covid-19
Dutch descend into curfew chaos
Police were ready and supermarkets closed their doors, but on Tuesday evening it was unclear if a controversial curfew in…
Why are so many health workers turning down the vaccine?
On Saturday the government hit its target of administering a first vaccine dose to 15 million of the highest-risk groups…
Tory nerves are growing over Boris Johnson's Covid strategy
When the third lockdown was voted on in the House of Commons last month, there was a smaller Tory rebellion than the previous…
Macron eyes up a new career
How is France dealing with its latest Covid wave? Not particularly well, if you listen to the director of epidemiological research…
Von der Leyen has learnt nothing from the EU's vaccine fiasco
As non-apology apologies go, it was right up there with the best of them. Speaking to MEPs today, the president…
How effective are the Covid vaccines?
Reports have filtered through this morning about Public Health England’s assessment of the efficacy of the two vaccines so far…
Hancock launches his quarantine crackdown
The search for the right balance on border policy continues, as Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced this afternoon a host…
Isolation nation: how Australia is dealing with its pandemic
At 6.20 p.m. on Friday evening, Scarborough Beach, an oceanside suburb of Perth, looked like it always does: families picnicked…
Lockdown has added to the pain of my mum's Covid death
Last week, my mum died. In just a few short minutes, she went from being a living, breathing human, to…
Vaccination is pushing England's population immunity to new heights
England’s population immunity to Coronavirus now stands at almost 39 per cent — a rise of 25 per cent since…
Had the kitchen shop assistant been drugged and handcuffed?
The kitchen tap began dripping as if it knew perfectly well that this would land me in a predicament whereby…
How serious is No. 10 about immunity passports?
How seriously is the government considering immunity passports? It seemed we had a definitive answer in December when vaccines minister…
Von der Leyen gets that sinking feeling
HMS Britain seems to be a nippier beast after her Brexit refit. That is, at least, according to EU Commission…
Can we boost immunity with the vaccines we have now?
What to make of the news this morning that Oxford University is to ask for volunteers to take part in…
Concern grows over South African variant
Although there’s plenty of positive vaccine news to go around, the latest government press conference offered a sobering reminder of…
One year after Brexit, Britain is reaping the benefits of independence
A year ago today Britain awoke to a rather muted celebration – which seemed to consist largely of a bubble…
Could this drug offer immediate protection from Covid-19?
When Donald Trump returned to the White House after a brief spell in hospital with Covid-19 last October he made…
Germany has just undermined the EU's vaccine argument
Germany’s vaccine committee has advised the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine only be given to under-65s. The announcement marks a major twist in a…
Is the virus retreating?
Imperial College’s React study was in the news again this morning. The latest instalment swabbed 167,642 people between 6 and…
How the EU vaccine row could escalate
The EU is now insisting that AstraZeneca use vaccine produced at its UK site to make up for a shortfall in…
The rise of the super pessimist
Covid isn’t the only thing to have developed a dangerous strain in the UK; pessimism has also mutated and is…
Word of the week: Sceptic
Definition: A person who questions the beliefs of others Lord Sumption, is a sceptic. The former Supreme Court judge has…
My unlikely friendship with Sir David Barclay
Gstaad This might surprise a few people, but I was very friendly with our late co-proprietor Sir David Barclay, a…
The difficult vaccine debate we've shied away from
The Prime Minister only has himself to blame for the public outcry over 70-year-olds being vaccinated when there are still…
Is the one shot jab a game changer?
The UK’s decision to lengthen the gap between first and second doses of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines has been…
