The i newspaper says it can reveal some vaccine news, reporting that ministers are planning to invoke emergency powers to vaccinate the public against Covid-19 even if it is unlicensed. If a vaccine is available before the end of the Brexit transition period, the UK will sidestep EU law to roll it out before it has been approved officially by the EU watchdog. The government says the step would be “very unusual” but would be necessary.
Testing also leads many papers. The Times has spoken to a scientist who has toured the government labs that opened in April and are processing the tests. The scientist says the labs are inefficient – using cumbersome techniques and are running out of staff, as they struggle to cope with demand.
The Daily Mirror leads on the local lockdowns announced in the North East and says more places are braced for similar measures, sparking fears of economic disaster.
But the Daily Express says there is some good news on testing – saying a “highly accurate” 90-minute virus test has been trialled in three NHS hospitals and could make a “huge difference” ahead of the winter. Called CovidNudge, the paper says it has a 94% success rate at correctly testing for positive cases – and 100% success rate for negative cases.
The Daily Star pictures the PM and his adviser Dominic Cummings on its front page, against a backdrop of the setting from children’s TV programme Teletubbies. Responding to suggestions that the government did not see the testing crisis coming, the paper says: “Perhaps they should check their eyesight”. It refers to Mr Cummings, who said he went for a drive during lockdown to test his eyesight after suffering vision problems with coronavirus.
The Guardian reports the latest with the UK’s testing system, as its head Dido Harding admitted that demand was up to four times the level of capacity. The paper’s headline quotes the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson saying that the system in England is “barely functional”. The paper says it’s seen documents showing some contact tracers taking up to to two weeks to contact those who had come into contact with positive cases.
The Daily Mail reports that the NHS faces nearly £1bn in legal fees over lawsuits against maternity wards. The paper says that former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt – who now chairs the Commons health select committee – highlighted the figures. He has written a piece in the paper on the issue, and other figures about avoidable deaths.
Hospitals and councils have been told to find extra beds for coronavirus patients within two weeks, the Daily Telegraph reports – including isolation units for people to recover. The paper also says Health Secretary Matt Hancock is considering launching a national traffic-light system for putting regions into lockdown. And it says it understands that family visits to care homes will be paused in virus hotspots.
