack obama. His chiefjob will be to rebuild global relationships shaken by Donald Trumps nationalist policies, and questioning of long time alliances. Tonys a great choice. He started out as a speech writer and worked his way up. Joe biden used to say about tony, tony is the only person who knows more people around the world than joe biden does. Tony is a very, very nice guy. There cant be a bigger difference between mike pompeo and tony blinken. Meanwhile, with Inauguration Day now less than two months away, the biden team is talking of a more scaled down event because of the coronavirus. The inauguration ceremony traditionally draws large crowds to washington, and with covid cases surging across the country, there is growing concern for peoples safety. David willis, bbc news, los angeles. The former french president Nicolas Sarkozy goes on trial today, accused of corruption and influence peddling. Prosecuters allege mr sarkozy tried to bribe a judge, in return for information about an investigation into his party finances. Hes the first former president in modern france to appear in the dock, in one of several inquiries that
threaten to cast a shadow over his political career. Mr sarkozy denies any wrongdoing. A british musician has been playing the piano to monkeys at Historic Sites in thailand to raise awareness of their hunger. Paul barton had a bit of a tough crowd to please during the concert, with the audience of macaques tugging on his hair, stealing his music and climbing all over his piano. Thailand is seeing a reduction in the number of visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has meant there are less visitors to feed them and fewer funds to look after them. The monkeys are his latest audience, as he previously played bach, schubert, chopin, and beethoven for more than a decade to elephants at retirement sanctuaries. Now, we have some stunning footage of the Northern Lights to show you. The spectacular display was captured by photographer and astronomer Matt Robinson in norway, last night. Between late september and late march, northern norway is dark from early afternoon until late morning so now is a good time to see the natural phenomenon. The cold conditions there currently mean that conditions are at their peak for sky watchers. Much more online en todays amazing news on the oxford vaccine. Great to have a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Youre watching bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with carol. Hello. As we go through this week, it is going to turn colder by day and by night, and we will see a return to some patchy fog as well. Some of that, slow to clear during the day. What we have today, still mild today after a cold start. Its going to be cloudy, its going to be breezy. The best of the sunshine today will be across the south east and also the north east of scotland. Because in the west, low pressure is bringing us some weather fronts. And those fronts are bringing some rain. Gusty winds, also, across the far north and west of scotland. Gusting 50 mph or 60 miles per hour. So, after a sunny start, we will see more cloud building across england and wales. Some spots of rain, in south west england, wales, and to north west england, some drizzle here as well. But the heavy rain will be across parts of Northern Ireland and western scotland. The temperature range, 9 13 degrees. As we head onto the evening and overnight period, we will once again have the rain across the northern part of the country. Murky across parts of wales and also south west england, particularly coasts and hills. And some clear spells to boot as well. As we go through the night, youre going to find temperatures in the east will actually start to rise, as more cloud cover comes across. For tuesday itself, we still do have a weather front. Its a waving front. Its doing a bit of this. Still bringing some rain across parts of scotland, into Northern Ireland. Could also bring some rain in across cumbria and the pennines at times as well. Come further south, the cloud thick enough for the old spot, particularly in the west. Some brightness, but generally tomorrow more cloud in southern areas than today. Across the far north of scotland, we could well see some sunshine, with temperatures here 9 degrees, rising to about 13 in london and plymouth. Tuesday into wednesday, we still do have our weather front. But this time, the cold front is sinking southwards. Behind it, what you will find is it is going to turn much colder than it has been. But, equally, much more settled as well. So, the milder yellows being pushed away by the colder blues. That spreads across the whole of the uk eventually. So, to put some graphics on that, you can see wednesday we have the tail end of that weather front in the south that will eventually clear. Behind it, a lot of dry weather, but colder. And colder again on thursday. This is bbc news. The headlines at 11. Larges scale trials of a Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Oxford University and astrazeneca show it is 70 effective at preventing covid 19 rising to 90 depending on the dosage. It really looks as if there is a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. The uk government has secured 100 million doses of the vaccine enough for most of the uk population. We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month. The bulk of the vaccine roll out programme will be in january, february, march. And we hope that sometime after easter, things will be able to start to get back to normal. Close contacts of people who test positive for covid 19 in england are to be offered the chance to take daily tests, instead of going into isolation. And well be answering your questions about the vaccine, and the new lockdown measures for england at 11 30. Its expected all shops in england will be allowed to open in the lead up to christmas but pubs and restaurants could face tougher restrictions as part of new government measures to fight coronavirus. Almost three weeks after the us election, Senior Republicans urge donald trump to drop his attempts to overturnjoe bidens victory. And also coming up this hour. Lockdown, superspreader, furlough words associated with coronavirus dominate this years word
of the year list. Oxford university and the pharmaceutical firm, astrazeneca, have published the preliminary results from large scale trials of their Coronavirus Vaccine showing that it is 70 effective at preventing the disease. The vaccine proved less potent than those produced by two other companies, pfizer and moderna, which were 95 effective. Some data shows that protection did rise to 90 in the oxford trials when people were given a low dose followed by a high one. The oxford vaccine is far cheaper and is easier to store than the other two vaccines, which explains why more
countries have made orders, including developing countries. So, when can people expect to get it . In the uk there are four million doses ready to go, with another 96 million to be delivered. Care home residents and staff will be the first in queue, followed by Health Care Workers and the over 85s. But nothing can happen until the vaccine has been approved by regulators. The Prime Minister says the results are exciting and will set out plans later for a strengthened three tier system of restrictions when lockdown ends on december 2nd. While parts of the tier system in england will be tougher, the 10pm closing time for pubs and restaurants will be relaxed, with gyms and shops reopening. The expansion of Rapid Testing is also expected to be announced, as well as mass testing in all tier 3 areas. The head of the oxford vaccine Andrew Pollard gave his reaction to the studys findings. It really looks as if theres a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. So when we are talking about the 70 result, that is against all infection, including the milder forms of it. But there was no one that ended up in hospital or with severe disease. Astrazenecas executive Vice President sir mene panglos has said immunisations could begin in december if the regulators give the new vaccine the go ahead. We are extremely excited, because what the data has shown us is that the vaccine is clearly effective in terms of reducing infections. It is clearly effective in terms of reducing people getting sick and going to hospital. It is potentially reducing transmission, and i think, it has every chance of being a very successful, very effective vaccine that can get us back to normal. We got the results yesterday, and we still have a lot more to get through, and there is a lot more data still to come, but i think what im very confident about is that people are not getting sick with this vaccine, which means that, ultimately, even if you were to get ill, you have mild symptoms. So i think thats incredibly important, because it will keep hospital beds free and people wont be dying from this virus. I think one of the real benefits of this vaccine is the fact that we can manufacture at scale. It is a relatively easy vaccine to distribute around the world. I hope that if the regulators deem the vaccine to be safe and effective, which i hope they will, we should be able to start immunising people in december. Dr David Nabarro is special envoy to the World Health Organization on covid 19, and said the oxford vaccine success was great news for the fight against the virus. I have such a big smile on my face. My face is all creased up and i am so pleased. You just said it in your report, this is a relatively inexpensive vaccine. It is a vaccine that can be kept at normal fridge temperature. And it is a vaccine that does seem, as we heard, in certain dose combinations, to be as effective as some of the other vaccines that need to be kept under different circumstances, and will be more expensive. So, this is really good. And im so, so excited. Congratulations to all involved. The scientists, the volunteers, 50,000 of them. Great. But, as with all good bits of news, there is always that extra bit. There is still work to be done to take all the data,
and there is more data to come in, to the regulators so that they can decide whether they are ok to give an emergency use authorisation for the uk, or whether they think more work has to be done. And then we have one other thing, which is this vaccine is not going to reach everybody in britain, and certainly not everybody in the world, until at least april. And i think it may take longer. There are still steps that have to be worked through. And so we must be really careful, and we must have brilliant test, trace and isolate, even with the new ideas and isolation. If we make a bit of a mistake in the coming four months, orfive months, and we end up with really big surges of the virus, then it will create
a big problem for us. Please, everybody, in anticipating all of the vaccines coming through, please follow the requests up until then. Please be careful. Because this is still a really horrible and dangerous virus. The Health Secretary matt hancock said the news about the oxford jab is really positive. We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month. The bulk of the vaccine roll out programme will be injanuary, february, march and we hope that sometime after easter things will be able to start to get back to normal. So this is really, really positive news, as i say, to have a. In one of the formulations of the doses, to have
an effectiveness of 90 , is really excellent, 70 overall. And on twitter the Prime Minister said incredibly exciting news the oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials. There are still further safety checks ahead, but these are fantastic results. Well done to our brilliant scientists at university of oxford and astrazeneca, and all who volunteered in the trials. With me now is our Health Correspondent Anna Collinson. So much positivity around this morning. Tell us how much we know about this vaccine, because it is slightly behind the other vaccines in terms of the progress they have made on the trails. Definitely. It feels like mondays feel magical at the moment, the last year we have had exciting updates about these vaccines. If we lived in a parallel universe where the mud are not and Pfizer Vaccines didnt exist and these came out today, people would be overjoyed, because the base level
for effectiveness that people were hoping for was around 50 and these results that have come out from Oxford University show it protects 70 of people, though it can increase to 90 when the dose was adjusted. Moderna and pfizer. We are not sure why theres been such a difference. Scientists are looking to see why that is the case and of the combined data to show that that is the case, that 90 effective, it means there will be more doses to distribute. There are also other positives with the oxford vaccine. It is easier to store and move around. It is cheaper. We have talked about pfizer needing to be stored at 70 degrees. The oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, which means it can be used notjust in this country but around the world. But the oxford and the astrazeneca team, that was really important that the vaccine to get to those most at risk no matter where they were in the world. Presumably this is the vaccine most of us will end up taking in this country . The thing with the vaccines is currently
we are at a really good stage. A few months ago we didnt even know we will get a vaccine. To have got to this point when vaccines normally ta ke yea rs this point when vaccines normally take years to develop as a brilliant moment, but we still arent exactly sure. First of all, none of them are past, been given approval from the regulators, we are still waiting for that. Even if they do, we are still not entirely sure how effective they will be research people. Those are most at risk of the baddies, the elderly, those with Certain Health conditions. What we really need is all the vaccines come together those most at risk of the virus. If they become available is not like we canjust walk they become available is not like we can just walk into the gp and say, oh, iquite can just walk into the gp and say, oh, i quite fancy trying two to one. It will be given to those most at risk first i quite trying the pfizer. Other news about the scaling up pfizer. Other news about the scaling up of testing to release people from self isolation, the Rapid Testing. Questions about how effective it actually is. Tell is what the
statistics are with that. With Rapid Testing, we are talking about vaccines a lot, but testing is also a really crucial so that can help us understand and fight the coronavirus. The contract the infection and break trains of infection, which is really important. There are some concerns about the accuracy of certain types of tests, the rapid test weve been hearing about, but the more availability we have, the more that can counteract any sort of inaccuracies there may be. What has been really exciting there has been announced by the government today is that we are going to see in tier 3 areas, those most at risk, once he looked is over, more testing in those areas. They are going to roll out and be supported by the armed forces. Matt hancock this morning talked about the success they had seenin talked about the success they had seen in liverpool. More than 200,000 people have been tested there now and that was one of the areas that was most. One of the centres of the epidemic, the epicentre for the
pandemic a few weeks ago. Now those cases that come right down. And they believe testing is put a huge role in that. Thank you very much. Some news just to us about kent where new figures are causing concern on covid. An emergency meeting called this a lunchtime at the latest figures show the area now has the highest infection rate in england. The number stands at 631. 7 per 100,000 people in the weeks of the 18th of november, higher than hull. Various theories been put forward as to why the rate is so high. Including outbreaks in the prison population, levels of deprivation and a large number of people doing jobs in which they cannot work from home. So the council has invited representatives from kent county council, kent police, the prison service, the department for work and pensions and the local voluntary sector to discuss the issues there. The leader of the council said we have been working partners for quite some time in response the pandemic,
but the recent rise in cases is a significant cause for concern. We are optically concerned about compliance with the restrictions in place. I know most people and businesses are doing what they should but it is protruding to see people still not wearing face coverings or keeping their distance when needed. They have an emergency meeting this lunchtime. Some more breaking news about the brexit negotiations. You may have heard this morning that the word brexit is going down 80 this year in terms of general usage. Well, its still a very important story. We are in the last stretch of the negotiations for there to be a deal before the uk leaves on the 31st of december and we arejust leaves on the 31st of december and we are just hearing that michel barnier, the eus chief negotiator has tweeted to say, after technical discussions this weekend, negotiations continue on today. The reason those discussions are
online is that they stepped back last week from face to face talks and agreed to suspend negotiations for a short period after a member of the eu team tested positive for covid 19. Later today, the Prime Minister will explain in detail englands return to the three tier system when lockdown ends on 2nd of december. Gyms and nonessential shops in all areas are expected to be allowed to reopen. Under the new plans, last orders in pubs and restaurants allowed to open will remain at 10 oclock, but customers will have an extra hour to drink up. However, it has been reported that pubs in tier 3 will only be open for takeaway while those in tier 2 must serve substantial meals, even to outdoor customers. We can now speak to Professor Robert west, member the Scientific Advisory group for emergencies, sage, which advises ministers. Welcome. Thank you forjoining us. Welcome. Thank you forjoining us. We are coming out of lockdown, and there is a lot of speculation about what is going to be in place once we come out. What do you think about the proposals that have been, or the suggestions that are out there at the moment . At the moment, obviously, we dont know exactly what is going to be proposed. Actually, im on the behavioural subgroup of sage, not on sage itself, but we advise sage on the behavioural aspects of it. I think that given where we are, with a little way to go before the 2nd of december, it is looking like the infection rates will still be pretty high. They will have started to come down a bit. But they will still be pretty substantial. It will be important to have restrictions in place. You know, to minimise the amount of contact between people. For some time to come. And i think we can also, you know, bear in mind
that anything other than the kind of restrictions we have been seeing could lead to the infection rate rising again. With that in mind, i think, you know, it would be prudent of the government to have restrictions in place of the sort that you were just talking about. But also, i think really importantly, to start gabbing people really good advice and support to enable them to make their homes as covid save as they can possibly be to start giving people really good advice. So that someone brings covid back into the oh so, they minimise the chance of it spreading to other members of the household. With your hat on on the behavioural aspects, what do you think about the news we have had today about another vaccine, looking obviously very positive . We are suddenly getting a lot of good news and it is really
spreading a sense of optimism. Isis that . Thats a good thing, but it carries risk that if all things dont pan out, we may be disappointed. Does it carry a risk that people might ease off too soon . Youre absolutely right. It is good news. They way to view it is light at the end of the tunnel, rather than the escape route is there for us than the escape route is there for us right now. It will be quite a long time, several months at least, before we can roll out the vaccines, assuming they are as effective as it looks as though they are. To a level thatis looks as though they are. To a level that is going to make a huge difference to the overall infection rates. Bear in mind, going back to march, that the mac 304 this summer in the region of three. What that means is if we dont do anything and come to get a vaccine in place, pretty much everyone in the country
is going to be infected will be infected and there will be a lot of debts. We absolutely cant allow our guard to slip on this one, particularly over the holiday season. When it comes to the vaccines, there are still challenges. Probably from a behavioural point of view, the most important thing is making sure that people who will benefit from the vaccine actually use it. What we are seeing is in this country, we are very fortu nate seeing is in this country, we are very fortunate there are a few out and out anti vaccination conspiracy theories, you tend to get more in theories, you tend to get more in the united states. There are people with a genuine concern about the vaccine, in terms of possible side effects and benefits and so on. There is a big job to do for the government, people like myself, to put the facts out there and to make sure that people can understand the pros and cons, because i think, you know, it is extremely likely that,
really, the vaccines will be safe and they will be effective and people should use them. On christmas, what do you think christmas, what do you think christmas should look like . Because obviously there is a lot of discussion around their being tighter restrictions both before and after in order to facilitate as much ofa after in order to facilitate as much of a normal christmas as we could hope for. Sage and independent sage are both looking at this really carefully a nd are both looking at this really carefully and it will be coming out soon with some ideas on how people can do this. I think the key things to remember are that transmission occurs largely indoors, largely with people in close proximity for extended periods of time, when there is poor ventilation. Also, we have to look at contaminated objects and surfaces. There is a lot you can do to meet with your friends and family and loved ones and ways that wont give them the virus a few
happen to have it. Getting that advice out there in the next two or three weeks i think will be really important. That will involve, i think, working with the key stakeholders, groups that will be affected by this, different cultural groups and parts of society, to make sure the advice resonates with them and meets their needs. There is stuff we could do to make it, definitely, to make the holiday period safer. If it is ok to do it safely christmas, why isnt it the rest of the time . It is not a question of if it is ok to do it safely christmas, it is how to make it as safe as possible, given that over the christmas period, it is rather a special period for people. Again, you make a very good point, what we are hoping is that we can use the education and support that will be coming over this period to allow people and enable them to be
safe going forward, as well. There is no getting away from the fact that as long as you are with other people who might be infected, that dont know necessarily the infected, but they might be infected, and an indoor enclosed space, someone is one to be a risk and there is no getting away from that. It is a question of how we can minimise that risk. Do you think that the various possibilities are being put forward about what will happen with quarantine for people coming back from countries which are high risk and self isolation for people who have come into contact with somebody who has got covid, are the various suggestions actually coherent . Together . Because there are different strategies that dont seem to marry up with how much testing can be trusted, whether it is a one off negative a few come back from travelling or being tested daily a few come into contact with someone . I think that is right,
there is technicalities around the testing that turn into very important practicalities around it. With the swab, you have a false negative rate probably roughly around 30 . That means that even when the person is infectious, you will probably mist 30 of those cases. So you wanted to repeat testing. You have the new test coming on that this probably much more rapid but has probably a lower false negative rate. What is needed isa false negative rate. What is needed is a coordinated approach. It is a false economy not to do this absolutely right. In the absence of absolutely right. In the absence of a vaccine, frankly even once we have a vaccine, frankly even once we have a vaccine, frankly even once we have a vaccine, this whole issue of finding people who are infectious and keeping them away from other people relate lies at the heart of this. Whether they are people coming and from abroad are people coming
into co nta ct and from abroad are people coming into contact with people with the disease, you know, it is pretty much the same basic idea. We now know, for example, we will be infectious in the period before symptoms and during and there will be some people, weve estimated about 17 of people, weve estimated about 17 of people, who will never get symptoms, but who are infectious. So, you know, these things are really coherent they need a really coherent they need a really coherent and strategic approach to it that everyone can understand, thats a priority. Finally, safer be passing tier1 thats a priority. Finally, safer be passing tier 1 wasnt thats a priority. Finally, safer be passing tier1 wasnt working and thatis passing tier1 wasnt working and that is why the new tiered system is going to be strengthened. Why wasnt it working . Social distancing, limiting social contacts, so it seems odd that it is now effectively being written of . The fact is, it was working for whatever reason. I think then that if you look at the what we know about the virus
transmission, itjust what we know about the virus transmission, it just simply wasnt doing enough to keep people away from other people. The problem with these lockdown type systems, these overall restriction systems is that we have to have them when we dont know who is infectious. The way out of that, ultimately, is to have a much, much better testing, tracing and isolating system. By the way, really important and that, and still we have got this right, is the support that we give the people so that they can isolate. One of the things i think we can do to help people there is to get everyone geared up, if you like, already, should they get the call or the pink on the app, or should they get symptoms, so they can isolate straightaway. Some people jobs symptoms, so they can isolate straightaway. Some peoplejobs are caring responsibilities, it is quite difficult to arrange things, so we can get people prepare, stood when
it comes, if and when it comes that the act isolate, they have everything in place. I think that will be an important part of it. Nimisha raja is the founder of nims fruit crisps, a manufacturer based in sittingbourne, kent. Nimisha joins me now from her factory. Welcome, thank you forjoining us. Tell us, first of all, what impact covid has had on your business. When there was the first lockdown, we we re there was the first lockdown, we were hit pretty hard. We make crisps and we stop selling, practically, in supermarkets for quite a while. Then we started to pick up, a little of the business, as time went on and we introduced new products. And we decided we are going to precipitate the launch of our dried infusions. Orange and lime slices which go into
drinks and rehydrate and we were sending to pubs and bars once lockdown lifted, so that gave us a second lease of life, if you like. And then lockdown happened again, which has taken that part of the business away. We have had to do it a lot more online, which we werent doing before. Any sense it is a good thing, because it made us realise where we were lacking and where we needed to put all our efforts into. Now ijust heard you mention about swell Borough Council about having lots of concerns about the high rate of infection and that is where we are based, so that is a new problem we will have to start looking at dealing with. So far we have been lucky with infection rates, we have had one person who has had a pretty badly. I myself was tested positive but with no symptoms. I isolated at home for days. Got away with not too much interference on that at the moment. We are going to have to see what christmas is going to be like. It isa
what christmas is going to be like. It is a bit worrying, actually. It does sound like it has been quite a struggle, obviously, on the personal and business front, with the illness as well. You said that your sales went down in supermarkets, why was that . Obviously supermarkets have stayed open throughout . At the beginning what supermarkets were doing, dealing with all the more central products, so the warehouses couldnt deal with the deliveries of other products. So our products, crisps that you buy, whether you have a sandwich for lunch we are going into the office or something for a morning snack or afternoon snack. Food on the move was suffering because there are no people on the move. That was the main reason, really. And continues to be so. We listen to Marks Spencer is with a range of five products and had invested heavily into that lounge, worked with them for about ten months prior to the launch, so a lot had gone into it. We were launching i think two days
before lockdown. That suffered. Where we had planned to increase our trade by doubling it this year, that is not going to happen. We are still doing well, considering where we are at, but thats because we have been at, but thats because we have been a little agile, we have moved and changed what we sell, what we do, how we can improve our products, trying to get all markets. We even introduced a range of ingredients we consent cereal manufacturers, etc. All of those things are helping a little. I little. All of those things are helping a little. Ilittle. I all of those things are helping a little. I little. Ithink all of those things are helping a little. I little. I think by christmas, what is really difficult, and if another sort of lockdown happens after christmas, i think we will have a lot of problems. I think to say, well, will open for five daysin to say, well, will open for five days in christmas, well, businesses planned months and months ahead to supply for christmas, so our buyers and pubs and bars havent got a clue whether theyre going to be opening. My whether theyre going to be opening. My daughter works in a pub and she was text me this morning saying i dont know if im going to go back to work before christmas. It is
worrying. Shes a student, works pa rt worrying. Shes a student, works part part time and studying at uni, even for her it is really difficult. As you mentioned, you are in the kent area that is now under the spotlight because of the level of infections, which is actually meant that now it has the highest rate of infections in england. The leader of the council has said we are particular concerns about compliance with the restrictions. This wilful disregard of the rules, which means we are more likely to have more restrictions imposed on us in december, which is hugely unfairfor people and businesses who have been doing the right thing since march. How do you feel about that . I understand, Food Manufacturing hasnt shut down at all and it is been, ina hasnt shut down at all and it is been, in a sense, business as usual apart from we have had to introduce lots of new measures and do risk
assessments, all of those things cost time and money as well and we had to invest. But its worrying, where they are going to look to put places, restrictions. Are we going to have to do a lot more than we already are . We havent had any financial help from the government because we dont fall into the categories. We had to have bounced back which was great, its always through the rough times at the beginning. But that alone that sits ona beginning. But that alone that sits on a Balance Sheet and will affect others and something we are going to have to pay back at some point, so we are waiting with bated breath, if you like, to see what the council decides, what measures they will have to impose on us and as a business and to see what the lockdown is going to be like after christmas. Thats our main worry. On the whole, business is still going andi the whole, business is still going and i know a lot of Small Businesses have suffered, close down, after a lot of customers have had to shut their shops down, were still going
and business is improving a little bit. But lets hope that stays that way and i just cant see as, a bit. But lets hope that stays that way and ijust cant see as, a long, continued over again. This stop start is probably even worse than a continued lockdown staying up until christmas and a little bit beyond. Continued lockdown staying up until christmas and a little bit beyondlj wish christmas and a little bit beyond. wish you all the best, thank you very much forjoining us. The government says it will introduce mass testing, for all areas in tier 3, when the tier system returns after the lockdown in england. Borisjohnson says Rapid Testing with military support, as used in liverpool, will form part of the stricter system. Testing will also be rolled out for care home visitors across england from next month with every care home resident able to have two visitors tested twice a week. It means people who live in care homes will be able to hug relatives by the end of the year, the government has said. And we will bring you the Prime Ministers statement on the governments plans for a strengthened tiered system in england from half past
three here on the bbc news channel. Sport and a full round up now from the bbc sport centre. Good morning. Jurgen klopp says liverpool might struggle to end the season with 11 players, unless broadcasters talk to each other about the football schedule. Klopp has complained about the turnaround times between wednesday Champions League fixtures and early saturday kick offs in the premier league. He was speaking after his sides 3 0 win over leicester, which broke the record for the number of league games unbeaten at home, theyre up to 64 now. Diogojota got his eighth goal for the club since he joined in september. Jota is competing with Roberto Firmino for a place in the starting line up and firmino responded by getting the third. Congratulations. We were happy and relieved, and we deserved it so much. We played a super game. It was so important tonight and you could see it in the face of players when he scored, everybody thought, yes, exactly the right goal scorer. Leeds and arsenal played out a goalless draw, the main talking point was this arsenals Nicholas Pepe sent off for a headbutt. Its fair to say his manager has given him some feedback. It is unacceptable. Thats it. Have you had a chance to speak to nicholas in the dressing room yet . What kind of reaction did you get . Its unacceptable. At this level, you cannot do it. Do you feel he let down his team mates . Its unacceptable. England striker Dominic Calvert lewin is the premier leagues top goal scorer after he struck twice to help everton win 3 2 at fulham. And the home side missed a penalty for the third time this season. And again it was quite remarkable, Ivan Cavaleiro slipping, and his striking foot hitting his standing foot. Sheffield united remain bottom of the table and without a win this season, after losing at home to west ham. Sebastien hallers strike was the only goal of the game. Rangers are looking strong in their quest to halt celtics march to a 10th scottish premiership title in a row. After celtics draw at hibs on saturday, rangers thrashed aberdeen 4 0 to open an 11 point gap between the glasgow rivals. They have played two games more, but rangers have made their best start to a League Season in 53 years. Ryan kent with the pick of the goals against aberdeen. The preisdent of the confederation of african football has been banned from the sport for five years by fifa. Ahmad ahmad was also a Vice President of fifa but hes been found guilty of breaching various codes of ethincs, including his duty of loyalty, offering and accepting gifts, abuse of position and misappropriation of funds. Hes also been fined £150,000 pounds. Hes previously denied
any wrongdoing. Scotlands fate in rugby unions autumn nations cup is out of their hands, after they lost to france. Virimi va katawa scored the only try of the game, which finished 22 15, bringing scotlands five match unbeaten run to an end. That means their chances of reaching the final rest on the slim chance of italy beating france in paris next week. There was a spot of deja vu in the final of the Northern Ireland open snooker. For the third year in a row, judd trump beat Ronnie Osullivan by 9 frames to 7. It was at a different venue, at least, it was staged in Milton Keynes this year, because the marshall arena has on site accommodation, meaning everyone involved could stay within the complex. The uk snooker championship began today at the same website venue but Anthony Hamilton and ryan day have been forced to pull out after testing positive for covid 19. Details of that and much more on the bbc sport website. Thats all from me now its time
for your questions answered. With the news that the Oxford University vaccine has proved highly effective, with Overall Results demonstrating it protects 70 of people. That increased to 90 when the dose was adjusted, were going to be answering some of your questions about vaccines and the post lockdown plans in england, due to be announced the oxford vaccine is the third vaccine to be announced. Joining me in the studio is our Health Correspondent Catherine Burns and im alsojoined by dr andrew lee who is a reader of Global Health at the university of sheffield. But first lets take a look at the next steps any vaccine has to take before it can be used. The full data on the vaccine
will be collated over the next couple of weeks. Then it goes to the mhra, the uk vaccine regulator, for safety approval. The Pfizer Biontech vaccine was sent for approval last week. Thejoint committee on vaccines then decides who gets it and in what order, and roll out could begin next month, to the nhs front line and the most vulnerable. How is the percentage efficacy calculator . They have thousands of people on this trial and of them, 131 went on to develop covid. Thats how theyve come up with the number. Its important that we put these numbers in some kind of context. When all this started, we would have been delighted to get a vaccine with
an efficacy of about 50 . Flu jabs have about 40 to 60 , so when we are hearing here that the dose is somewhere, the efficacy of somewhere between 70 and 90 , this really is brilliant news. And just to be clear, that means that it works in that percentage of people, so there will be some people that it wont work for. Yes, but this is also interim data and as the trials go on and on, these numbers will get crunched further and further. And andrew, on that point, the news that its 70 effective overall, but they discovered that, depending on the dose, it could be up to 90 , it then just begs the question, that sound quite simplejust just begs the question, that sound quite simple just to tweak it then and get that 90 . How complicated is it to actually achieve that . When they start doing all the studies, trying to work out what the optimum dosing regimen is, the dose spacing and the size of the dose, all that
is accommodated business and trying to work out what works best. So the researchers are still trying to work out what is the optimum, hopefully they will have that answer and we will get the best efficacy out of the vaccine. Catherine, barry has e mailed to ask, will the age and or Health Condition of the person determine which vaccine youll receive, will it matter or will it be according to availability . We are all becoming instant experts, arent we . My neighbour said to me yesterday, im holding out for the oxford one. It wont work like that age and Health Conditions will be key when we decide who gets this and the order they get it in. We are expecting that if the regulators passed this, which is still in f, we could be rolling out some kind of vaccines in the most Vulnerable People this side of christmas. As we progress into next year, we will see it go down the ages, to do less and less Vulnerable People, essentially. With the testing, there has been a private market going on. Will there bea private market going on. Will there be a private market for vaccines . They have said they dont want that to happen but can they stop it . dont know the answer to that. I doubt that we would see that. What doubt that we would see that. What do you think, andrew . If there is a real drive, there would be a real incentive for private companies to offer this. Well, the companies are saying that there isnt really a vaccine race and to be fair, the demand isjust vaccine race and to be fair, the demand is just huge globally, vaccine race and to be fair, the demand isjust huge globally, so i think theres enough of a market for everyone. In fact, what they have said today. Even with the vaccines that have come out so far, if they all got through the same time, there still wouldnt be enough vaccines to go around the world right now. So they are saying this really is not a competition. Ok. I was they are saying this really is not a competition. Ok. Iwas wondering that, because the race effectively been won . Because there are over 100 vaccines in development at one time, i dont know how many are still going. The rate isnt over. John
asks, how long lasting in the body asks, how long lasting in the body asa asks, how long lasting in the body as a vaccine and will every person, even the young, need to have this vaccine every year . Well, this is the Million Dollar question that nobody quite knows at the moment. Certainly, when you look at size backin certainly, when you look at size back in 2003, a decade later, some people still have antibodies, so there is a pretty good chance that these vaccines will have long lasting amenity. Even today, Oxford University reported that Health Care Workers who were infected six months ago were unlikely to be reinfected six months on. Sorry to interrupt, its really confusing situation when we are told that cant rely on immunity having had it, we have seen people get reinfected, and there has been speculation about whether the immunity potentially lasts six to eight months, but when you say that about sars, people showing
antibodies ten years later, why would a vaccine perhaps give you a longer lasting protection from a virus, if that is a case . As i said, it remains to be seen. I think sometimes we simplistically think that its either yes or no, protected or not protected, but youre vaccine protections can vary across time, so lets just say pfizer or Moderna Vaccine might view 90 protection now, but we dont know what that levelled will be in a yea rs know what that levelled will be in a years time. Likewise, with the oxford vaccine, it might be 70 now, but you might find that protection lasts longer. Its still early days, so lets wait and see. This is the thing would be talking about. It feels like we have been talking about coronavirus endlessly, but it still a new virus. This time last year, we didnt know about this. So we can make predictions of how it could go in the future, so we can say, for example, the flu jab, people have to have that every year for it to be effective, but flu mutates a lot and there is no sign of this happening yet, because we are still in early days. How will we
know . They will know because. Yeah, exactly. They are monitoring people for their antibodies. Oxford have come out and said there are six months of antibodies, thats because they have six months worth of data. Its not that it stops after six months, itsjust that its not that it stops after six months, its just that they havent gone beyond that yet so this will be ongoing. Linda has emailed to ask, what side effects from the oxford vaccine are common . I am injured to know because after recently having had a flu vaccine, i experienced a high temperature, flu like symptoms and malaise for a few hours. Migraine headaches. I am easily fit and active for my age. The good news for linda is that there are no serious safety concerns reported with this. They have beenjabbing people with this since april and may. No one has had to go to hospital, thats excellent news. But no medication is 100 safe. There will always be some sort of side effects. The kind of things that are been reported for this are pretty
standard for the sort of things you would save any vaccination. Sore arms, a bit tired, may be a fever for a day or two, may be a headache, so it sounds like linda had a pretty bad dose of it if headaches lasted for a week, but there are no long term safety concerns at the moment. Andrew, because these vaccines have been developed so quickly, ten months versus ten years asa quickly, ten months versus ten years as a normal timeframe for a vaccine, some people are concerned about what the long term implications might potentially be without that long period of data to rely on. When there is discussion about the immediate side effects, is there any concern around potential long term side effects . Does that ever happen with a vaccine . We need to couch this in terms of the relative risk. So youre right, thus far, tens of thousands of people have undergone the trials for safety and nothing severe has emerged from it. So lets
hope that trend indeed remains the case. I think sometimes when people get immunised, they feel a bit of pain and some flu like symptoms afterwards, but the natural thing to think is, oh no, there is something going wrong with me. But thats not necessarily true. That mightjust be a fairly necessarily true. That mightjust be afairly simple necessarily true. That mightjust be a fairly simple reaction, a fairly short lived one. Put it this way, nobody wants to get them out. No one wa nts to nobody wants to get them out. No one wants to get it because thats 13 to 15 times more lethal than flu in the elderly, for example. The technology being used in the different vaccines varies. How cutting Edge Technologies . Are they using Old Technology that are been tried and tested in other vaccines or in some cases, something completely new . Its fantastic. Science has progressed so quickly in recent yea rs. Progressed so quickly in recent years. A progressed so quickly in recent yea rs. A lot progressed so quickly in recent years. A lot of this is pretty much cutting edge. So for the visor vaccine and the Moderna Vaccine,
they have got their genetic code out and wrapped it in. And likewise, with the other vaccine, they have inactivated another coronavirus to do it, so its fantastic stuff that they have done. Really cutting edge. On the safety point, i was on a zoom earlier with the makers of this, and they were saying that most vaccines that are regulated in europe might have maybe three to 5000 people on the trials. On this one, there have been 24,000 people and around half of them have had the vaccine, so the numbers ofair. Of them have had the vaccine, so the numbers of air. So they have basically concertina at timeframe by expanding the participants. The money and the effort and the will that has gone into this, normal vaccines dont have that. We cant say that enough. Its an extraordinary thing to say because there was a real doubt initially as to whether this would even be or somebody had said to me in march that i would be sitting here saying this now, i be delighted. Rang asks
if someone has been vaccinated, can they still carry the virus and pass it on. Yes, they could. Because its not 100 effective. So there is that risk but obviously the benefit of eating vaccinated but outweigh that. So, just spell it out. There is a percentage of people for whom this wont work. Lets say that somebody has it and then they have asymptomatic covid, they could go on and pass it. So thats a possibility. What if you are someone for whom the vaccine works . Is it still possible that you can enter your system, not making you sick but passing it on . This is the kind of thing that they are analysing now. The first set of data was looking at the efficacy of it but then they have to look at transmission, so they can see positive signs, but this is all a waiting game. Another question, will it be safe to have the vaccine if you have long covid . Andrew, im guessing its another
unknown but whats the best advice . You are right. Long covid is not a single condition. It is a complex catchall category for many, many different conditions at this point in time that we know very little about and were just studying it at this in time. My guess is, for most people, it will probably be fine and its still early days, we have to just watch this space. We mentioned earlier about the numbers of vaccines that were in this race, initially over 100, then down to 11 in the final stages. We have three here now and each of them have different, well, there are differences. With the oxford one, one of the key differences is that its a lot cheaper than the pfizer and Moderna Vaccines and it doesnt have to be stored at such extreme cold temperatures. How important is that going to be on rolling it out . Notjust here that going to be on rolling it out . Not just here but that going to be on rolling it out . Notjust here but around the world. The logistics element is crucial. Every Health System including ours, we are limited by the infrastructure we are limited by the infrastructure we have to keep the vaccine at the right temperature from the time it leaves the factory to the time it gets to a person needs to get to. You break that chain anywhere along the line and the vaccine could end up, iguess, getting the line and the vaccine could end up, i guess, getting spoiled and it wont work. If you have a vaccine thatis wont work. If you have a vaccine that is less fussy, shall we say, then its more likely to be viable around the world. Catherine, the Pfizer Vaccine, i think we have 40 million doses on order. The oxford vaccine, 100 million, so between the two of them, thats. Vaccine, 100 million, so between the two of them, thats. Thats doses, though. And we need two doses each. The government is hedging its bets. I have my notes somewhere here that say how many they have got. Theyve got 100 million of oxford, 40 million of pfizer, 60 million of
nova million of pfizer, 60 million of n ova va cs million of pfizer, 60 million of nova vacs which we havent heard about yet. Where is that from . I wa nt about yet. Where is that from . I want to say france but of the top of my head, i cant guarantee that. There is another 60 million of another one, 30 million yams in and then on the day moderna came out, they did a deal. So its a moving picture. Novovax was american. Sorry, i put you on the spot obviously, thats lots of different vaccines being lined up, if you have in one year one particular vaccine and then you need another one, and those stocks have gone and then another one is, long. If you think of normal medication, there are often supply chain issues of any medicine. Because factories break down, pieces of kit break, they may
be some contamination. This is the same issue with vaccines. Vaccines are not a chemical, its a biological product, its not easy to make, so the more the merrier when it comes to options for us. Ok, thats good. Andrew, the costs of this, i have lots of things scribble down here and i probably cant find it to hand, here we go, ifound it. The different cost of the vaccine, for oxford, its £3 per dose, pfizer is £15 per dose and moderna is £25 per dose. How do they work those things out . Obviously i guess part of that is how much they are going to be able to sell, but presumably, pretty limitless at the moment. Also the development costs. Do they vary that much from company to company . Yes. Part of that will also be production costs involved. One vaccine might be more difficult to manufacture than the others. At the end of the day, it doesnt matter
whether a 70 or 90 , you just need to get as many of the vaccines out as possible now. I dont want people thinking that if they have received, lets just say, the oxford vaccine, then they have received an inferior product. Thats not the case. then they have received an inferior product. Thats not the case. I hate to say this, but this morning i was talking to somebody in the newsroom about the john please line talking to somebody in the newsroom about thejohn please line when he says, its the hope i cant stand. There is so much hope around now, arent you . Are there any potential spanners in the works . There are potential spanners in the works but the hope outweighs it. The Health Secretary was interviewed this morning and he kept saying, if the regulator passes it, because they dont want it to be seen as a done deal. The regulators have been doing a rolling assessment of that, so we would expect them to turn around theiranswer would expect them to turn around their answer quite soon, we would hope for it to be positive, but we dont know. They are independent, so
they will be going through all that safety data and they could in theory spot issues that havent been spotted by the scientists. I think really though, the big stumbling block we could be looking at is the distribution. This is a massive operation. Manufacturing and distributing it around the world is not going to be an easy task. But its a good problem to have. And what about distribution in this country . Will that be pretty straightforward . Who can tell . We dont know. We dont know what is coming around the corner. If a factory breaks down at the wrong time or, who knows . Itsjust a waiting game. Like i said, its really nice. Will continue to hope for the best. We swapped one massive problem for a smaller set of problems but its better to have it like that. Andrew, can we hope that life back to normal by the spring, summer at the latest . life back to normal by the spring, summer at the latest . I dont i
dont think it will go back to how it was. People need to adjust their expectations. Even if we had vaccinations, we still need to practice some of the hand hygiene, face masking, social distancing, for many months ahead, to keep the risk at bay. I feel like weve changed. 60 days to make a habit, 60 days to break the habit. The things that we do instinctively now, if someone steps towards you, you step back. These things will be ingrained in us. Actually, its important to say right now that, just because we have this hope with a vaccine, we are still in the middle of a pandemic, so we cant relax, we tightly take our foot off the break when it comes to those measures. Thank you so much. Catherine and andrew thank you. Hello. As we go through this week, it is going to turn colder by day and by night,
and we will see a return to some patchy fog as well. Some of that, slow to clear during the day. What we have today, still mild today after a cold start. Its going to be cloudy, its going to be breezy. The best of the sunshine today will be across the south east and also the north east of scotland. Because in the west, low pressure is bringing us some weather fronts. And those fronts are bringing some rain. Gusty winds, also, across the far north and west of scotland. Gusting 50 mph or 60 miles per hour. So, after a sunny start, we will see more cloud building across england and wales. Some spots of rain, in south west england, wales, and to north west england, some drizzle here as well. But the heavy rain will be across parts of Northern Ireland and western scotland. The temperature range, 9 13 degrees. As we head onto the evening and overnight period, we will once again have the rain across the northern part of the country. Murky across parts of wales and also south west england, particularly coasts and hills. And some clear spells
to boot as well. As we go through the night, youre going to find temperatures in the east will actually start to rise, as more cloud cover comes across. For tuesday itself, we still do have a weather front. Its a waving front. Its doing a bit of this. Still bringing some rain across parts of scotland, into Northern Ireland. Could also bring some rain in across cumbria and the pennines at times as well. Come further south, the cloud thick enough for the old spot, particularly in the west. Some brightness, but generally tomorrow more cloud in southern areas than today. Across the far north of scotland, we could well see some sunshine, with temperatures here 9 degrees, rising to about 13 in london and plymouth. Tuesday into wednesday, we still do have our weather front. But this time, the cold front is sinking southwards. Behind it, what you will find is it is going to turn much colder than it has been. But, equally, much more settled as well. So, the milder yellows being pushed away by the colder blues. That spreads across the whole of the uk eventually. So, to put some graphics on that,
you can see wednesday we have the tail end of that weather front in the south that will eventually clear. Behind it, a lot of dry weather, but colder. And colder again on thursday. This is bbc news. The headlines. Larges scale trials of a Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Oxford University and astrazeneca show it is 70 effective at preventing covid 19 rising to 90 depending on the dosage. It really looks as if there is a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. The uk government has secured 100 million doses of the vaccine enough for most of the uk population. Close contacts of people who test positive for covid 19 in england are to be offered the chance to take daily tests, instead of going into isolation. The Prime Minister writes to all
ministers and Permanent Secretaries across government saying there is no place for bullying within the civil service, following the investigation into allegations against priti patel. Almost three weeks after the us election, Senior Republicans urge donald trump to drop his attempts to overturnjoe bidens victory. And also coming up this hour, lockdown, superspreader, furlough words associated with coronavirus dominate this years words of the year list. Oxford university and the pharmaceutical firm, astrazeneca, have published the preliminary results from large scale trials of their Coronavirus Vaccine showing that it is 70 effective at preventing the disease. The vaccine proved less potent than those produced by two other companies, pfizer and moderna which were 95 effective. Some data shows that protection did rise to 90 in the oxford trials when people were given a low dose followed by a high one. The oxford vaccine is far cheaper and is easier to store than the other two vaccines, which explains why more countries have made orders, including developing countries. So, when can people expect to get it . In the uk there are four million doses ready to go, with another 96 million to be delivered. Care home residents and staff will be the first in queue, followed by Health Care Workers and the over 85s. But nothing can happen until the vaccine has been approved by regulators. The Prime Minister says the results are exciting and will set out plans later for a strengthened three tier system of restrictions when lockdown ends on december 2nd. While parts of the tier system in england will be tougher, the 10pm closing time for pubs
and restaurants will be relaxed, with gyms and shops reopening. The expansion of Rapid Testing is also expected to be announced, as well as mass testing in all tier 3 areas. The head of the oxford vaccine Andrew Pollard gave his reaction to the studys findings. It really looks as if theres a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. So when we are talking about the 70 result, that is against all infection, including the milder forms of it. But there was no one that ended up in hospital or with severe disease. Astrazenecas executive Vice President sir mene panglos has said immunisations could begin in december if the regulators give the new vaccine the go ahead. We are extremely excited, because what the data has shown us is that the vaccine is clearly effective in terms of reducing infections. It is clearly effective in terms of reducing people getting sick and going to hospital. It is potentially reducing transmission, and i think, it has every chance of being a very successful, very effective vaccine that can get us back to normal. We got the results yesterday, and we still have a lot more to get through, and there is a lot more data still to come, but i think what im very confident about is that people are not getting sick with this vaccine, which means that, ultimately, even if you were to get ill, you have mild symptoms. So i think thats incredibly important, because it will keep hospital beds free and people wont be dying from this virus. I think one of the real benefits of this vaccine is the fact that we can manufacture at scale. It is a relatively easy vaccine to distribute around the world. I hope that if the regulators deem the vaccine to be safe and effective, which i hope they will, we should be able to start immunising people in december. The Health Secretary matt hancock said the news about the oxford jab was really positive. We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month. The bulk of the vaccine roll out programme will be injanuary, february, march and we hope that sometime after easter things will be able to start to get back to normal. So this is really, really positive news, as i say, to have a. In one of the formulations of the doses, to have an effectiveness of 90 , is really excellent, 70 overall. And on twitter the Prime Minister said. Our Health Correspondent Anna Collinson said while the latest development is a sign of progress, its still not entirely clear how different vaccines will be rolled out amongst different groups of people. The last few mondays we have had really exciting updates about these vaccines. If we lived in a parallel universe where the moderna and Pfizer Vaccines didnt exist and these results came out today, people would be overjoyed, because the base level of effectiveness that people were hoping for was around 50 and these results that have come out from Oxford University show it protects 70 of people, though it can increase to 90 when the dose was adjusted. We are not sure why theres
been such a difference. Scientists are looking to see why that is the case and if they can find data to show that that is the case, that its 90 effective, it means there will be more doses to distribute. There are also other positives with the oxford vaccine. It is easier to store and move around. It is cheaper. We have talked about pfizer needing to be stored at 70 degrees. The oxford vaccine can be stored in a fridge, which means it can be used notjust in this country but around the world. For the oxford and the astrazeneca team, that was really important, that the vaccine to get to those most at risk, no matter where they were in the world. Presumably this is the vaccine most of us will end up taking in this country . The thing with the vaccines is currently we are at a really good stage. A few months ago we didnt even know if we would get a vaccine. To have got to this point when vaccines normally take years to develop is a brilliant moment, but we still arent exactly sure. First of all, none of them have passed. Been given approval from the regulators, we are still waiting for that. Even if they do, we are still not entirely sure how effective they will be with certain people. Those are most at risk of the virus, the elderly, those with Certain Health conditions. What we really need is all the vaccines come together, those most at risk of the virus. If they become available is not like we can just walk into the gp and say, oh, i quite fancy trying. The the Prime Minister has written to all ministers to say bullying is not acceptable in any capacity. An enquiry carried out the city home secretarys conduct amounted to behaviour that could be described as
bullying, noting incidences of shouting and swearing and found she breached the ministerial code, even if unintentionally. Boris johnson stood full square behind as he continues to do in this letter and also written ministerial statement today. The head of the enquiry resigned last week after the report was published. To tell you what is in the letter thats come from the Prime Minister and also the cabinet secretary, simon cayce. They set out the paramount importance of relationships of mutual trust and respect between politicians and their officials. They say im clear there is a particular duty on ministers and secretaries to create jointly across government in a culture which professional, respectful, focused and ambitious for change. And for which there is no place for billing. The Prime Ministers reiterated he has full confidence in the home
secretary, priti patel, considers the matter closed. In a written ministerial statement he has said that whilst the independent adviser sir alex allan had concluded that she had not consistently meant the high standards expected of her under the ministerial code, its a judgment, the Prime Minister because myjudgment that judgment, the Prime Minister because my judgment that the ministerial code was not peach. He said im reassured that the home secretary is sorry for inadvertently upsetting those with whom she was working and also reassured that relationships, practices and culture in the home office are much improved. As the arbiter of the code, having considered sir alexs advice on weighing up all the factors, my judgment is that the ministerial code was not breached. Later today, the Prime Minister will explain in detail englands return to the three tier system when lockdown ends on 2nd of december. Gyms and nonessential shops in all areas are expected to be allowed to reopen. Under the new plans,
last orders in pubs and restaurants allowed to open will remain at 10 oclock, but customers will have an extra hour to drink up. However, it has been reported that pubs in tier 3 will only be open for takeaway while those in tier 2 must serve substantial meals, even to outdoor customers. The Prime Minister is making that statement at three 30. We will have full coverage of it. Swale Borough Council in kent has called an emergency meeting after latest figures show the area has the highest Coronavirus Infection rate in england with 631. 7 cases per 100,000 people. Reasons for the sudden spike in positive cases include outbreaks in the prison population, local levels of depreviation and the high number of people unable to work from home. The leader of Swale Council said the recent rise in cases was a significant cause for concern. The government says it will introduce mass testing, for all areas in tier 3 when the tier system returns after the lockdown in england. Borisjohnson says Rapid Testing with military support, as used in liverpool, will form part of the stricter system. Testing will also be rolled out for care home visitors across england from next month with every care home resident able to have two visitors tested twice a week. It means people who live in care homes will be able to hug relatives by the end of the year, the government has said. Dr mike gill was on the uks National Screening committe for seven years and is the former regional director of Public Health for the south east of england. Thank you forjoining us. What do you think about the roll out of Rapid Testing . Are those tests actually efficient and effective enough . It might be marvellous. It may be even better if we knew. Which makes it critically important and welcome, i think, that there is and welcome, i think, that there is a pilot in liverpool of contact. The problem with testing contacts, andi the problem with testing contacts, and i think testing contacts every day for seven days, on each day allowing them out to go and do the business, as one of several problems. The first is we dont actually know a lot about the viral road of those who are infected and come into contact with. We dont know if that is going to be enough. To be protected by the
test. Sorry to interrupt, and to stay with us. I need to say goodbye to viewers watching on bbc two. Back with you. Sorry to interrupt. to viewers watching on bbc two. Back with you. Sorry to interrupt. I was saying about how many cases. This test will actually pick up. Quite a few. And repeat testing is not going to help, because at no stage in the contact flight path will these individuals actually have a viral load high enough to be protected by the test. The second problem is, with a prickle test, it seems to make an awful lot of difference whos doing it. Normally speaking, when you repeat tests, you do it
because you are trying to eliminate any varieties involved in the testing process, but here you have the same person, the individual contact self spotting, self testing every day. So any bias inherent in that process wont actually be eliminated at all. Ijust want that process wont actually be eliminated at all. I just want to ask you, how does the virus actually develop any person . This thing of subsequent testing, testing on subsequent testing, testing on subsequent days might imply that you haveit subsequent days might imply that you have it but it doesnt show up on tess . Is that so . I would sort of imagine if you have got to it would show up from the moment, even if it doesnt make you sick immediately . No, there is varying viral load times. Initially we thought it was a long time, but it looks as if it could come in many cases, the self
isolation from 10 14 days. The point is, the core piece of viral load is about five days after you have been in contact with somebody. Whilst repeat testing may increase your chances of doing the test on that day five, if at no stage does you have co nta ct day five, if at no stage does you have contact have got viral load sign up, picked up, this test is going to miss an awful lot. And that is why it is really important. It looks at this very specific issue. Thank you forjoining us. Scotland first minister Nicola Sturgeon will hold a coronavirus briefing. Lets listen in. I would remind you at registration offices do tend to be closed at the weekend, so figure we report four deaths on sundays and mondays can be artificially low. In total, since
last fridays media briefing, 44 deaths have been registered, and that means the total number of deaths under the daily measurement is now 3503. Of course, that reminds us, asa is now 3503. Of course, that reminds us, as a speaker does everyday come of the grief and heartbreak that this virus has caused. As the figure does every day. My thoughts and condolences continue to be with them. I have three issues i want to on the on the day before the chief medical officer and i take questions from the media. Firstly, you may have seen some Media Coverage over the weekend, which has prompted some of you to e mail. About the policy of you to e mail. About the policy of testing people when they are being discharged from hospital to ca re being discharged from hospital to care homes. In light of that coverage, i want to provide some reassurance on our policy. Because i know this is an issue that can cause concern. In particular, iwant know this is an issue that can cause concern. In particular, i want to emphasise that the policy is that anyone who has had covid should have
two negative tests before being discharged from hospital to a care home. Anyone who has been in hospitalfor home. Anyone who has been in hospital for reasons other than my country still have one negative test recorded before they are discharged any reason other than covid. That is the policy and it has not changed since we introduced earlier in the pandemic. Sometimes there can be exceptional circumstances. Based on the clinical interests of a patient, that means Something Different will happen. Again, this has not changed, but i want to stress the day that that would only be in exceptional circumstances and give some explanation of what might be. For example, a Clinical Care team who is looking after a patient in hospital. For many older people, home is a ca re for many older people, home is a care home. The Clinical Team in judging that may also judge that the patient, because of their overall condition, is unable to consent to a test or that a test might cause them harm or distress, given the circumstances that they are in. It is worth remembering that the covid test many of you watching may now have the experience of is quite an invasive test. It is only in these exceptional circumstances, driven by the clinical interests of an individual patient, that someone could be moved to a care home without a test being done. It is important, also, to stress that that would only happen in consultation with the patient if that was possible and with the patients family and a care home. It would follow a thorough risk assessment, with appropriate mitigating actions and support being in place. And a 14 day period of isolation would be
applied to that patient. Such a decision, and i think this is the key point i want to make today, would be clinically led and driven by the clinical interests of the patient. It would be wrong, and i hope you can understand this, for any politician to seek to interfere with clinical decisions of this nature. The point that it is important for me to stress is that what ive just outlined to you there are exceptional circumstances driven by clinical decisions. They dont change, the overall policy we have in place. That policy is clear. It is one we expect to be followed. Ca re is one we expect to be followed. Care home residents in hospitalfor covid and being discharged to care homes should be tested before being moved. All of that provide some reassurance and exploration to people and especially to people who do have loved ones in a care home right now. The second thing i want to do today is briefly look ahead to
the rest of this week. There are two significant statements about covid that will happen in parliament this week. Wednesday the health will set out plans for the further expansion of testing the Health Secretary. Tomorrow i will make my weekly statement for parliament, setting out any changes to the level is a pleasure different local Authority Areas. We made significant changes to the levels last week, including moving the 11 Council Areas to level fourfor moving the 11 Council Areas to level four for three weeks and that change the effect on friday. And tomorrow plus my statement, i do not expect much, if any change to be announced. In particular, im not expecting any local Authority Areas to move up a level. Indeed, iwould local Authority Areas to move up a level. Indeed, i would anticipate the overwhelming majority of local Authority Levels will remain in their current level. You will recall, last week we educated east lothian and midlothian, if there is no deterioration in their positions, would from tomorrow moved down from level three to level two. I can confirm this will go ahead for east
lothian, however the National Incident Management Team has expressed some concern this morning about a rise in cases in test positivity over the past few days in midlothian, so we will be considering this further this afternoon and we will confirm the position in relation to midlothian later. It may be midlothian will remain at liberty for a bit longer until the situation stabilises and while, if that is the decision, and will be disappointing will remain at level three. It would be disappointing to move down a level almost at the minute back up again any weeks time. What we are seeking to do with a level system is get as much stability as possible for people and businesses. Even though there is likely to be limited change tomorrow, that is on course mean a significant proportion of the publishing will continue to live with level three or level four restrictions for now. I would remain businesses who are affected to go and find go to define business
scotla nd and find go to define business scotland website. To everyone in the 11 Council Areas. In the first few weeks, i want to thank you for following the rules over this weekend. The anecdotal evidence is that people they comply with the rails. I know that level four restrictions are hard for individuals and businesses, but we do believe they are necessary and will have an impact people abide by them. The a level system is, we think, already helping us in most parts of the country the level system. Although we can see some volatility. In some parts of the country it is helping us to reduce the number of covid cases. The additional protection that came into force on friday many areas well, we hope, bring cases down further and faster. And help to ease pressure on the nhs into january and to save
lives. Reducing the prevalence of the virus is also what will allow us to consider a slight and careful, andi to consider a slight and careful, and i want to stress to date those words slight and careful, easing is at the rules for a few days easing of the rules for a few days over the christmas period. We had discussions on saturday with the fellow uk governments, we are making progress towards a common position across the uk and we think thats important because of family patterns. It is important for me to be clear that the details of this approach are still to be finalised. We hope we will be in a position to confirm our conclusions later in the week. I know there is a lot of understandable speculation about what may be allowed, but i would urge everyone to wait until we have reached a final conclusion. Im going to be pretty frank with you here in saying that this is in a time where every decision seems as
if it is difficult to get the right balance. This is a particularly difficult balance to strike. If my e mail inbox is anything to go by, Public Opinion on this is quite mixed, as you would expect direct it to be. There is an obvious desire to see loved ones at christmas, we all feel that very strongly as you would expect it to be. There is a lot of anxiety about the potential risks associated with that. Particularly at a time when we begin to see the end of the pandemic limb on the horizon. We will try as hard as we can to reach out sensible balance limb on the horizon. It is possible somehow shows may be able to form slightly larger bubbles with each other for a short period over christmas and we are considering this because we recognise that isolation and loneliness can help people particular heart over the christmas period, so for some people, doing the right thing at christmas will
mean taking the time to care for and be with loved ones who may otherwise be with loved ones who may otherwise be on their own. That said, we cant ignore the any relaxation of the restrictions carries additional risk. Im afraid the virus wont ta ke risk. Im afraid the virus wont take christmas off, so if you provide it with opportunities to spread from household to household, it is likely to take those. That would be a worry at any time, but perhaps more so when we could be within weeks of being able to vaccinate a significant proportion of the population. It is for these reasons we need to be sensible and careful. It is also why when we do set out the rules that will apply over the festive period, we also, in the Scottish Government, intend to set out the precautions we are advising people to take. We will remain families that just advising people to take. We will remain families thatjust because you might be able to mix a bit more indoors over christmas any limited way, that doesnt mean you have to do that if we dont think it is necessary or you can get through christmas without it. We will ask people to think very carefully about if you really need to travel and
visit indoors, or if there might be other ways, per example to technology or meeting people outside, in which you can ensure your loved ones are well without taking rest. It may be worth eve ryo ne taking rest. It may be worth everyone asking themselves now, do we need to visit family and friends of christmas . Because if we feel we dont have to, then delaying in was until the spring, especially if that this involves travel, may be the better option i may be more space for those who really do need to care for those who really do need to care for a vulnerable elderly relative, for a vulnerable elderly relative, for example, to do so. I know this sounds very complicated and it is very complicated. I could try to offer simple fire, but that wouldnt be fairto offer simple fire, but that wouldnt be fair to anybody. These are difficult balance is to strike i could try to oversimplify, but that wouldnt be fair. We need to reach the balance and strike it in the most sensible way. The discussion about christmas reinforces one fundamental point. The best way of
making life as safe as it possibly can be right now is to reduce the number of people who are infectious, and that means continuing to abide by all the rules as they stand right now. The existing rules and restrictions are intended to achieve that. I ask you, please, restrictions are intended to achieve that. Iask you, please, to restrictions are intended to achieve that. I ask you, please, to continue to stick with them. If you are in any doubt as to what the rules are in your own local Authority Area, go to the Scottish Government website and use the postcode checker they are to find out. In summary, everybody right now outside of orkney, shetland and the Western Isles should avoid visiting other peoples houses, except for essential purposes. You should avoid travelling outside a local Authority Area if you live in a level three or four area and you shouldnt travel into these areas if you live elsewhere in scotland. That is of course now the law. Meeting outside rennes indoor public places, outdoor public places, the limit is
six people from two households. Rememberfacts, the six people from two households. Remember facts, the key six people from two households. Rememberfacts, the key things six people from two households. Remember facts, the key things that help us to limit and reduce transmission, wear a face covering, avoid a place with crowds, clean your hands and heart services, regularly, selfishly immediately and get tested if you have any of the symptoms and keep distance from other households. It is by keeping these roles that we will reduce the number of people with covid. Self isolate immediately and get tested if you have any of the symptoms. And hopefully we will get more safely to the point on the rise and we can now see of the end of the pandemic thanks to Scientific Development to stop thanks for joining us and for listening for a few minutes. I will now go straight to questions and gregor and i will seek to answer these questions. Can igoto seek to answer these questions. Can i go to Glen Campbell from the bbc. I want to talk a bit about christmas. You used words like careful and slight relaxation being possible at christmas time. Can you give usa possible at christmas time. Can you give us a clue as to the scope of any changes you might be prepared to make. There are reports today that four households might be able to meet for up to five days over christmas. Is that something that is within your consideration . Im not going to operate on the basis of clues. Ive tried to set out the issues we are grappling with today and when we have come to an agreement, we are seeking to do this inafour agreement, we are seeking to do this in a four nations way and when we come to that agreement, i will set out the detail of that there. What youre reading in some respect is right and youre reading in some respect is rightand in youre reading in some respect is right and in other respects, its not quite on the money. So a small number of days and a small number of households. The discussions have not been as high as four, but we are
still considering the detail of that. Each of the Different Countries have slightly different definitions of what we mean by household, in the covid sense, which is one of the things we are trying to work through. In scotland, we have what we call an extended household, where a Single Person can join with another household, or a Single Person living with children under 18 Single Person living with children under18 in Single Person living with children under 18 in england and wales. They have the concept of bubbles, where two households have come together. As well as the overall issues we are grappling with, just trying to make sure, as faras grappling with, just trying to make sure, as far as possible, we work through all of these points of detail. As i say, i hope we will come to a conclusion on this soon and be able to set that out, but i think its important to set out, again, but its important to give a bit of flexibility, given the nature of christmas and the nature of the responsibilities that many of us feel we have towards loved ones and
over christmas and the particularly pernicious effect of loneliness and isolation over the festive period. But that doesnt mean people should feel under pressure to take advantage of any flexibility. Its there for people who really need it. If you dont feel you really need it and can cope over christmas without that, then we would encourage people to do that, so that we are reducing the overall risks in this. You have heard me say this so often over the past eight months about a range of things, though this is one of the most difficult decisions we have faced so far. This is actually, right now, one of the most tricky decisions we are facing. To try to get that balance right. If people that bit of normality over christmas that bit of normality over christmas that so many people want, but to do that so many people want, but to do that in a way that doesnt have us experiencing regret about it in january. If things get worse because of it, so we will try to come to a sensible and safe decision as quickly as possible. Stv . Can ijust
ask you, in relation to christmas, you have spoken many times about how good people generally have been at following the rules, but when you are grappling with what can be allowed at christmas, to what extent isjust simply allowed at christmas, to what extent is just simply resignation that a lot of people willjust do what they wa nt lot of people willjust do what they want anyway . And can i ask chief medical officer, just for some thoughts on the positive news about the oxford vaccine today and what advantage will it give a National Vaccination programme to have a range of different vaccines potentially available . range of different vaccines potentially available . I will hand over to gregor in a second about the vaccine. Your question to me, i dont think i would characterise it as, firstly, i think that you have put yourfinger on as, firstly, i think that you have put your finger on something quite important and very real that is a factor in our thinking. But i wouldnt characterise it as fearing that people will do what they want regardless, because i actually think people are determined to continue to
be responsible and to put safety and health and life first right now. But i suppose what we do recognise is that christmas may give rise to a certain sense on the part of some people, that they mightjust go outside of the street restrictions a little bit in order to avoid a loved one being on their own at christmas, and therefore there may be more pressure on the ability of the majority to abide to the letter of the restrictions and so, i suppose where that takes us is a bit of resignation about reality and sense that, rather than just allow that to develop in an uncontrolled way, that we try to give people a bit of advice to cope with that within, so that we are overall trying to keep things, as far as we can, within some boundaries that avoid the risk of being too great, so there is certainly an element of that in our
thinking, but i dont want to give the impression that i think the population is just the impression that i think the population isjust going the impression that i think the population is just going to throw caution to the wind. Everybody knows how difficult it is been to get through these past eight months and i think the overwhelming majority, i know i feel it, will feel a longing to be with family, particularly over the christmas period. I think most of us realise that if the price of thatis of us realise that if the price of that is more loss of life and a surge of infection injanuary, then perhaps we should continue to be cautious as we hopefully get ourselves through this final phase of the pandemic. And Nicola Sturgeon with the covid briefing in edinburgh talking about what might happen at christmas. There are talks between the four nations to try to agree common plans for christmas. She says they are trying hard to reach a sensible balance on christmas. Theres been progress towards a slight and careful easing of the restrictions. It is thought possible
that the christmas announcement could come tomorrow, but she was indicating there, there is still talks, there are still things that need to be agreed for that four nation approach to go ahead. So we are still waiting to hear the detail of what it might be. Later today the Prime Minister will explain in detail englands return to the three tier system when lockdown ends on 2nd of december. Gyms and non essential shops in all areas are expected to be allowed to reopen. Under the new plans, last orders in pubs and restaurants allowed to open will remain at 10 oclock, but customers will have an extra hour to drink up. However, it has been reported that pubs in tier three will only be open for takeaway while those in tier two must serve substantial meals, even to outdoor customers
Professor Robert west advises the government on behavioural science and the pandemic, and said that increased restrictions after the 2nd of december will still be very important to curb to curb infection rates. Given where we are, its looking like the infection rates will still be pretty high. They will have started to come down a bit but will be pretty substantial. It will be important to have restrictions in place to minimise the amount of contact between people for some time to come andi between people for some time to come and i think we can also bear in mind that anything other than the kind of restrictions we have been seeing could lead to the infection rate rising again. So with that in mind, i think it would be prudent of the government to have restrictions in place of the sort that you were just talking about, but also i think really im porta ntly, talking about, but also i think really importantly, to start giving people really good advice and support to enable them to make their
homes as covid safe as they possibly can be, so that if somebody brings covid back into the household, that they minimise the chance of it spreading to other members of that household. With your hat on the behavioural aspects, what do you think about the news that we have had today about another vaccine looking very positive . We are suddenly getting a lot of good news and its really spreading a sense of optimism. Thats a good thing, but obviously, it carries risk, it carries risk that if things dont pan out, we might all be horribly disappointed, but is it also carry a risk that people mightjust out to ease off too soon . Youre absolutely right. It is good news. The way to view it is that light at the end of the tunnel, rather than the escape route is therefore is right now. It will be quite a long time, several
months at least, before we can roll out the vaccines, assuming that they are as effective as it looks as though they are, to a level that will make a huge difference to the overall infection rates. They are in mind that, going back to march, that the r zero for this virus is somewhere in the region of three. What that means is that if we dont do anything and let everything go, then by the time we come to get that vaccine in place, pretty much eve ryo ne vaccine in place, pretty much everyone in the country he was going to be infected will be infected and there will be a lot of deaths. So we absolutely cant allow our guard to slip on this one and particularly over the holiday season. So, when it comes to the vaccines, there are still challenges. Probably from a behavioural point of view, the most important thing, is making sure that people who will benefit from the vaccine actually use it. What we are seeing is that in this country were
fortu nate, seeing is that in this country were fortunate, there are very few out and out anti faxes, conspiracy theorists, you tend to get more in theorists, you tend to get more in the united states. But there are people with a genuine concern about the vaccine in terms of possible side effects and benefits and so on, so there is a big job to do for the government and people like myself to put the facts out there and to make sure that people can understand the pros and cons, because it is extremely likely that really, the vaccines will be safe and effective and people should use them will stop more now on the Coronavirus Vaccine developed by Oxford University, which stops 70 of people developing covid symptoms and, in certain doses, as much as 90 . The head of the oxford vaccine Andrew Pollard gave his reaction to the studys findings to our medical editor fergus walsh. Its a very exciting moment because
we have seen now, finally, that the vaccine does actually work. It can prevent coronavirus disease, it is a high efficacy vaccine with a headline figure of 70 . Then we have this intriguing result underneath that, which suggest that with one of the dosing regimens, we could get as much as 90 protection. Also, whatever we do, whichever of these regimens we use, we have not seen any body he was vaccinated and admitted to hospital or getting severe disease. For me, this is a really exciting moment that all of the efforts of this year, we have managed to get to a point when we have a vaccine that could have a big impact in the pandemic. In terms of that effectiveness, at least 70 , just when you are developing this vaccine, just how much did you think you might get something that effective and how good is that . Or as we have been developing a vaccine, i think across all of this,
with these types of viruses something that had 60 80 protection would be fantastic. So having a figure like this is great news, it means we have a vaccine that will have an impact on the disease. In terms of your vaccine, as opposed to some of the others being marketed, just what sort of edge does yours have in terms of helping, not just the edge does yours have in terms of helping, notjust the uk, but the world . Helping, notjust the uk, but the world . We need all the vaccines. We are not going to be in competition with other vaccines. There is not enough supply to make sure that everyone is protected as early as possible next year. I think the one thing that were particularly pleased about with ours is that partnership weve made with astrazeneca is not for profits, which means that it can be distributed around the world equitably. Secondly, because its stored at fridge temperatures, it can go in the normal cold chain, the supply chain for vaccines around the
world. So for us, this is about getting it to everyone who needs it and wherever they are. Is there any. Some people say, moderna and pfizer, they are 95 , this is 70 , so there is a bit of disappointment there, is that wrong . so there is a bit of disappointment there, is that wrong . I dont feel disappointed. We have multiple high efficacy vaccines. What we need is to have people vaccinated and once we have done that, we will start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. What do you think the impact could be if we do start may be doing a little bit of immunisation next month, but a lot early in spring. When do you think this might have an impact on the way we live our lives . The impact is going to happen when people are vaccinated. So it is actually over to the public once we have a licensed product. And so i think the timing of when all that happens is a huge logistical effort for the nhs, but happens is a huge logistical effort forthe nhs, but if happens is a huge logistical effort for the nhs, but if we do get all the Vulnerable People in the
population vaccinated, there is a glimmerof population vaccinated, there is a glimmer of hope that by the second half of next year, we may very well be back to normal. No more facemasks or social distancing . It so dependent on what the uptake is like, how many people are protected and whether we can stop the virus in its tracks. But you can now see, potentially, a future beyond the pandemic . I am optimistic that we can see the pandemic coming to an end toward the end of next year. Of course, there are a lot of people around the world. This is about protecting humanity, its notjust about the uk. Its about global distribution. And that will take the whole year. That was professor Andrew Pollard. Let me just tell you that professor adrian hill who is director of thejenner that professor adrian hill who is director of the Jenner Institute and is part of the team working on that vaccine that is being developed by Oxford University and astrazeneca has been speaking to reuters. He
said that the trial results lee britton on track to start the roll out in december. He said all uk adults could have a vaccine by the springtime and that we will likely be close to a target of 3 billion doses next year globally. So the uk has already bought 100 million doses of the Oxford University vaccine. Around 4 million are already available, the rest will be delivered next year and that target of3 delivered next year and that target of 3 billion doses next year globally is a significant one because part of the strength of the Oxford University vaccine is that its cheap, £3 per dose compared with £25 per dose with the Moderna Vaccine and i think about £15 per dose for the Pfizer Vaccine, so its cheap which means that lots of countries have ordered a vaccine and also, it doesnt need a really cold levels of storage that the other vaccines require. So they are hoping
to produce a huge number and that news that it could start to be rolled out in december, obviously, thatis rolled out in december, obviously, that is what everyone is hoping for but there are still hurdles to go over before that actually happens. No doubt, you have questions to ask about it. You can send them through to us, we have your questions a nswered to us, we have your questions answered coming up. Dr maheshi ramasamy, an investigator at the oxford vaccine group, will be with us. Do send your questions using the hashtag bbcyourquestions or email them using yourquestions bbc. Co. Uk. The Health Social Services Secretary for wales, vaughan gething, has been giving an update on the welsh governments progress tackling coronavirus. Here is what he said. One of the most difficult issues we all have to deal with, but particularly families and loved ones, have been the restrictions on visits to care homes. Today, we are
announcing to schemes that could help to reunite families, many of whom will not have seen each other for months. We are working with 15 ca re for months. We are working with 15 care homes for months. We are working with 15 ca re homes across for months. We are working with 15 care homes across wales, which i hope will take part in the uk wide pilot, to test visitors using the new lateral flow devices. These tests give a result in about 20 minutes and they have the same devices we are using in the merthyr tydffl devices we are using in the Merthyr Tydfil mass testing programme. These will give care home manager is confidence and reassurance that visits can go ahead without coronavirus being brought into the ca re coronavirus being brought into the care home. These tests do not replace all other measures, such as infection control, social distancing and hand hygiene, which is so important in preventing the spread of coronavirus, especially in care homes. The pilot will start next monday and if successful, it will pave the way for a wider roll out to more care homes on the 14th of december. The second part of our plan focuses on providing care homes
with more space to enable visiting to ta ke with more space to enable visiting to take place. Many homes like the room for visits, we are therefore providing £3 million to install temporary pods at 100 care homes. 30 will be ready to use before christmas and the funding includes £1 million support homes which prefer £1 million support homes which p refer to £1 million support homes which prefer to make their own arrangements on a similar basis. We all know how difficult this year has been for People Living in care homes and their loved ones. We are working ha rd to and their loved ones. We are working hard to find a way to safely reunite families. I want to place on record my continuing thanks to staff who work in the sector. For everything they have done over the course of this year. And to local authorities and the independent providers, we are working so closely with them. Thank you, i will now take questions from journalists and as usual, all a nswe rs from journalists and as usual, all answers will be broadcast live on our social media channel. The first question from today comes from
felicity evans from bbc wales. know that talks between the government of the four home nations will continue over the arrangements for christmas. Nevertheless, some details of whats been discussed do seem to have emerged, including that there is talk of being more generous in terms of household mixing thats allowed for a period of between three and five days. Can you confirm that that is on the agenda and, if so, what is the welsh governments position . We are discussing the potential for a limited position . We are discussing the potentialfor a limited period of time to have some relaxation in the current measures in place. We are also discussing what we hope can be also discussing what we hope can be a common arrangement for travel across the uk, its a big period for people to travel. We are talking about what household mixing might look like, i have seen some of the suggestions kite flying in some reports. We havent agreed any
numbers around that. But i think just as important, if not more so, is that we are considering here in wales whether we can have a more common approach to measures in advance of christmas, because ive eyes just outlined, in some parts of wales, we are seeing a rise in some parts of wales and an increase in under 25, so we need to look at how we get to the Festive Season and look at potentially how we think about the measures that scotland have introduced as well as england, where they have a tiered system, that largely compliments each other. So we will be thinking over the next week about whether we do need to have a common approach, as far as possible, in terms of how we ask people to go about living their lives and that may mean that there will be some changes. We will think about that as england come to the end of their four week lockdown and try to give us all the headroom we wa nt to try to give us all the headroom we want to have the sort of christmas we wa nt want to have the sort of christmas we want to add together, but to do so in we want to add together, but to do soina we want to add together, but to do so in a way that keeps as many are
safe as possible. Vaughan getting there talking about the approach in wales and raising the prospect of what might happen at christmas. Nicola sturgeon was also talking about what might happen at christmas and she was being very measured in what she was saying, say the virus will not take christmas off. There is progress towards a slight and careful easing of restrictions, they are trying hard to reach a sensible balance on christmas. Basically, there is hope that there will be a four nation agreement on what happens at christmas and i will be speculation that it may mean potentially for families being able to bubble together, but it doesnt sound like it has been all agreed and the talks are going on. There was some talk that it might be announced tomorrow but it seemed, hearing what Nicola Sturgeon said earlier, that they seem to be a little way off coming up with an agreement as to what might happen at christmas, so its still very much a wait and see. Travel restrictions between australias two biggest states have been lifted. The border between New South Wales and victoria closed injuly because of an outbreak of covid 19 around melbourne. It was the first such Border Closure since 1919, when australia was battling the spanish flu. Our australia correspondent Shaimaa Khalil reports. This is the flight theyve been waiting months to board and, for antonia curic, this moment could not have come fast enough. Today is the day i get to meet my four month old grandson for the first time. How does that feel . My hearts jumping out of my chest. Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. Before the pandemic, melbourne to sydney was one of the busiest air routes in the world. Now, with the borders open, victorians can visit once again. Ive missed my friends, ive missed my home. Were flying to see my husband who we havent seen for four months. We are so excited, we are so excited. After one of the Worlds Toughest lockdowns, its another big moment for a victoria. Busy streets were unimaginable in melbourne even just a few weeks ago. This was the epicentre of australias second covid 19 wave. But for more than three weeks now, there have been no new cases recorded in the whole of victoria and, around the world, people are asking how they did it here. Masks became mandatory in the whole of the state. Melbournes five million residents were put under a night curfew as part of the stringent lockdown. A so called ring of steel patrolled by the army and police separated melbourne from the rest of victoria. And other states closed their borders to victoria, effectively sealing it off. Health experts say this was the only way to get the virus under control. A lesson to the rest of the world. To go hard and to go fast, thats the real message here. If you dont get started early enough and do it in a co ordinated way, with really clear communication, because youve got to have the community on side, then i think you wind up with rolling lockdowns that dont really have
the effect you want, but start to undermine Community Buy in. But this success has come at a huge cost. The state has lost 70 million a day during lockdown. Tens of thousands ofjobs disappeared and demand for Mental Health services soared. There were days where we just didnt want to get off the couch. Ijust wanted to stay home and cry. Since reopening her cafe, melissa says it feels like shes starting from scratch. Weve lost a lot of our regular customers, our corporate customers in the area. A lot of the residents moved. So were literally rebuilding from the start. So the weekends were fortunate theres definitely an appetite for people to go out. But, during the week, its a different story. Covid 19 may have been crushed here, but so too has the economy. It will take months, if not years, for one of the worlds most liveable cities to fully come back to life again. Shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. For the first time, the team behind the Oxford English dictionary has come up with a list of words of the year, rather than just a single word or phrase. Many of them are linked to the pandemic, including superspreader, staycation and furlough. The research by oxford languages shows that by april this Year Coronavirus had become one of the most frequently used nouns in the english language. Our media editor amol rajan has more. We need people to start working from home where they possibly can. And announcing an effective lockdown. But are furloughed and kept on payroll. Supplies of facemasks for key Health Workers could be put at risk. Adults who are living alone will be able to mix in their support bubble. Language evolves, but, this year, its grown and changed faster than ever. Thats why, for the first time, oxford languages are publishing words of the year plural rather than a single word of the year. The main driver of change is the pandemic, of course. Words like furlough, staycation and coronavirus are all among the words of the year. Usage of the words remote and remotely are both up by more than 300 since march. And covid is a new word for 2020. The other big reason is that this is the too much information age. I know nothing about qanon. With social media spouting words every second of every day, particular words spread and gain currency faster than ever. Though, intriguingly, usage of the word brexit is down by 80 . I think the words, really, that have had the most impact have to probably be, for everybody, the covid type words, as we are calling them. So either things to do with the pandemic itself and the disease and treatment, or also the ways that we have had to adapt to life. And fascinating for me, certainly, is that these words have gone almost. We probably didnt think we ever used these words before and, suddenly, almost every conversation
we are having is peppered with these words. Never before in Human History has so much language been around us. But 2020 always had the feeling of a landmark year. And the words weve used provide evidence aplenty. Amol rajan, bbc news. Now its time for a look at the weather with matt taylor. Hello, frosty morning we experience today will be back later in the week but for the next few days, things turning milder. Temperature is widely down into single figures based in england but by dawn, double figures as temperatures rise through the night rather than fall. Its all due to weather fronts that are out to the north and west of the country, bringing in south westerly winds ahead of them, but plenty of rain to any afternoon and into the evening across western scotland, minor flooding here, turning wetter as well in Northern Ireland. The
strongest of the breed to be found in the north and west. Dry conditions to the south and east and many will stay dry through the night, with increasing amounts of cloud, notice how it is still raining into the morning in lots of places. Confirmation that it will be milder tomorrow morning compared to today, many places in double digits as we start the day. Big picture for tuesday, weather fronts affecting parts western scotland begin with, same areas all day long. Again, increasing risk of minor flooding here. Rain heavier and longer lasting in Northern Ireland through tomorrow, some rain affecting north west england and parts of scotland. Much of england and wales will be dry, varying amounts of cloud, best of which across east anglia and the south east in the afternoon. A breezy day for most of you, although the wind easing down in the north west of scotland later. Temperatures into tomorrow, sticking in double figures throughout the day, climbing into the low teens for one of two of you. Eventually, the cold front that
is bringing the rain across scotland and Northern Ireland will be able to move southwards and eastwards as we go into wednesday and to the end of the week, opening the door to the return of much colder air uk wide and frost and fog as well. Wednesday, almost a transition day, the weather front will be lingering across parts of east anglia and the south east, the heavier bursts, away from that, north and west, sunshine, wednesday, temperature drops, single figures, west to scotland Northern Ireland dry thursday friday, increasing chance overnight frost, fog, could linger by day, big change around where we start with milder airand of course around where we start with milder air and of course rain to the north and west. Oxford University Announces that its Covid Vaccine works. Boris johnson says its fantastic news. Overall, the vaccine is 70 effective, and in some dosages 90 . Its also cheaper and easier to store than those already announced. It really looks as if theres a vaccine which has the potential to protect against the disease. And importantly, in anyone who had the vaccine, there were no admissions to hospital, no severe disease. Well be getting reaction from our medical editor. Also this lunchtime with one more week of lockdown in england, borisjohnson prepares to tell us whats coming next. Daily coronavirus tests will be offered to close contacts of people who have tested positive in england to reduce the current 14 day quarantine. We report from melbourne, the australian city which accounted for 90 of the countrys covid deaths,
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