fergus walsh, bbc news. today, the prime minister said rolling out the vaccine will be the biggest programme of mass vaccination in the history of the uk, and it will be complex. for example, this vaccine has to be stored and transported at about minus 70 degrees celsius. here's our health editor hugh pym on the challenges that lie ahead. the nhs is ready, though it's a huge task starting next week, vaccinating its own staff and other priority groups, and those likely to receive the jab soon are already looking ahead to a major milestone in this pandemic. working as an icu nurse, especially in the first surge, a lot of the nurses were living away from home, and they were concerned about bringing it home to their families. if we do have the vaccine, it means we can get back to living a more normal life. life has not been normal for the past several months. the official vaccine priority list in this first phase is headed by care home residents and carers, followed by the over 80s and front line health workers,

our medical editor fergus walsh reports.

fergus walsh, bbc news. more areas in england are being placed under hope for the future, the uk regular gave the go—ahead for the oxford astrazeneca vaccine through making the uk the first country in the world to approve it. fergus walsh has that story. in birmingham, just time for a last trim before tier 4 restrictions at midnight. after a tough year, another bitter setback for owner dale. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on our feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling in. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england, more than three quarters of the population will be in tier 4, the highest level of restrictions. health secretary matt hancock told mps the new more contagious covid variant was driving infections up. unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading across most of england and cases are doubling fast. it is therefore necessary to apply tier 4 to many other ar

fergus walsh, bbc news. both downing street and the uk medicines regulator appeared fergus walsh, bbc news. both downing street and the uk medicines regulator appeared to contradict a claim by matt hancock, the health secretary, that swift approval of the vaccine had been possible because of brexit. the mhra said the supply had been authorised, using provisions under existing european law, which are still in place until new years' day. rolling out the vaccine will be a huge logistical exercise, which could also be affected by a post—brexit deal, as the supplies will come from belgium. 0ur health editor hugh pym explains. the nhs is ready, though it has a huge task starting next week vaccinating first its staff, and other priority groups. and those likely to receive the jabs, including nurses who went through the first wave, know how important that is. working as an icu nurse, especially in the first search, a lot of the nurses were living away from home and were concerned about bringing it home to their fa

our medical editor, fergus walsh, there. millions more people in england are to be placed under the toughest tier 4 coronavirus restrictions as case numbers continue to rise. the health secretary, matt hancock, will set out the details of which areas will change in a commons statement later. it comes amid growing concerns over the increasing pressures on the nhs. 0ur correspondent charlotte wright reports. the challenge facing the nhs is laid bare, with reports yesterday that covid patients have been cared for in ambulances on hospital forecourts. winter pressures, coupled with rising coronavirus cases, mean icus in london and the south east are now running at more than 100% capacity. it's been really, really tough. every time i start my shift, i walk into my intensive care unit, and i'm just greeted with a sight that takes me aback every time — of row upon row of patients, extremely unwell, all with the same yesterday saw the highest single day rise in coronavirus cases in the uk since mass testing began at 53,135, while

fergus walsh, bbc news. both downing street and the uk medicines regulator appeared to contradict a claim by matt hancock, the health secretary, that swift approval of the vaccine had been possible because of brexit. the mhra said the supply had been authorised using provisions under existing european law which are still in place until new year's day. rolling out the vaccine will be a huge logistical exercise which could also be affected by a post—brexit deal, as the supplies will come from belgium. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, explains. the nhs is ready, though it has a huge task starting next week vaccinating first its staff, and other priority groups. and those likely to receive the jabs, including nurses who went through the first wave, know how important that is. working as an icu nurse, especially in the first search, especially in the first surge, a lot of the nurses were living away from home and were concerned about bringing it home to their families. if we do have the vaccine, it means we can get

fergus is with me now. this is a remarkable story. they were really quick off the mark. they were really quick off the mark. they design their vaccine over a weekend. they were first to take their vaccine in europe into human trials and now we could be days away from it being approved by the regulator. now the issue is how do you get the 3 billion planned doses for the world which astrazeneca has promised? i went along to one of the sites where they make it and they grow up the vaccine in human cell culture and it is a bit like watching vaccine masterchef. their role these people in ultra clean room doing their bit to the recipe. the team at oxford had to find a way to get production up from a small university level to a huge scale. to get production up from a small university level to a huge scalem isa university level to a huge scalem is a little bit like developing the recipe for coke. it takes quite a long time to get the recipe just right but once you have that recipe, it is like a template and it can be transferred to all sorts of different manufacturing organisati

our medical editor, fergus walsh, is here. tell us more about this new variant and why it‘s influenced ministers‘ decisions over christmas. because of its transmissibility. the government says they estimate it could be up to 70% more transmissible than the previous variants that are out there and that isa variants that are out there and that is a really significant amount because they suggest it could increase the r number which is currently between 1.1, and 1.2, by as much as 0.4 which means the epidemic will grow much more speedily and it will be harder to control. it is crucial we remember there is no evidence that it causes more serious disease. viruses mutate all the time and every now and again by chance one comes along that gives them an evolutionary edge and make them an evolutionary edge and make them more transmissible. often that actually makes them less lethal point of this was first identified in kent in late september but it already accounts for around six in ten cases in london and parts of the east of engla

fergus walsh, bbc news. johns hopkins university is reporting 3,900 daily deaths in the united staes — that is a new record. let's go live now to ohio. doctor tara smith is a professor of epidemiology at kent state university college of public health. thank you very much indeed for your time. first of all, this latest figure from the states, thatis latest figure from the states, that is the equivalent of well over 911 every day at the moment. the obvious question i guess, why are these figures so bad? we are still seeing increases in cases after thanksgiving, so people that have been affected weeks ago in the hospital or in some cases several weeks and are now passing away. we currently have about 125,000 people hospitalised in the united states, so unfortunately we don't expect that death number to go down any time in the near future. if these figures have been triggered by thanksgiving there are likely to be worse figures to come triggered by christmas? absolutely. the agency, we have seen the highest nu

fergus walsh, bbc news. now, like so many regions of the world, central america has been hit hard by the pandemic. and the damage by hurricanes in november has left many there homeless. these hardships have helped fuel the mass departures of migrants from honduras in recent days, as people hope to get to the united states. 0ur central america correspondent will grant reports. it's an all too familiar sight — a few hundred impoverished central american migrants travelling together before dawn, carrying only their children, a few possessions and hopes for a better life up north. certainly, they say, it can't be any worse than the one they're leaving behind. translation: we ask the new president of the united states to help us. we can't live here anymore. they lost everything to eta and iota, the two hurricanes which battered central america in just two weeks in november. the two storms hit with phenomenalforce, causing flooding across swathes of the region. and when the floodwaters receded, the extent of the

fergus walsh, bbc news. more areas in england are being placed under the highest tier 4 restrictions in the coming hours. the health secretary, matt hancock, said the change was due to the rapid jump in new cases linked to the new variant of coronavirus. dominic hughes reports. in birmingham, just time for a last trim before tier 4 restrictions at midnight. after a tough year, it's another bitter setback for owner dale sampey. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on our feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling in. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england, more than three quarters of the population will be in tier 4, the highest level of restrictions. health secretary matt hancock told mps the new more contagious covid variant was driving infections up. unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading across most of england and cases are doubling fast. it is therefore necessar

fergus walsh, thank you. the retail and hospitality sectors have faced unprecedented challenges this year because of the pandemic, and today‘s announcement that all non—essential shops will have to close in areas moving into tier 4, is a further blow to retailers, on the last weekend before christmas. here‘s our business correspondent, katy austin. there were plenty of people shopping in london‘s oxford street this afternoon and shoppers queued to enter this department store in high wycombe while they still could. nonessential stores in england‘s tier 4 areas must close from tomorrow along with beauty businesses and gyms. it is a blow for this men‘s clothes shop in kent. it is devastating, awful. yeah, because we got another five days i think of trading up to christmas when, yeah, we would take a lot of money potentially. and we won‘t take a penny. this weekend, the last before christmas, would normally be one

fergus walsh, bbc news. both downing street and the uk medicines regulator appeared to contradict a claim by matt hancock, the health secretary, that swift approval of the vaccine had been possible because of brexit. the mhra said the supply had been authorised, using provisions under existing european law, which are still in place until new years' day. rolling out the vaccine will be a huge logistical exercise, which could also be affected by a post—brexit deal, as the supplies will come from belgium. 0ur health editor hugh pym explains. the nhs is ready, though it has a huge task starting next week vaccinating first its staff, and other priority groups. and those likely to receive the jabs, including nurses who went through the first wave, know how important that is. working as an icu nurse, especially in the first search, a lot of the nurses were living away from home and were concerned about bringing it home to their families. if we do have the vaccine, it means we can get back to living a more normal

fergus walsh, bbc news. in the uk, both houses of parliament have now approved the brexit trade deal with the eu, meaning it'sjust queen elizabeth who needs to sign the bill for it to become law. that's expected to happen within the hour. earlier, borisjohnson told the bbc his new trade deal means the country will have its cake and eat it. but he refused to acknowledge that new barriers to doing business with the eu will come into force when the tranistion period ends tonight. laura kuenssberg reports. signing on the dotted line over there, then a short hop for the 1,2a6—page document — the cargo of an raf plane to get back here. ready for boris johnson's signature. here it is. the man who campaigned for brexit became prime minister because of it, and now his deal, this day, scrolled into history. what this deal does is it satisfies the request of the british people to take back control, and what that meant was that we now have the freedom to do things differently and do things better if we choose. in th

our medical editor fergus walsh with that report. millions more people in england will be placed under tier 4 restrictions in the coming hours and asked to stay at home. the health secretary matt hancock said the change was due to the rapid increase in cases in england fuelled by the new variant. three quarters of the english population will be under the toughest measures. 0ur health correspondent dominic hughes reports. in birmingham, just time for a last trip before tier 4 restrictions at midnight. after a tough year, another bitter setback. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on our feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling in. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england, more than three quarters of the population will be in tier 4, the highest level of restrictions. matt hancock told mps the new more contagious covid variant was driving infections up. unfortunately, this new variant is now spreading

fergus walsh has this. the approval of the oxford astrazeneca vaccine, which is a fantastic achievement for british science. it's a great day, we're very proud. this is a really significant moment in the fight against this pandemic. it is, i think, a game—changing moment. this is the vaccine, more than any other, that will eventually bring coronavirus under control. unlike pfizer's, which needs ultra low temperatures, the oxford astrazeneca vaccine can be transported in a fridge, meaning every care home in the uk should now be in reach. the medicines regulator said no corners had been cut. with this approval of the second vaccine, we are another step closer in helping to defeat this virus. our clear message is that you can have every confidence in the safety, in the effectiveness and in the quality of covid—19 vaccine astrazeneca. the vaccine uses a gene from the spike—shaped protein on the surface of coronavirus. this is put inside a modified, harmless virus. the vaccine instructs human cells to make

fergus walsh, bbc news. more on that later in the programme. for three weeks president trump has made unfounded claims about the election result but has focused particularly on georgia, where a secound recount has made no change tojoe biden‘s victory there. mrtrump is angry, and has taken it out on state officials, many of whom are republicans, who have faced death threats from supporters of the president. barbara plett usher has the story. georgia has become a focus of president trump's battles reverses loss tojoe biden. a last stand for his supporters. a republican stronghold that he and they refused to give up. that means gabriel sterling is getting more camera time than he ever wanted. the seasoned election official has been overseeing the recount of votes. but it has turned nasty and he is blaming the president. yes, fight for every legal vote, go through due process, we encourage you. use your first amendment, that is fine. death threats, physical threats, intimidation, that is too much. stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of

fergus walsh, bbc news. the world health organization says it has now secured two billion doses of coronavirus vaccine for poorer countries and that deliveries will begin in the first three months of next year. the agency's covax initiative aims to ensure fair and equitable access to covid—19 vaccines worldwide. markjit is professor of vaccine epidemiology at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine and he spoke to me earlier. almost every country in the world is part of the covax initiative. it's a real coming together of all the nations in the world. so these 2 billion doses are going to be essential. they will be used for the highest—risk people around the world, but it won't be enough to vaccinate everyone in the world. could you just remind us which vaccines are in this portfolio? because there are a few well—known names that aren't in there. most of the more advanced vaccine, for example, the astrazeneca 0xford vaccine, is part of covax, the johnson & johnson is in the initiative. the v

fergus walsh, bbc news. i've just been speaking to dr tara smith, professor of epidemiology at kent state university college of public health, in ohio. i asked her first about the new record figures in the united states — 3,900 deaths from covid—19 in one day. we are still seeing increases in cases after thanksgiving, so people that have been affected weeks ago in the hospital or in some cases several weeks and are now passing away. we currently have about 125,000 people hospitalised in the united states, so unfortunately we don't expect that death number to go down any time in the near future. if these figures have been triggered by thanksgiving, there are likely to be worse figures to come triggered by christmas? absolutely. the agency, we have seen the highest number of airport travel days, over1 million people travelling in a few days around christmas, and that is still going on, and of course we have new year's eve party is tomorrow, so i suspect we will be in even worse shape in the next month. we

fergus walsh, bbc news. so will the decision by uk authorities put pressure on us joining me now from philadelphia is drew weissman. he's professor of medicine at the perelman school of medicine, university of pennsylvania. i know your past work on are in a message of vaccines has contributed to the advances that we are seeing today. thank you very much for talking to us. will this decision by uk authorities put pressure on american regulators to push forward and approval?” american regulators to push forward and approval? i don't think so. the us has a different procedure for vaccine approval. 0ur fda looks at the data similar to your nhra. a value of of mixing the decision. they then send it to an outside group of experts. in that group of experts gives their opinion which then returns it to the fda for approval. —— mhra. that adds a few days probably in this case but it also as an extra layer of protection. what that protection in mind, and all your experience in developing vaccines, is there any co

yes, thanks, fergus. as you know, we have been preparing for many months in the nhs to start this massive vaccination programme, the largest the nhs has ever undertaken. and we started that in december with the pfizer vaccine roll—out, which we knew would be based on limited supplies as we go towards the end of the year. as you know, as of last sunday, over half a million people had been vaccinated in the first few weeks. we now have the good news that the astrazeneca vaccine has been approved, and our intention is to start rolling that out through hospital hubs and primary care networks, beginning on the 4th of january, in other words, networks, beginning on the 4th of january, in otherwords, next monday. and that will lead to a big expansion in the number of people who are vaccinated. and of course, with the other news that we are now permitted to space the second dose, asa permitted to space the second dose, as a jvt has implied, has explained, that also means that we can get on and vaccinate more pe

fergus walsh, bbc news. today the prime minister said rolling out the vaccine will be the biggest programme of mass vaccination in the history of the uk. and it will be complex. for example, this vaccine has to be stored and transported at about minus 70 degrees celcius. here's our health editor hugh pym on the challenges that lie ahead. the nhs is ready, though it's a huge task starting next week, vaccinating its own staff and other priority groups, and those likely to receive the jab soon are already looking ahead to a major milestone in this pandemic. working as an icu nurse, especially in the first surge, a lot of the nurses were living away from home, and they were concerned about bringing it home to their families. if we do have the vaccine, it means we can get back to living a more normal life. life has not been normal for the past several months. the official vaccine priority list in this first phase is headed by care home residents and carers, followed by the over 80s and front line health workers,

fergus walsh, bbc news. we will hear more on this just a little later from an expert on public health in the states. for three weeks president trump has made unfounded claims about the election result in georgia, but a secound recount has made no change tojoe biden‘s victory there. mrtrump is angry, and has taken it out on state officials, including the governor, who have faced death threats from supporters of the president. barbara plett usher has the story. georgia has become a focus of president from's battle to reverse his life took miklos to joe biden, a last of his supporters, republican stronghold that he refuses to give up. that means gabriel sterling is getting more camera time than he ever wanted. a seasoned election official has been overseeing the recount of votes, but it's turned nasty and he's blaming the president. yes, fight for every legal vote, go through your due process , we vote, go through your due process, we encourage it, use your first amendment, that's fine. death threats, physica

fergus, thank you very much. in a moment, we'll get the latest from our correspondents in falkirk and bristol, but first to chris page in belfast. yes, simon here in northern ireland there is a sense this is a day of hope, relief and excitement at what science can achieve. it was here at the royal victoria hospital in belfast, northern ireland's biggest hospital that the first jab in this pa rt hospital that the first jab in this part of the uk was given at eight o'clock this morning. the person receiving it, sister joanna o'clock this morning. the person receiving it, sisterjoanna sloan, a nurse who will be one of the volunteer vaxinators, so she will be able to get the vaccine to the many thousands that will have it over the next few weeks. when she got the jab she said she felt emotional, she felt proud and privileged. she is 28 yea rs old felt proud and privileged. she is 28 years old and will have a senior role in managing the vaccination programme in the city and said she was looking forward to going home a

fergus walsh, bbc news. the chief constable of greater manchester police has resigned after the force was placed into special measures. ian hopkins, who is on sick leave, said he would step down with immediate effect. the force, the second largest in england, was found to have failed to record 80,000 crimes in a year by inspectors, who said its service to victims was a "serious cause of concern". borisjohnson has said that things are looking difficult in the talks about a trade deal to take effect once the brexit transition period ends. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has said both sides are at "a moment of truth", with just a few hours left. the uk and eu are trying to resolve a few remaining issues, including around fishing rights. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. a clause in any brexit deal in fishing is yet to be written. as the latest catch is landed in hull, uk fishing fleets are hoping life outside the eu will be more prosperous, yet the fishing industry accounts for a littl

fergus walsh, bbc news. the new york times says it's found "significa nt falsehoods" in its blockbuster podcast on the islamic state group called caliphate. the central figure in the series was shehroze chaudhry, who claimed hejoined is in 2016 and personally carried out executions. but in september the authorities in canada, where he lives, charged him with a terrorist hoax. the new york times' executive editor says he now believes chaudry was a con artist. ashley carman is a senior reporter at the verge. she told me how damaging this affair has been. i mean, this is definitely not an ideal situation for the new york times, or for podcasting in general. i mean, right now, podcasting is such a hot space. we're seeing so many conversations around big narrative shows and i think this just kind of is an inflection point a little bit and sort of sobering to be like 0k, many news outlets outlets do narrative podcasts great and have amazing fact—checking departments, but also a reminder that we do need to treat

our medical editor, fergus walsh, with that report. inafew in a few moments, we will speak with somebody from the oxford team and putting your questions to them. stay with us for that. millions more people in england will be placed under tier 4 restrictions in the next few hours and asked to stay at home. the health secretary, matt hancock, said the change was due to the rapid increase in cases in england, fuelled by the new variant. three quarters of the english population will be under the toughest measures from tomorrow. our health correspondent, dominic hughes, reports. in birmingham, just time for a last trip before tier 4 restrictions at midnight. after a tough year, another bitter setback. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on our feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling in. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england more than three quarters of the population will be in the highest level of restr

fergus walsh, bbc news. the time is 6.19pm. our top story this evening. pressure mounts on ministers and devolved administrations for a rethink of plans for easing covid restrictions at christmas. and still to come we meet chad the guide dog helping his owner dave navigate life this year. coming up on sportsday on bbc news. we'll have the latest on the dementia crisis affecting rugby, as former players launch legal proceedings against the game's governing bodies. the harm done to children online is a story we have brought to you on many occasions — you might remember how 1a—year old molly russell's father has campaigned for a new law. well under new laws published by the government today social media companies will face huge fines if they fail to remove and limit the spread of illegal content. it will also force the biggest tech firms to abide by a legal duty of care to protect children. 0ur media editor amol rajan has this report. this is frida, except that is not her real name and this is not her real voice. in her 20s now, she was just 13 when the

fergus walsh, bbc news. millions more people in england will be placed under the highest tier 4 restrictions in the coming hours and asked to stay at home. the health secretary matt hancock said the change was due to the rapid jump in new cases in england linked to the new variant. our health correspondent dominic hughes reports. in birmingham, just time for a last trim before tier 4 restrictions at midnight. after a tough year, another bitter setback for owner dale. after a tough year, another big setback. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on our feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling in. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england, more than three quarters of the population will be in tier 4, the highest level of restrictions. health secretary matt hancock told mps the new more contagious covid variant was driving infections up. unfortunately, this new variant is now spre

it is just spreading more quickly and i think that has been made very clear by fergus wash earlier. so there have been these variations of the virus are wrong really around the world. —— fergus wash. it is not uncommon. people need to not panic about that. but it is spreading very quickly. we haven't had any success really would track and trace. that is been a complete muddle and mess. pa rt is been a complete muddle and mess. part of the problem is people find it very difficult to follow the rules if they cannot see what they are doing it for. as nigeljust said come in the beginning, it was really clear. do this, that is what we are trying to do. now then we relax it in then it is very interesting because how the papers are covering this and how they have done over the last few weeks or so, there has been a real wee one christmas, we think lockdowns are ridiculous coming from some papers. the same papers that we re some papers. the same papers that were all put some terrifying graphs and statistics. but they are questioning the numbers and the overcrowding in hospitals and thin

fergus walsh, bbc news. the vaccine approval made for a bittersweet day in the uk, which for the second day in a row saw more than 50,000 people diagnosed positive. the surge in the virus has prompted the government to move more parts of the country into the highest level of restirctions. another 20 million people will be hit by the change, with all areas shown in dark red here now in tier 4. it means the closure of non—essential retail, food venues moving to takeaway only, and the closure of gyms and hairdressers. dominic hughes reports from birmingham. in birmingham, just time for a last trim before tier 4 restrictions come in at midnight. after a tough year, it's another bitter setback for owner dale sampey. absolutely devastated again that we've just got going after reopening on 2 december. we're just getting back on ourfeet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england, more than three quarters of the population will be

fergus walsh, thank you. the latest government figures show there were 12,282 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period. the average number of new cases reported per day in the last week, is now 15,308. 1,359 people have been admitted to hospital on average each day over the week to last thursday. 616 deaths were reported — that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—19 test. that's almost 100 more than this time last week. it means on average in the past week, a28 deaths were announced every day. it takes the total number of deaths so far across the uk to 62,033. the prime minister will travel to brussels tomorrow to have dinner with the president of the european commission, ursula von der leyen, to try to unlock a post brexit trade deal. negotiations remain stuck with only weeks to go before the transition period ends at the end of december. the politicians hope that meeting in person will find a solution. 0ur deputy political editor vicki young has more. will ther

fergus, thank you very much indeed. on such a big news day, we've got two editors on this story — for social—distancing reasons. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, joins me from the other side of the newsroom. we are going to talk about logistics. this is a huge task ahead, isn't it pushed amok indeed, simon, getting to the point in the spring when ministers have said some sort of return to normality might be possible. -- isn't it? indeed. for people to look forward to that, it will involve a massive effort to roll out this vaccine across the vulnerable groups and then into other adult age groups. but the key thing is, it starts for real next week in hospitals, in different parts of the uk. the priority list given by the vaccine experts has ca re given by the vaccine experts has care home residents and staff at the top, followed by health and care workers, followed by the over—80s. but they have allowed a little sense of, if you like, latitude for the government to say in practical terms, getting this vaccine stored in

here is fergus walsh on how we go here and what happens next. >> to have a highly effective vaccine in less than year is a staunch and. it was by noeans certain back in the spring. there are a lot of viruses we don't have vaccines for. the past 20ea, more than 10 ntllion pounds has been sn research trying to find a vaccine against hiv without success. weon't just have one vaccine. we have several. morna, that looks effective, and the oxford astrazeneca vaccine the u.k. has ordered 100 million doses of. today thateam where the fruits --st the f to publish their data in a peer-reviewed journal. really important for transparency. if, as we hoped, the vaccine is approved before the end of the year, that will reallspeed up the rollout in spring 2021. oes not need to beept at ultra low temperatures. that will help getting the pandemic and seeing the end of it at some point next year. o >> from the u.k.e u.s., president-elect joe edn has introdhe team that will lead the fight against the pandemic. he announced a three-point plant ill be carried out his first 100 days. the first - >> requiring

thanks very much, fergus walsh. let's go to emily morgan of itv. thank you. the question to you, prime minister. your scientists have said care home residents should be the first people to get this vaccine. are you confirming, then, that they will not be? and if not, are you not failing to protect our most vulnerable? if i make ona to protect our most vulnerable? if i make on a question to you, sir simon stevens, what are you doing right now to address this logistical challenge to get the challenge to ca re challenge to get the challenge to care homes sooner challenge to get the challenge to care homes sooner rather than later? i think care homes sooner rather than later? ithinki care homes sooner rather than later? i think i will ask simon to correct me if i've got this wrong, but you're quite right, the issue is of course we want to get into care homes to protect the most vulnerable as fast as we possibly can. the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation has rightly said care home residents must be a priority. the difficulty is in distributing the ca

fergus walsh was the first tv reporter inside an intensive care unit. it is completely unimaginable. this is the front—line in the war. apart from two patients, every patient we're looking after has covid. we can't cope with a big spike, we just can't. every day, some battles are won. is one of the doctors here? and some are lost. all the patients here are critically ill. we're planning for many more patients, so all our theatres to be full of covid patients and possibly beyond. none of us have ever seen anything like this. the staff here are dealing with the biggest challenge everfaced by the nhs. they can save many of the patients. but, sadly, not all of them. and still, more patients keep coming every day. ed thomas reported from a hospital in lanarkshire and the experiences of a wide range of patients young and old. suspected covid—i9? yes. look beyond the daily statistics. these are the lives changed forever. that's you completely breathing on your own. i'm a lucky one. i'm seeing my family tomorrow. from those trying to save the sickest... we'

fergus walsh, bbc news. later in the programme we will hear from later in the programme we will hearfrom a later in the programme we will hear from a professor of medicine who has been involved in several of these vaccines are. for three weeks president trump has made unfounded claims about the election result but has focused particularly on georgia, where a secound recount has made no change tojoe biden‘s victory there. mrtrump is angry, and has taken it out on state officials, who have faced death threats from supporters of the president. barbara plett usher has the story. georgia has become a focus of president trump's battles reverses loss tojoe biden. a last stand for his supporters. it's a republican stronghold that he and they refused to give up. that means gabriel sterling is getting more camera time than he ever wanted. the seasoned election official has been overseeing the recount of votes. but it has turned nasty and he is blaming the president. yes, fight for every legal vote, go through due pr

fergus walsh was the first tv reporter inside an intensive care unit. it is completely unimaginable. this is the front line in the ward. apart from two patients, every patient we are looking after has covid. we cannot cope with a big spike, we just can't. every day, some battles are won. is one of the doctors here? and some are lost. all the patients here are critically ill. we're planning for many more patients, all our theatres to be full of covid patients and possibly beyond. none of us have ever seen anything like this. the staff here are dealing with the biggest challenge ever faced by the nhs. they can save many of the patients. sadly, not all of them. and still, more patients keep coming every day. ed thomas reported from a hospital in lanarkshire and the experiences of a wide range of patients young and old. suspected covid—i9? yes. look beyond the daily statistics. these are the lives changed forever. that's you completely breathing on your own. i'm a lucky one. i'm seeing my family tomorrow. from those trying to save the sickest... we've had

fergus, thanks. millions more people in england will be placed under tier 4 restrictions and asked to stay at home from midnight tonight. the health secretary matt hancock said the change was due to the rapid increase in cases in england fuelled by the new variant. three quarters of the english population will be under the toughest measures from tomrorow. after a tough year, another better setback. absolutely devastated again that we have just got going after reopening on the 2nd of december. we arejust reopening on the 2nd of december. we are just getting back on her feet again. how many more times can we be locked down? the bills keep rolling. it is really difficult to keep coming back. in england more than three quarters of the population will be in the highest level of restrictions. matt hancock told mps the new more contagious covid variant was driving infection is up. u nfortu nately variant was driving infection is up. unfortunately there is no variant is spreading across most of england and c

fergus walsh, bbc news. well lets talk now to tom stayte, who's 32 and has been suffering from long covid for nine months after having coronavirus in march. tom, thanks so much forjoining us. we are grateful for your time. can you just share with us your experiences and what happened to you? so, i originally got the virus backin you? so, i originally got the virus back in march, the first wave, and i didn't notice for about three weeks. after which i thought that i was getting better, but after about seven weeks from the outset, all of my symptoms came back, along with a whole load of new ones, and it was really a whole array of different bodily systems, neurological symptoms i had trouble with, concentration, breathing and also gastro symptoms, numbness, tingling. it was really quite terrifying, actually, very frightening time. what supports, if any, did you get at that time? my gp was really supportive during the first phase, but when the symptoms persisted back injune, but when the symptoms persisted back

fergus walsh, bbc news. rolling out the vaccine will be one of the most complex logistical operations the uk has ever conducted. first in line will be care home residents and their carers — followed by frontline health workers and the over 80s. then it's in descending order of age with particular focus on the over 65s — along with the most vulnerable adults. we're joined now by danny altman, professor of immunology at imperial college london. thanks very much forjoining us. are you surprised by the speed at which this is been approved? no, i'm not that surprised was up i think we had it on the cards for a a while. that we've had in the number of vaccines looking ready to go presenting data for licensing. this is the bond that first past the post. that's great and we are ready for it. there will be others come along very soon. how come the uk got there before the us? 0utput to the question people in washington are asking me today.” think it'sjust a quirk washington are asking me today.” think it's jus

by professor fergus gleason at of the university. eight of ten patients who had coronavirus which developed into covid with a big age gap. he used a novel scanning technique where during an mri scan, they are breathing ina gas an mri scan, they are breathing in a gas called xenon which is safe but it is another way to scan the lung and other scanning techniques cannot pick up scanning techniques cannot pick up the damage which he noticed in eight out of ten patients. it is not a big sample size but enough to tell him there should bea enough to tell him there should be a wider study. he is planning to open the study to 100 patients to see whether long covid could be caused by permanent lung damage. and these patients were not necessarily hospitalised and on ventilators and get i have said they have had breathing difficulties. they had not been in hospital and conventional scans had not ticked up any lung damage but these new scanning technique developed by the university of sheffield, led by professor james the university of sheffield

fergus walsh was the first tv reporter inside an intensive care unit. it is completely unimaginable. this is the front line. apart from two patients, every patient we are looking after has covid. we cannot cope with a big spike, we just can't. every day, some battles are won. is one of the doctors here? and some are lost. all the patients here are critically ill. we are planning for many more patients, all our theatres to be full of covid patients and possibly beyond. none of us have ever seen anything like this. the staff here are dealing with the biggest challenge everfaced by the nhs. they can save many of the patients. sadly, not all of them. and still, more patients keep coming every day. ed thomas reported from a hospital in lanarkshire and the experiences of a wide range of patients young and old. suspected covid—i9? yes. look beyond the daily statistics. these are the lives changed forever. that is you completely breathing on your own. i'm a lucky one. i'm seeing my family tomorrow. from those trying to save the sickest... we have had three de

fergus walsh was the first tv reporter inside an intensive care unit. it is completely unimaginable. apart from two patients, looking after has covid. every day, some battles are won. is one of the doctors here? and some are lost. all the patients here are critically ill. we are planning for many more patients, all our theatres to be full of covid patients and possibly beyond. none of us have ever seen anything like this. the staff here are dealing with the biggest challenge everfaced by the nhs. they can save many of the patients. sadly, not all of them. and still, more patients keep coming every day. ed thomas reported from a hospital in lanarkshire and the experiences of a wide range of patients young and old. suspected covid—i9? yes. look beyond the daily statistics. these are the lives changed forever. that is you completely breathing on your own. i'm a lucky one. i'm seeing my family tomorrow. from those trying to save the sickest... we have had three deaths, which has totally floored the staff today. it is probably the most amount of deaths in

that is in a moment, but first let's hear from the uk boss of pfizer, who spoke to our medical editor, fergus walsh. it's an incredible moment for society and i really think this is now a turning point in the fight against this pandemic, both here in the uk and across the globe. i couldn't be prouder right now. and in terms of doses, give us an idea of how many doses you can get to the uk, where they are coming from, and how soon we will get them. we are working to supply 800,000 doses this week to the nhs and we are scaling up from there. our intention is across there. our intention is across the globe that this year we will provide up to 50 million doses and through 2021 we will provide 1.3 million doses around the world. rival drug company moderna is one of several others with a covid—19 vaccine awaiting regulatory approval. its boss has been urging people not to get carried away by the headlines. he says most people in the world will have a very long wait for a vaccine in the first place i think it is going to be extremely frustrating for the majority of the population, howeverfeel betw

our medical editor, fergus walsh, told us more about this new covid—i9 variant here in the uk. this new variant appears to be up this new variant appears to be up to 70% more transmissible. that's really significant, crucially it does not appear to cause more significant disease, but it makes it much harder to control the epidemic. now it's thought that he could push the reproductive number of coronavirus up by 0.4, it's currently between 1.1 and 1.2 across the uk. it was first identified in kent in september, it seems to be one of these spontaneous mutations. and now accounts for six in ten cases in london, and in the east of england but has spread throughout the uk. viruses mutate all the time, and itself is not a worry but sometimes when they become more transmissible they become less lethal. coronavirus is actually much more stable than flu, we need a new flu vaccine every year because it mutates such a lot. it's not that the current vaccine will still be effective against this new variant. 350,000 people in the uk have 110w 350,000 people in the uk have now had their first

david shukman, bbc news. 0ur medical editor fergus walsh is here. there's no doubting what a big day this is. yes, the superlatives are justified, it's an historic day and marks the first steps in a long road towards a return to normality. for most of the year the world's hopes have been pinned on a coronavirus vaccine but it was by no means certain that we'd get an effective one so certain that we'd get an effective one so quickly. it's an astonishing achievement. for example despite decades of research and more than £10 billion in investment we still don't have a vaccine for hiv. as well as the pfizerjab there are two more coronavirus vaccines that look safe and effective, the moderna jab and the oxford astrazeneca vaccine. 0xford became the first developers today to publish their full data in a scientific journal today to publish their full data in a scientificjournal which is important for transparency. it confirms it is 77% effective in preventing overt and crucially no one who had the vaccine got seriously ill with covid or was hospitalised.

our medical editor, fergus walsh, told us more about this new covid—i9 variant here in the uk. this new variant appears to be up to 70% more transmissible. that's really significant, crucially it does not appear to cause more significant disease, but it makes it much harder to control the epidemic. now it's thought that it could push the reproductive number — the r number — of coronavirus up by 0.4, it's currently between 1.1 and 1.2 across the uk. it was first identified in kent in september, it seems to be one of these spontaneous mutations. it now accounts for six in ten cases in london, and in the east of england but has spread throughout the uk. viruses mutate all the time, in itself is not a worry and sometimes when they become more transmissible they become less lethal. coronavirus is actually much more stable than flu, we need a new flu vaccine every year because it mutates such a lot. it's thought that the current vaccine will still be effective against this new variant. 350,000 people in the uk have now had their first dose, and the hope is that most over 65s and

fergus walsh, bbc news. borisjohnson says things are looking difficult in the talks about a trade deal to take effect once the brexit transition period ends on the 31st december. the eu's chief negotiator, michel barnier, has said both sides are at "a moment of truth", with just a few hours left. the uk and eu are trying to resolve a few remaining issues, including fishing rights. here's our political correspondent, iain watson. trade talks between the eu and the uk have had great difficulty in moving forward. and, as the latest catch of crustaceans is landed in hull, fishing fleets want the government to get a better deal for them. the industry accounts for little more than 0.1% of the uk economy, but the issue of fishing rights is proving to be a pinch point in the negotiations. slide it into the oven. a deal certainly isn't ready. the prime minister was meeting apprentice engineers in the communications industry today. lift it. he said if the talks weren't going to go even closer to the wire, the eu had t