The UK will start screening Covid-19 patients for antibodies to determine to what extent recovering from the disease can protect a person against future illness.
Up to 8,000 people a day who test positive for Covid-19 will take a blood test to check for the presence of antibodies.
This will check for a previous immune response caused by vaccination or an earlier infection.
The results will show how common it is for people to catch the virus despite being inoculated or previously recovering from the virus.
Four weeks later, they will be screened again to determine whether fighting off the virus has boosted their immunity levels.
Health chiefs say the project will offer useful data on breakthrough infections and how antibodies respond to different Covid-19 variants.
The UK is relying on high levels of protection from vaccination to avoid further restrictions after lifting most curbs on everyday life last month.
The finger-prick antibody tests have not previously been offered to the UK public.
The first sample must be taken as soon as possible after a Covid-19 infection is confirmed so a quick immune response does not muddy the results.
“Our new national antibody testing will be quick and easy to take part in,” UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said.
“By doing so you’ll be helping strengthen our understanding of Covid-19 as we cautiously return to a more normal life.”
A separate study suggested that 94 per cent of adults in England had some form of antibody protection, either from vaccines or prior infection.
The estimates were similar in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, which are also taking part in the antibody study.
Scientists have not yet fully established how long antibodies remain in the blood and how much they protect people against different variants.
The strength of a patient’s immune response is also influenced by other factors, including their age and underlying health conditions.
Recovery from Covid-19 in the past six months is treated as equal to vaccination by the National Health Service health pass.
Vaccination has been shown to greatly reduce the risk of developing severe symptoms from Covid-19, but inoculated people can still catch the virus.
Because antibodies take time to develop, the NHS pass does not become available until two weeks after a patient receives their second vaccine dose.
Government figures show that 88 per cent of people over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of a vaccine, with 76 per cent fully vaccinated.
Dr Jenny Harries, head of the UK’s National Health Security Agency, said vaccination offered the best protection against the virus.
“I encourage anyone who has not yet come forward to book their first and second jabs,” she said.
RESULT
Valencia 3
Kevin Gameiro 21', 51'
Ferran Torres 67'
Atlanta 4
Josip Llicic 3' (P), 43' (P), 71', 82'
The%20specs
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What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
