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UK Gives 15m People COVID Vaccines

Published

4 years ago

February 15, 2021

UK Gives 15m People COVID Vaccines

The United Kingdom’s government says it has met a target of offering at least a first coronavirus vaccine shot to the most vulnerable people in England by mid-February, reaching some 15 million people in four priority groups.

The vaccine programme is seen as one of few successes in the government’s handling of a pandemic that has left the country of about 67 million people with a higher death toll and worse economic damage than many others.

After becoming the first in the world to approve a vaccine, the British government set an ambitious February 15 target date to reach 15 million care home residents and staff, front-line health and care workers, all those aged 70 or above and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

“Today we have reached a significant milestone,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a video message posted on social media on Sunday.

“No one is resting on their laurels … We’ve still got a long way to go and there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road, but after all we’ve achieved, I know we can go forward with great confidence.”

Johnson said all the four priority groups had been reached in England but he did not speak for Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and did not say the overall target had been met. In some areas, those in lower priority groups have received jabs.

He will set out further progress on Monday.

The country will now start administering vaccines from Monday to those aged between 65 and 69 and those clinically vulnerable to COVID-19, with almost 1.2 million already invited to book their jabs, the state-run National Health Service (NHS) said. Ministers have also pledged to vaccinate all above-50s by May and all adults by September.

‘Cautious easing’

Infection rates have dropped markedly across the country over recent weeks, as strict lockdown measures have curbed previously spiralling case numbers, hospitalisations and deaths.

The improving situation has prompted calls for stringent lockdown restrictions to be lifted in early March, despite concern about the spread of virus variants that may be more resistant to vaccines.

A new 10-day hotel quarantine regime for British residents returning from 33 virus variant hotspots begins on Monday, despite criticism that the move is too little, too late.

Johnson said on Saturday he is “optimistic” he will be able to set out plans for a “cautious” easing of the stay-at-home rules in England later this month.

He has promised to review all relevant data next week, before setting out the government’s “road map” for the months ahead on February 22. But he is facing pressure from some of the government’s own lawmakers.

Lockdown-sceptic Conservatives have called on Johnson to commit to a timetable for completely ending the controls by May.

In a letter to the British premier, the leaders of the COVID Recovery Group of Conservative MPs said the “tremendous pace” of the vaccination roll-out allowed for the move.

“The vaccine gives us immunity from Covid, but it must also give us permanent immunity from Covid-related lockdowns and restrictions,” they wrote.

“All restrictions remaining after March 8 should be proportionate to the ever-increasing number of people we have protected.”

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Daughter of NNPCL CEO, Mele Kyari, Dies

Published

3 days ago

October 12, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), has lost his 25-year-old daughter.

As at the time Investors King was filing this report, details of her death were sketchy.

The deceased, identified as Fatima Kyari passed away on Friday.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima has condoled with the CEO over the tragic incident.

Shettima, who prayed for the peaceful repose of the deceased, asked God to grant the family members the strength to bear the painful exit of their daughter, who was in her prime.

The Vice-President led other mourners at the funeral prayer, held at the Annur Mosque in Abuja.

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Brazil Shuts Down Over 2,000 Betting Sites, Bans Minors

Published

3 days ago

October 12, 2024

Ugwoke Ogbodo

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Brazilian authorities have started shutting down more than 2,000 betting sites, including those that sponsor popular football team Corinthians and other first-division clubs, as part of a push to regulate online gambling.

The country has also banned minors from participating in betting in its new rules meant to sanitize the booming sector.

Latin America’s biggest economy is struggling with what Finance Minister Fernando Haddad has called a betting “pandemic,” prompting the government to tighten the screws on the sector.

Since 2018, when Brazil legalised sports betting sites, online gambling has operated in a regulatory free-for-all, subject to virtually no rules or taxes.

Some of the most popular sites take bets on sporting fixtures, but Brazilians have also become hooked on gambling games like Aviator, where players gamble on the flight of a virtual airplane, or the online casino game Fortune Tiger.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government has called time on sites that failed to sign up to new regulations due to take effect in January.

The new rules seek to combat fraud and money laundering and protect users, by for example banning minors from betting.

According to the nation, anyone who is not regularized, or in the process of being regularized, is being taken off the air.

The finance ministry disclosed it had identified 2,040 “suspicious domains” which it had asked the telecoms regulatory agency Anatel to block.

On the blacklist is Esportes da Sorte, which sponsors Corinthians, one of Brazil’s most popular football clubs, as well as Athletico Paranaense, Bahia and Gremio de Porto Alegre.

The ministry said the betting sites would be banned from advertising, “which includes, for example, sponsoring football clubs.”

More than 200 other sites will be allowed to continue to operate after agreeing to the new rules.

Brazil’s central bank estimates that 24 million out of Brazil’s 212 million inhabitants, roughly one in nine people, gamble online.

Lula warned recently that betting was causing many low-income Brazilians to get into debt.

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Swiss Govt Donates €1.2 million in Aid for Flood Victims in Borno

Published

4 days ago

October 11, 2024

Bassey Marshall

The Borno State government has secured a donation of 1.2 million Euros from the Swiss Federation to support victims of the recent floods in the state.

The donation, handed to the Borno State Flood Disaster Relief Fund, was announced by the Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Nicolas Lang, who headed a delegation from the Swiss Embassy on a condolence visit to the government house in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.

Ambassador Lang, who was accompanied by Senior Humanitarian Advisor Nicolas Martin-Achard and Senior Political Advisor Florent Geel, noted that an earlier donation received by the Swiss government was successfully used for its intended purpose which was to aid the Borno Model and help mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region.

He emphasized that the donations indicate Switzerland’s continued support to the Borno State government, particularly residents affected by the crisis.

He said, “The earlier contribution was successfully deployed for its intended purpose, supporting the Borno Model and helping to mitigate the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region.”

“These donations in 2023 and 2024 demonstrate Switzerland’s continued support and solidarity with the Borno State Government and the people of Borno affected by the crises.”

Meanwhile, Governor Babagana Zulum, on behalf of the people of Borno State, thanked the Swiss government for their support describing it as generous, especially in this difficult time.

He thanked the ambassador for his visit and solidarity.

Zulu said, “On behalf of the government and the people of Borno, I extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Swiss government for their generous support during this difficult time. We also appreciate Ambassador Lang and his delegation for their visit and expressions of solidarity.”

He noted that the donation would play a crucial role in bringing the needed relief to the affected victims and pledged that the funds would be transparently and efficiently utilised.