News

PHE update – 17.00hrs 18.03.21 – Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

22nd March 2021

As of Thursday 18 March 2021, 4,274,579 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UK (pillar 1 and 2) and there have been 125,831 deaths. Further information on the data is available here: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

Announcements

PM Boris Johnson: The Oxford vaccine shows why we and the world need Britain to be global Prime Minister Boris Johnson writes in the Times about the Integrated Review.
UK regulator confirms that people should continue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca Following suspensions by some countries of the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca over suspected blood clots, the MHRA confirms that the benefits of the vaccine in preventing COVID-19 far outweigh the risks. People should still go and get their COVID-19 vaccine when asked to do so.
Shielding advice for the clinically extremely vulnerable to stop from April More than 3.79 million clinically extremely vulnerable people in England will be informed they are no longer advised to shield from Thursday 1 April 2021.
More than 25 million people in the UK have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Significant milestone reached as almost half of all UK adults in the UK get the vaccine.
PHE study shows three-quarters of over 70s have COVID-19 antibodies New findings from Public Health England have shown that an estimated 75.8% of 70 to 84 year old blood donors had antibodies against COVID-19 by early March.
Love Island star urges Brits to get their COVID jab Former Love Island star Yewande Biala has joined efforts to increase vaccine take up among young people and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Data updates to Surveillance Reports and Dashboard

COVID-19 variants: genomically confirmed case numbers Genomically confirmed case numbers for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine adverse reactions A weekly report covering adverse reactions to approved COVID-19 vaccines
National flu and COVID-19 surveillance reports National influenza and COVID-19 report, monitoring COVID-19 activity, seasonal flu and other seasonal respiratory illnesses.
Excess mortality in England: weekly reports Weekly excess mortality in England broken down by age, sex, geographical areas, ethnic group, level of deprivation, cause of death and place of death.
Wider impacts of COVID-19 on health monitoring tool National monitoring tool that brings together metrics to assess the wider impacts of coronavirus (COVID-19) on health.
Survey of childcare and early years providers and coronavirus (COVID-19): wave 3 Wave 3 of research with childcare providers in relation to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Travel behaviour, attitudes and social impact of COVID-19 Study into the travel behaviour of people during and following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Haulier coronavirus testing To monitor the number of tests delivered and the positivity rate of the tests.
Transport use during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic To monitor the use of the transport system during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. DfT provides statistics on transport use by mode.

Information, advice and guidance

Day 2 and day 8 testing for international arrivals: minimum standards for providers Sets out the minimum standards that private sector providers must meet for the COVID-19 tests for people arriving in England.
COVID-19: guidance for first responders Advice for first responders (as defined by the Civil Contingencies Act) and others where close contact may be required as part of their normal duties.
COVID-19 surveillance and immunity studies An overview of national surveillance programmes to understand how COVID-19 is present and affecting the wider population.
Containing and managing local coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks Guidance for local authorities and local decision-makers on containing and managing COVID-19 outbreaks at a local level.
Coronavirus COVID-19 serology and viral detection tests: technical validation reports Findings from technical validations and in-service valuations reviewed by the Technical Validation Group.
Surge testing for new coronavirus (COVID-19) variants How ‘surge testing’ and genomic sequencing is being used in locations in England where COVID-19 variants have been identified.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) testing for homecare workers Sets out how homecare agencies in England can order regular tests for their homecare (domiciliary care) staff.
COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable Information for shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable from COVID-19.
COVID-19: letter to clinically extremely vulnerable people Reference-only version of letter from the government to all people on the Shielded Patient List.
PHE monitoring of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination Data on the real-world efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines.
National lockdown: Stay at Home Coronavirus remains a serious threat across the country. Find out what you can and cannot do.
Safety of COVID-19 vaccines when given in pregnancy Guidance for health professionals to share with pregnant women immunised with COVID-19 vaccines.