Brackley: Thirteen cases of Omicron identified in town

Brackley: Thirteen cases of Omicron identified in town Thirteen cases of the Covid-19 Omicron variant have been found in a Northamptonshire town.

As well as the confirmed instances, "a number of highly probable cases" have been identified in the Brackley area. BBC Northampton

See also: 

• Extra 7 million people able to book Covid jabs as booking system extended Northampton Chronicle and Echo

Northamptonshire health professionals missed danger signs before death of six-month old baby boy, official report finds

Northamptonshire health professionals missed danger signs before death of six-month old baby boy, official report finds An independent review says Northamptonshire health professionals failed to spot danger signs in weeks leading up to the death of a six-month old baby boy in April last year. Northamptonshire Telegraph

See also: 

• Child Az - Child Safeguarding Practice Review Northamptonshire Safeguarding Children Partnership

Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report

Restraint, segregation and seclusion review: progress report This short report comments on the progress following publication of Out of sight – who cares? in October 2020, which looked at the use of restraint, seclusion and segregation in care services for people with a mental health condition, a learning disability or autism. This report highlights the main areas where further work is still needed. Care Quality Commission 

Lockdown on loneliness: creating connection for people with a learning disability

Lockdown on loneliness: creating connection for people with a learning disability According to this report, experiences of loneliness were not limited to Covid lockdown for people with learning disabilities. Over a third (36 per cent) of people with a learning disability surveyed after lockdown said they felt lonely nearly always or all the time, while one in three people (37 per cent) also said that they hardly ever or never go out to socialise – suggesting that their experiences of loneliness were not a consequence of restrictions introduced due to the pandemic. The report highlights unmet support needs as a key driver of loneliness which prevents many people with a learning disability from taking opportunities to socialise. Hft

Assessing the global burden of post-Covid-19 conditions

Assessing the global burden of post-Covid-19 conditions As the number of reported cases of Covid-19 exceeds 250 million globally and deaths exceed 5 million, there is growing awareness and concern about those who suffer long-term conditions that appear to be associated with the virus. These long-term conditions are likely to impose a large burden on the health care system. The objective of the research reflected in this report is to quantify the magnitude of patients with post-Covid-19 conditions based on analysis of medical open claims data and a review of the growing body of literature globally. IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science 

UK marks one year since deploying world's first COVID-19 vaccine

UK marks one year since deploying world's first COVID-19 vaccine The UK administered the first COVID-19 vaccine in the world, outside of clinical trials, one year ago today as the Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid urges people to get their booster jab as soon as they are eligible. Department of Health and Social Care

See also: 

• Statement to Parliament: Oral statement on the COVID-19 pandemic Department of Health and Social Care

Covid: Vaccines should work against Omicron variant, WHO says

Covid: Vaccines should work against Omicron variant, WHO says Existing vaccines should still protect people who contract the Omicron variant from severe Covid cases, a World Health Organization (WHO) official says.

It comes as the first lab tests of the new variant in South Africa suggest it can partially evade the Pfizer jab.

Researchers say there was a "very large drop" in how well the vaccine's antibodies neutralised the new strain. BBC News

See also:

• Covid: Early signs Omicron spreads more easily, says No 10 BBC News
• Covid booster jab booking system opens to over-40s in England BBC News
• Downing Street party: No 10 staff joked about party amid lockdown restrictions BBC News
• Nearly 70 Spanish medics Covid positive after Christmas party BBC News
• UK's Covid cases spike again amid growing Omicron wave The Daily Mail
• Boris insists booster roll-out going FASTER than planned but data shows barely any improvement The Daily Mail
• Wearing a mask is better than social distancing in EVERY scenario, study finds The Daily Mail
• Omicron significantly reduces Covid antibodies generated by Pfizer vaccine, study finds The Daily Telegraph
• UK races to deliver booster jabs before Omicron takes hold The Guardian
• NHS recruits more staff to ‘ramp up’ Covid booster rollout The Guardian
• It’s not too late for the British government to develop an effective Covid strategy | Gabriel Scally The Guardian
• UK could reach 90,000 infections a day by Christmas, experts warn The Independent

Viagra may be useful against Alzheimer's dementia

Viagra may be useful against Alzheimer's dementia The impotence pill Viagra may be a useful treatment against Alzheimer's disease, say US researchers who have been studying its effects in the brain.

Tests in cells suggest the drug targets some of the proteins that accumulate in this type of dementia.

The Cleveland team also analysed a database of 7m patients and found men who were on the drug had a lower risk of Alzheimer's. BBC News

See also: 

• Endophenotype-based in silico network medicine discovery combined with insurance record data mining identifies sildenafil as a candidate drug for Alzheimer’s disease (abstract) Nature Aging

If you love the NHS, the new health and social care bill should set off alarm bells

If you love the NHS, the new health and social care bill should set off alarm bells | Allyson Pollock and Peter Roderick Ten years ago, Andrew Lansley’s health and social care bill to reorganise the NHS in England faced enormous opposition. The current health and care bill, which has its second reading in the House of Lords today, has received far less attention. But it is no less significant. The new bill will continue the dismantling of the NHS, this time by adopting more features from the US health system. For anyone who cares about the NHS, this should set off alarm bells. The Guardian 

Alcohol-related deaths in Britain hit highest EVER level: Experts say lockdowns helped fuel 20% rise

Alcohol-related deaths in Britain hit highest EVER level: Experts say lockdowns helped fuel 20% rise Alcohol-related deaths in the UK have risen to the highest level in nearly two decades, official figures show as experts warn Covid lockdowns fuelled dangerous drinking habits. 

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows alcohol-related deaths across Britain spiked a fifth in a year to nearly 9,000, marking the highest annual increase since records began in 2001. The Daily Mail

See also: 

• Alcohol-specific deaths in the UK: registered in 2020 Office for National Statistics