In the UK, more than a quarter of people who receive social care from the NHS have seen their health deteriorate during the coronavirus pandemic, according to research.
In a survey of more than 4,000 people with social care needs and carers from the Care and Support Alliance (CSA), 28% said their health had declined, and one in seven people required hospital treatment due to a lack of care.
The CSA reported that older and disabled people had been left struggling with daily activities and were missing medical appointments, and a quarter of those who said they had trouble carrying out daily activities reported that they were not given help by authorities when they asked for it.
Italy will step up its Covid-19 vaccination programme to hit a target of administering 500,000 doses each day, the country’s coronavirus special commissioner said on Saturday.
The country, which has a population of 60.3 million, aims to inoculate at least 80% of people by September.
Artists in Athens held a protest for their rights to work, almost a year after the first lockdown with the closure of theatres, museums and cinemas.
Football fans were offered a Covid-19 vaccine at the Russian Premier League match between Zenit and Akhmat Grozny in St Petersburg on Saturday.
People were offered a free shot of the Sputnik V jab for two hours before and after the game in an effort to increase take-up. A Reuters reporter said that at least 20 of the several thousands attendees were vaccinated.
Take-up of the vaccine in Russia has been slower than in other countries, with polls showing Russians are sceptical of the domestically produced jab.
A total of five million people have received a first dose, out of a population of 144 million, the deputy prime minister Tatiana Golikova said last week.
Zenit said the vaccination programme at the stadium would continue until the end of the football season.
The trauma of watching thousands of patients die during the Covid-19 pandemic will force many intensive care staff out of healthcare unless they get substantial mental health support, the charity that represents ICU workers has warned.
The Intensive Care Society said half of ICU staff needed psychological support to help them deal with their experiences and added that some had already left their professions.
“This pandemic is the greatest crisis we’ve seen in a century,” said Dr Stephen Webb, the ICS president. “There is a danger that we will lose further staff in the future. We know there’s a risk of people falling ill, wanting to leave – not just intensive care but healthcare completely.”
Research from King’s College London in January showed that 45% of ICU staff in England suffered severe anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or other mental health problems after the first wave, and the second wave had been even worse, Webb said.
