Britain’s NHS said on Sunday it would begin vaccinating patients against coronavirus at dozens of hospital hubs from Tuesday at the start of the biggest immunisation programme in history. People aged 80 and over as well as care home workers will be first to receive the jab, along with high-risk NHS workers.
Several million fewer Britons will receive the world’s first approved vaccine against Covid-19 this year than the government had hoped, due to manufacturing delays in October. The UK government admitted that the bulk of the 40m BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine doses it had ordered would not be rolled out until 2021.
Spanish, German, Japanese and American forces variously colonised, occupied and administered the islands of Palau before they gained independence in 1994. Today, isolation is Palau’s very selling point and this pristine and precious realm is now guarded carefully by its 22,000 inhabitants.
British Christmas dinners are under threat from a shortage of luxury turkeys, as the pandemic forces millions of would-be holidaymakers to stay at home this festive season. Producers said holiday money saved by wealthier households was being used to plan luxurious Christmas lunches.
Ford is pushing back the delivery date for two of its Bronco models because of coronavirus-related problems at its suppliers. Customers will have to wait until the summer of 2021 to purchase the two- and four-door models, instead of this spring. About 190,000 people have made reservations to buy the vehicles.
UK housebuilder Berkeley has called on the government to make a cut in the tax on property transactions permanent, warning that the pandemic and Brexit still risked inflicting damage on a housing market that has so far emerged relatively unscathed from a year of economic turmoil.
Russia’s most notorious cyber security company, Kaspersky, is trying to diversify into anti-drone technology and online voting products. Founder Eugene Kaspersky said he has no “hard data” to confirm allegations that Russian-backed hackers sought to infiltrate medical research bodies to steal data on Covid-19 vaccines.
When West Ham United hosted Manchester United at the London Stadium on Saturday evening, it was the first Premier League match to be played in front of paying spectators since March. The league’s 20 member clubs have lost well over £1bn in revenues because of games being played “behind closed doors” since June.