The Times - UK (2022-01-26)

the times | Wednesday January 26 2022 2GM 15

News

Churches should consider having

socially distanced zones in pews and

singing-free services for those who feel

significant anxiety about the lifting of

Covid restrictions, according to gui-

dance for clergy.

The Church of England has told

parishes that although there will no

longer be any legal limit on how many

people can gather indoors for services,

no mandatory requirement to wear

facemasks, no social-distancing obliga-

tions and no restrictions on singing,

individual churches should still do a

risk assessment based on the needs and

vulnerability of their congregation,

with the final decisions made by the

local clergy.

The guidance, issued before Covid

restrictions are lifted tomorrow, notes:

“For many people the relaxation of

restrictions is a source of significant

anxiety... and care should be taken not

to make assumptions about how some-

one else is feeling about the current

News

national cases no longer falling

on Monday, as nightclubs reopened in Scotland and Covid restrictions were lifted by Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister

Clergy given

final say on

restrictions

Kaya Burgess

Religious Affairs Correspondent

situation.” The guidance adds that

churches should consider creating

areas that “allow those who wish to

continue to socially distance to do so”.

It suggests providing “some services

that retain aspects of previous gui-

dance, such as no congregational sing-

ing and full social distancing”, and sug-

gests that churches offer orders of ser-

vice and prayer cards that can be

downloaded on to a device or printed at

home for those who do not wish to

handle shared papers.

Churches could also provide red,

amber and green stickers or “other

visual indicators” for people to “indi-

cate their preferences when it comes to

social contact”. In November, General

Synod members could wear a red

lanyard to indicate that they wished to

observe two-metre social distancing,

amber to allow “light distancing”, and

green to suggest, in the words of one

member, that you are “open for a hug”.

Churches are also encouraged to “con-

tinue with online worship provision”.

The Bishop of London, the Right Rev

Dame Sarah Mullally, said: “I would still

encourage congregations to consider

what mitigation can best protect

others. The loneliness and isolation

many have experienced; the impact on

people’s mental health; the lost jobs and

failed businesses and strained relation-

ships must not be overlooked. People

have made huge sacrifices to protect

one another — not only those they

know and love, but strangers.”

united states

The Biden administration has

officially withdrawn a rule that

would have required workers at

companies with 100 or more staff

to get vaccinated or take regular

coronavirus tests. It would have

affected more than 80 million

workers but was struck down by

the Supreme Court on January 13.

brazil

President Bolsonaro’s political

guru, the conservative ideologue

and vaccine sceptic Olavo de

Carvalho, has died days after

testing positive. Carvalho, 74, died

in hospital in Richmond, Virginia,

his family said.

spain

Police announced that they had

detained seven members of a

suspected international criminal

gang that created and sold forged

Covid passports and negative tests.

tonga

Nearly two dozen sailors on an

Australian ship delivering aid to

Tonga, which was free of Covid,

have tested positive for the virus.

south africa

Investigators have referred for

prosecution and disciplinary action

940 cases of fraud involving

$900 million of Covid funds.

Biden drops

no-jab no-job

requirement

World update

Global cases

354,959,

Global deaths

5,604,

Countries reporting most deaths

Most new cases

US

Brazil

India

Russia

Mexico

Peru

UK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

868,

623,

490,

320,

303,

204,

154,

1 2 3 4 5 6 8

US

Spain

India

Israel

Germany

Belgium

UK

1,010,

305,

255,

212,

136,

133,

94,

Deaths per million population

Rank Now Jan 31, 2021

1,

1,

1,

1,

1,

797

1,

1,

836

949

1,

1,

1,

6,

4,

4,

4,

3,

3,

3,

3,

3,

3,

2,

2,

2,

Peru

Bulgaria

Bosnia & Herz.

Hungary

N. Macedonia

Georgia

Czech Rep

Croatia

Slovakia

Romania

Brazil

US

UK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

17

27

( 16 )

( 13 )

( 7 )

( 14 )

( 10 )

( 40 )

( 5 )

( 17 )

( 37 )

( 31 )

( 24 )

( 11 )

( 4 )

Data supplied by Johns Hopkins University. US data fluctuates because of irregular reporting by different states.

Figures as of 6pm yesterday. Sources: UK government, Our World in Data, selected countries

Health officials in Israel have recom-

mended making a fourth dose of coro-

navirus vaccine available to all adults at

least five months after their third dose.

The health ministry’s expert com-

mittee proposed expanding the booster

campaign after analysing medical data

from 400,000 Israelis over the age of 60

who had already received a fourth jab.

The extra dose was three to five times

more efficient in protecting against

severe illness from Covid-19 and at least

twice as effective in protecting against

infection, according to a large-scale

study by the ministry. It compared the

medical records of Israelis who had

received their fourth dose with the

records of a group of 600,000 people

who had received three doses of the

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and showed

similar results to a study in America.

A separate smaller study carried out

in Sheba Medical Center in central

Israel claims that while the fourth dose

boosts the level of antibodies, it was not

effective in increasing protection

against infection by the Omicron

variant, however. Some experts believe

that it would be better to wait until the

pharmaceutical companies deliver a

vaccine that has been updated for

Omicron.

Various countries are deploying a

fourth dose to selected at-risk groups

because of concerns of waning protec-

tion, although the World Health Orga-

nisation has said that administering

primary and secondary doses — rather

than boosters — should be the priority.

Health experts in Britain said this

month that a fourth jab was not yet

needed, as booster doses continued to

Israel backs fourth

jab for every adult

to triple protection

Anshel Pfeffer Jerusalem provide high protection against severe

disease from Omicron among older

adults. Data from the UK Health

Security Agency showed that protec-

tion against requiring hospital treat-

ment for Covid-19 remained at about

90 per cent for people aged 65 and older

three months after boosting.

Professor Anthony Harnden, the

deputy chairman of the Joint Commit-

tee on Vaccination and Immunisation,

said that it was important to get the

timing right for any potential fourth

dose. “Which may be later in the year...

we just don’t think it’s the right time at

the moment,” he told Toda y on BBC

Radio 4. “What isn’t sustainable in

the long term is a vaccine programme

that delivers a vaccine every three

months.”

Israel was the first country to roll out

third and fourth doses but the commit-

tee’s decision to offer an additional dose

to all adults was not unanimous. A third

of the committee preferred to limit the

fourth dose to the over-40s, or selected

at-risk groups, until further evidence is

available.

The Israeli government has yet to act

on the committee’s recommendation

and it is unclear at this point whether

there will be a campaign to urge all

adults to receive the fourth dose.

Separately, the committee has

recommended the government phase

out Israel’s vaccination passport,

known as the “green pass”, because the

prevalence of Omicron has rendered

it irrelevant.

On Monday, 22 per cent of cases test-

ed in Israel were found to be Omicron

and experts assess that by this stage at

least a quarter of the population has

already been infected with the variant.

JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES