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Covid bombshell: Former CDC director tells CNN that virus DID escape from Wuhan lab

The former leading disease chief in the US at the time of the COVID-19 outbreak has backed the idea that an accidental leak in the Wuhan virus lab is behind the pandemic. In a "groundbreaking" admission, Robert Redfield said that all the evidence points towards the theory the COVID-19 escaped from the controversial Wuhan lab. Speaking to CNN, Dr Redfield explained that the coronavirus was manipulated in a Wuhan laboratory to become more contagious and then accidentally released by a worker a few months before coming to public attention.

CNN's Dr Sanjay Gupta, who carried out the interview, noted that Dr Redfield "sees intelligence reports that the rest of us are not entitled to".

Following the interview, CNN political analyst Josh Rogin described the admission as "groundbreaking significant news".

He said: "It is not just Robert Redfield. There is a growing body of evidence that points to this lab leak theory."

Dr Redfield said he came to the belief because of the speed at which the virus spread.

In his interview with CNN, Mr Redfield said: "If I had to guess, this virus began transmitting in September or October, somewhere in Wuhan. That is my own view.

"I am of the point of view that the most likely cause of this pathogen in Wuhan was from a lab, it escaped. Other people don't believe that.

"That's fine. Science will eventually figure it out.

"I do not believe this somehow came from a bat to a human.

"And at that moment in time, the virus came to the human, became one of the most infectious viruses that we know in humanity for human to human transmission.

He continued: "Most of us in a lab, when trying to grow a virus, we try to help make it grow better, and better, and better, and better, and better, and better so we can do experiments and figure out about it. That's the way I put it together.

"It's not unusual for respiratory pathogens that are being worked on in a laboratory to infect the laboratory worker."

Dr Gupta pointed out in his interview that the Wuhan virus lab is well known for "experimenting extensively with bat coronaviruses".

The World Health Organization, which has been investigating the origins of COVID-19, considers the lab-leak scenario "extremely unlikely".

President Joe Biden declined on Friday to offer his view of the possible origins of the virus, telling reporters: "I have theories, but I'm not a scientist.

"I'm going to wait until the scientific community makes that judgment."

Most scientists back the theory that the virus jumped directly from animals to people - probably from wild animal farms, which the WHO found operating in Wuhan.

Reference: Daily Express: Oli Smith  1 hour ago

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden test positive for COVID-19 – details

  Reference: Hello  10 hrs ago

Nurses will be given MORE than the 1% pay rise after all

Nurses are in line for a bigger pay rise than the widely-criticised one per cent.

Many staff will actually get a 1.7 per cent increase to their wages this year thanks to a deal previously agreed by the Government.

The extra 0.7 per cent – worth another £234 to someone on the average nurse's salary of £33,384 – is the last piece of a three-year pay deal that has already boosted salaries by 12 per cent.

There is frustration among some in Whitehall that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has failed to make it clear nurses will not get a real-terms pay cut, as Labour and unions are claiming.

'No one can understand why the Department of Health presented this as a one per cent pay rise when it's actually 1.7,' a source said. 'We are getting killed for giving nurses a real-terms pay cut, when it isn't even true.'

A Department of Health source confirmed that NHS staff in the 'Agenda for Change' pay group, which includes most nurses, will get a 0.7 per cent rise this year in addition to whatever emerges from the current pay round.

The source denied the department had underplayed the fact, however, saying it was set out in its submission to the NHS Pay Review Body, and had been mentioned by Mr Hancock at a No 10 press conference. The document published last week states: 'We expect the total investment in AfC [Agenda for Change] in 2021/22 to be 1.7 per cent.'

Only a  third of nurses are happy with their pay with one in six considering leaving the profession according to the annual NHS staff survey . 

And almost half said they have faced work-related illness.

Experts described the findings as 'worrying' at a time when the Government needs more nurses. And the public sector union Unison said it showed how 'insulting' the current pay offer was.

The pay structure is being streamlined for staff on bands five to seven – ranging from podiatrists to paramedics and therapists – and will put some staff at the top of the new pay points. This will create 'significant pay increases' of up to 12 per cent for some workers.

A separate group of the best-paid NHS staff in bands eight and nine, such as managers and chief nurses, are also due a final, as yet undecided, uplift from the three-year deal and 'this represents an additional commitment on top of the 0.7 per cent overhang'.

Yesterday Labour made nurses' pay the focus of its local elections campaign. 

Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer said nurses should get at least the 2.1 per cent pay rise that was originally budgeted for by the NHS for this year. And he refused to rule out joining NHS staff on picket lines if they strike over pay.

At the party's local election launch, Sir Keir dodged questions about whether he would back such action. He said: 'Nobody in the NHS wants to go on strike. As I say, my wife works in the NHS. They don't want to go on strike.

'The only thing that is causing this dispute is the Prime Minister and it's what he does that is going to determine this.

'I support them in their entitlement to a fair wage rise after what they've been through.'

Labour will attempt to put more pressure on Boris Johnson over the proposed pay offer today by launching a poster attacking his 'moral failure' on the issue.

In an echo of the current Covid ad campaign, the billboard depicts a nurse and reads: 'Boris Johnson, look her in the eyes and tell her why you're cutting her pay.'

The party also wants the PM to correct the record after he wrongly said Labour had voted against an NHS pay rise.  

European countries suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine over blood clot death fears

A number of European countries have paused their use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University coronavirus vaccine after someone who received it in Denmark died from a blood clot.

Denmark, Iceland and Norway have suspended vaccinations using the AstraZeneca jab entirely while the incident is investigated.

A number of other countries, including Italy, have temporarily stopped using two different batches of the AstraZeneca vaccine, after reports in Italy of a “serious adverse event” linked to one batch, and a death and illness in Austria related to another batch.

However, the European Medicines Agency said there was no evidence of a link between the events and the jabs, stressing that “the vaccine’s benefits currently still outweigh the risks". It urged countries to continue with their vaccination campaigns.

It comes as Brussels warned Europe's supplies of AstraZeneca jabs could fall short in the first quarter of the year.

Thierry Breton, the internal market commissioner, told the Financial Times: "I see efforts - but not best efforts. That's not good enough yet for AstraZeneca to meet its Q1 obligations."

The AstraZeneca jab has had a bumpy ride in Europe following French President Emmanuel Macron’s criticism of its use for older adults. However, countries are scrambling to speed up their roll-outs amid fears the continent could be facing a third wave of infections.

Other countries, including the UK, Sweden, Spain and France, said they had no evidence of any links between the vaccination and blood clots, and would continue with their vaccination campaigns. 

Denmark's health minister Magnus Heunicke said in a statement on Twitter that the country was acting "on the precautionary principle" after the death of the person post-vaccine. It will pause use of the jab for at least two weeks. 

"We cannot yet conclude that there is any connection," he said. "We are taking action early and this will now be thoroughly investigated."

Italy has also suspended its use of a batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine, labelled ABV2856.

There have been media reports of at least one death in a person after they received the jab.

Its medicines regulator AIFA said: "Following the reporting of some serious adverse events... AIFA has decided, as a precaution, to issue a ban on the use of this batch throughout the national territory.” 

However, it stressed there was as yet no established link between the administration of the vaccine and the alleged side-effects.

A number of other countries have paused their use of a different batch of the AstraZeneca vaccines, ABV5300, which has been delivered to 17 EU countries. It has been linked to a death from coagulation disorders and an illness from a pulmonary embolism in Austria.

Austria, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have said they will temporarily suspend using this batch while the events are investigated.

It is not yet clear which batch Denmark was using.  

The European Medicines Agency is investigating the reports, but stressed that the number of "thromboembolic events" - marked by the formation of blood clots - was no higher among vaccinated people than in the general population. It said 30 cases had been reported among the close to 5 million vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine in the European Economic Area.

Dr Phil Bryan, vaccines safety lead at the British regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), said 11 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine had been given in the UK, also with no more reports of blood clots than in the unvaccinated population.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman told reporters: "We’ve been clear that [the AstraZeneca vaccine] is both safe and effective...When people are asked to come forward and take it, they should do so in confidence."

Spain, France, the Netherlands and Sweden, all of which are using the ABV5300 batch of vaccines, also said they would continue with their roll-outs.

Spain's health minister Caroline Darias said they too had not registered any cases of blood clots related to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

France also said it saw "no need" to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board said that there was no evidence of a link, adding: "Thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are not known side effects of the vaccine. When large groups are vaccinated as is now the case, then you can expect such reports."   

An AstraZeneca spokesperson said patient safety was its “highest priority”, adding: "The safety of the vaccine has been extensively studied in Phase III clinical trials and peer-reviewed data confirms the vaccine has been generally well tolerated.”

Professor Stephen Evans from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said pausing the use of the AstraZeneca doses was "super-cautious" and needed to be considered in light of the risks of clots associated with Covid-19 itself.  

He said: “This is a super-cautious approach based on some isolated reports in Europe.  The problem with spontaneous reports of suspected adverse reactions to a vaccine are the enormous difficulty of distinguishing a causal effect from a coincidence.

“This is especially true when we know that Covid-19 disease is very strongly associated with blood clotting and there have been hundreds if not many thousands of deaths caused by blood clotting as a result of Covid-19 disease."

He said it was a "sensible approach" to investigate, but added: "The risk and benefit balance is still very much in favour of the vaccine in my view."