Todays News Tuesday 26 October 21

According to a new analysis, the benefits of offering children aged 12-17 in England two doses of the COVID-19 vaccination outweigh the risks given the current high number of cases. Children between the ages of 12 and 15 should only be given one dose of the vaccine if they are considered to be at particular risk. He insisted vaccinations would weaken the link between COVID infections and hospital admissions, but warned that the global pandemic was not over.

Researchers estimate that COVID-19 hospital admissions, deaths, and cases of prolonged Covid up to four months could have been prevented if children in this age group had been vaccinated.

These results have implications for reports of an increase in the number of people who test positive for lateral flow tests and receive negative PCR tests. UK government guidelines state that people who test positive for an LF test result should be confirmed by PCR-C-cross-over tests but this is not necessary, suggested Peterson on BBC News. There are concerns that a negative PCR test could give false certainty that people are infectious (see yesterday’s update here).  

At his press conference, President Obama gave a revealing insight into how he sees the threat from Beijing, our White House correspondent writes. Lawmakers and lobbyists are vying in the Office of Industry and Security for influence over how to approach the technological relationship with China. American intelligence agencies are warning of what will happen if US troops leave before an agreement is reached between the Taliban and the Afghan government.  

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