Getty Images / WIRED
As a GP at a practice serving 60,000 patients in York, Abbie Brooks spent most of early December preparing for the imminent rollout of the newly approved Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine. But while appointments were booked, and staff were briefed, doses of the vaccine were nowhere to be seen.
âWe were advised we were going to get a delivery, and then [at the] last minute, the vaccines didnât arrive so we had to cancel patients which was obviously upsetting for patients and staff,â she says. âWhen we were able to get going, the deliveries werenât the numbers we were expecting.â While Brooks says that deliveries have been more consistent so far in 2021, GPs across the UK have reported that their expected vaccine deliveries are being delayed as manufacturers race to deliver as many doses as possible.
Pandemic progress in Kenya
By the end of July 2020, Kenya had reported only 341 deaths and ∼20,000 cases of COVID-19. This is in marked contrast to the tens of thousands of deaths reported in many higher-income countries. The true extent of COVID-19 in the community was unknown and likely to be higher than reports indicated. Uyoga
et al. found an overall seroprevalence among blood donors of 4.3%, peaking in 35- to 44-year-old individuals (see the Perspective by Maeda and Nkengasong). The low mortality can be partly explained by the steep demographics in Kenya, where less than 4% of the population is 65 or older. These circumstances combine to result in Kenyan hospitals not currently being overwhelmed by patients with respiratory distress. However, the imposition of a strict lockdown in this country has shifted the disease burden to maternal and child deaths as a result of disruption to essential medical services.
7 January 2021
Lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra) have been found to be safer than other antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy. The MHRA advises patients not to stop taking their current medicines without first discussing it with a healthcare professional.
The review by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency examined safety data for risks of major birth defects or abnormalities and concerns with the child’s development including learning and thinking abilities for other key antiepileptic drugs. It found that a number of these epilepsy medicines may be associated with some increased risks in pregnancy.
Valproate (Epilim) is already known to be seriously harmful if taken in pregnancy and should only be prescribed to a woman if a pregnancy prevention plan is in place. Importantly, two antiepileptic medicines in particular, lamotrigine (Lamictal) and levetiracetam (Keppra), have both been found to be safer than other antiepileptic drugs in pregnancy. The M