Five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday morning.
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Saturday morning. We’ll have another update for you tomorrow morning.
India’s healthcare system is buckling as a record surge in Covid-19 cases puts pressure on hospital beds and drains oxygen supplies. The country reported more than 340,000 cases of coronavirus on Saturday, setting a world record for a third day running. The BBC’s India correspondent Yogita Limaye visited a hospital in Delhi to see how healthcare workers are coping. And BBC Reality Check considers whether election rallies helped spread the virus.
US health regulators have lifted an 11-day pause on the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Covid-19 jab, but will add a warning label about the potential for extremely rare blood clots. Fifteen vaccine recipients suffered from a dangerous blood clot out of nearly eight million given the jab. Europe’s drug regulator also ended restrictions on the J&J vaccine this week. The UK has ordered 30 million doses of the vaccine, but it is waiting for approval from regulators.
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Researchers are calling for people struggling to regain their sense of smell after falling ill with Covid-19 to undergo “smell training” rather than being treated with steroids. This is a process that involves sniffing different odours over a period of months to retrain the brain to recognise different smells. A loss of smell is one of the main symptoms of a coronavirus infection, along with a fever and a persistent cough. Read more about the symptoms of Covid here.
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Israel has recorded no new daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time in 10 months, as the country pushes ahead with its speedy vaccination drive. The country has the highest vaccination rate in the world and on Thursday it reached the milestone of five million Covid-19 jabs. We take a look at how fast the vaccine rollout is progressing around the world.
Thirteen-year-olds Noah and George have been shielding for a year. They are too young to get called up for a jab because coronavirus vaccines in the UK are unlicensed for the under-16s. The government says it is down to individual doctors to decide who is eligible for an unlicensed jab. See their story below.
Lockdown rules are eased in Wales today. Remind yourself of the rules where you live.
Find more information, advice and guides on our coronavirus page.
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