The aim is to roll out the program to prevent another difficult winter coping with the virus.

The booster shots, which will already be rolled out this month, were approved a day after the government also backed plans to offer a single vaccine dose to children ages 12 to 15 years old.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization advised the government to allow booster shots to anyone over the age of 50 in addition to healthcare workers, those with compromised immune systems, and individuals with underlying health conditions. The shots will be given no earlier than six months after the individual has received their second dose of the vaccine.

Nearly thirty million people will be eligible to receive booster shots in the UK.

The Prime Minister stood by the decision, telling reporters that this vaccination campaign will result in one of the freest societies and one of the most open economies in Europe.

Another result of the freedoms allowed in the United Kingdom is the increased number of people now contracting COVID-19.
Reports show that the number of individuals contracting the virus is significantly higher than it was this time last year, with currently over 30,000 new infections per day. However, the British government has opted not to re-introduce further virus restrictions for England, as the current vaccine strategy has lessened the number of individuals who require treatment or hospitalization for COVID-19 and has subsequently dropped death rates.

Nevertheless, Johnson noted that the government is ready to re-introduce measures over the coming weeks and months if the pressure on hospitals intensifies.

Currently, the number of people in UK hospitals diagnosed with COVID-19 is about 8,500, which is significantly down from the 40,000 hospitalized earlier this year during the catastrophic second wave of the pandemic.

The government has held the right to reserve restrictions such as mandatory mask-wearing, vaccine certifications for nightclubs in addition to other large-scale events (excluding pubs), and mandatory working from home.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization has disclosed that the Pfizer vaccine should be the primary choice for booster shots, with a half-dose of Moderna as an alternative.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, which is based on a different technology, will be offered to individuals who are unable to receive an RNA vaccine for clinical reasons.

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Many urban workers have been tempted by this opportunity in hopes to bring their salaries with them.

While some economists had hoped this would rebalance economies by allowing good jobs to disperse out of crowded, expensive cities into areas that could use the economic boost, employers have begun to adjust policies to accommodate the post-pandemic world.

If you plan on moving to cut your living expenses, your employer may very well cut your pay to accommodate that shortly.

While this may sound extremely disappointing or daunting, it is not an unusual practice particularly in tech where remote work has been more predominant before the pandemic.

Google has long since determined compensation based on location while remaining at the top of the local market from which their employees work. Companies such as Facebook and Slack have announced they will follow suit.

Gitlab has even developed a compensation calculator to harness market salary data per location to determine a competitive rate for their 1,300 completely remote employees.

Organizations are in favour of location-based compensation as it ensures compensation costs remain stable and it keeps employees geographically diverse.

However, as more employees begin to work from home on a more permanent basis, companies that base payment on location run the risk of paying individuals differently for the same work or cutting pay for those whose jobs have not changed.

For example, if an employee lives in a commuter town as opposed to their colleague who lives in the city the company is headquartered in, they may be at risk for a pay reduction to accommodate their location even though nothing else changed. Economists generally agree that nominal wages can quickly become a slippery slope. Additionally, no one likes pay cuts, no matter how justified they are, therefore they are generally avoided at all costs.

There is fear that this scenario may tempt employees to trick employers by subletting rooms in more expensive locations to keep their previous salaries.

Chief Executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg addressed this in a staff video, stating that there would be severe ramifications for employees who are not honest about their location.

Conversely, Reddit and Zillow have announced that they will pay employees the same wage regardless of where they are located. Reddit started in October of last year that the company plans to scrap geographic compensation zones in the United States, tying pay to high-cost locations such as San Francisco and New York.

This only fuels competition as fully remote work becomes increasingly common. Not only do remote workers have access to local jobs but further their national and the global marketplace. This puts more power into the hands of talent giving them the ability to accept jobs from anywhere in the world.

It is still too soon to tell if location-based compensation will become the new normal for remote workers apart from the tech sector or if employers from the likes of Facebook will have to reconsider their policies to remain competitive in the global marketplace.

Findings from a survey of employers in the UK by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found only seven per cent of organizations who vary pay based on location have adjusted compensation of employees to reflect fully remote working thus far and sixteen per cent are keeping the issue in a review.

Currently, the power lies with talent able to compete within the global marketplace, however, the commonality of remote work and decision-making of local employers will play into how compensation is determined for the future.

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The post Is Location-Based Pay the Future of Compensation Post COVID-19? appeared first on Relawding.

Most recent figures have shown slowing vaccination rates among younger people.

Likely prompted out of concern, on July 19th the Prime Minister announced that for him to allow nightclubs to reopen, they must do the socially responsible thing, therefore “an NHS COVID pass will be required as proof of double vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID test or natural immunity will be required as a means of entering night clubs.”

The Prime Minister also stated, ” I should serve notice now that by the end of September when all over 18s have had their chance to be double jabbed, we’re planning to make full vaccination the condition of entry to nightclubs and other venues where large crowds gather.”

Additionally, he reminded viewers that the government reserves the right to “mandate certification at any point if it’s necessary to reduce transmission.”

Following Boris Johnson’s announcement, UK’s vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi made a statement in the commons that sporting and business events, music venues, festivals and nightclubs were all settings that ministers are “most concerned about” in terms of the spread of COVID-19.

Mr Zahawi announced that MPs would vote on whether the government would decide to “mandate the double vaccination requirement.”

He explained that the NHS COVID pass will be a certificate of health status available within the NHS app, NHS website or per mail with a request for a written document. The use of this pass over the summer, starting with nightclubs, is how the government is attempting to manage the risk of infections while they decide where else to mandate proof of vaccine status further.

Mr Zahawi noted that it would be “hugely unfair” to implement such a policy straight away and that giving people until the end of September is “the right thing to do”. Especially considering that the delayed timeframe would allow those over 18 to “take up the offer of both jabs”.

Such statements have sparked confusion, frustration and backlash

Liberal Democrats campaigned for parliament to be recalled from summer recess to debate proposals to enforce the use of an NHS pass.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey wrote a letter personally to the Prime Minister, accusing the government of “committing to vaccine passports by stealth” and warned that the actions were deceitful and a recipe for disaster.

Mr Davey pointed out that since Boris Johnson and Mr Zahawi’s statements, much uncertainty as to how other businesses or churches will be expected to decide who can or cannot pass through their doors has emerged with the potential to cause significant chaos.

Accusing the current buzz around the topic from the parliament of being a botched and a rushed scheme: Davey stated that “the nation is calling out for leadership, not deception.” and challenged parliament to own their decision to enforce NHS COVID passes and put it to vote.

Much debate still surrounds the enforcement of vaccine passports for more day-to-day life. Fears of creating a two-class society and risks of preventing access to health services, dentistry and supermarkets have been expressed to the media by several political figures.

Many accuse the Prime Minister and Mr Zahawi of backhandedly targeting young people and attempting to increase vaccine uptake, with no real intent to enforce COVID passports at the end of September.

Shadow health secretary of the Labour’s party, Jonathan Ashworth openly questioned the motives behind the delay in introducing COVID passports asking: “Can he (Mr Zahawi) explain why he thinks it is safe to go clubbing till the early hours this Friday, but in September it’s only safe if everyone is double jabbed?”

While it is still uncertain if a COVID passport will be enforced for more day-to-day life, several Conservative MPs have told Sky News that they do not think the government would follow through with a mandate, and recently more than 40 Conservatives have signed a declaration from the campaign group Big Brother Watch expressing opposition to the idea.

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Data from the UK’s household longitudinal study show that the amount of clinically significant distress has increased significantly from 2019 to 2020. The amount of clinically significant reports of distress jumped by 10.3% for women and by 5.9% for men within one year.

Additionally, social distancing rules and regulations have forced everyone to remain indoors as much as possible, limiting the number of physical activities available. Despite the UK Government’s initial attempt in the first lockdown (during March of 2020) to encourage UK citizens to exercise for one hour outside per day, it was discovered that a large proportion of people were spending more than eight hours a day sitting. Extensive amounts of sitting were largely due to working at home, being put on furlough, and a surge in online leisure activities.

Reports of such substantial amounts of sitting time-related to the pandemic prompted Dr Susanna Kola-Palmer, Dr Liane Beretta De Azevedo and Masters student Matthew Pears from the University of Huddersfield to conduct research that looked at the impact of sitting time on mental health.

Results were collected between May and June of 2020, using an online survey. 248 participants, within the age range of 33.5 (± 12.4 years), self-reported their physical activity, sitting time, and mental health using validated questionnaires.

Findings concluded:

• 42% of depression scores and 27% of well-being scores were explained by sociodemographic, health outcomes and the amount of time the individual sat per day.

• The main variable that impacted depression and well-being scores were sitting time (physical activity did not account for any of the variances).

• Participants who sat more than eight hours per day reported higher depression scores and lower well-being scores compared to those who sat less.

Overall, sitting time was found to be strongly associated with adverse mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown, so much so that it outweighed the benefits of regular exercise. The researchers added within their conclusion that the findings should be considered in future public health recommendations/policies in an attempt to reduce the amount of time spent sitting.

Countless studies have exposed the negative health effects of sitting for long periods. Researchers have linked prolonged periods of sitting to health complications such as obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat, abnormal cholesterol levels, increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and even cancer.

While this has been a long time concern, the pandemic has undoubtedly made it even more of a challenge.

Already, a majority of daily activities that generally require sitting such as working from a computer, reading or doing homework made up a large portion of the average individual in the UK day. However, the pandemic took away commutes to the office or schools for certain periods and reduced the use of public facilities, decreasing the amount of physical activity for the average person even more.

Simultaneously, online services such as TikTok, Zoom, Netflix and more have seen unprecedented growth since the outbreak and internet usage beyond working hours for adults in the UK has reached new heights.

The NHS does address the dilemma of excessive sitting within an exercise page on their website. They advise people to exercise 150 minutes per week, further recommending individuals to break up long periods of sitting with one to two minutes of movement.

Despite the current communications and policies regarding health, Dr Azevedo believes that people need to better understand what exactly physical activity means, “It is not just going to the gym. Just going for a walk especially in green areas is important, however, any type of moderate activity has benefits. We also noticed from our study that leisure and gardening are activities that help both physically and mentally.”

Dr Azevedo hopes to develop an intervention based on the findings that will focus on decreasing inactive behaviours in addition to increasing physical activities to promote mental health. Hopefully, researchers and politicians can work together to find actionable solutions for the sitting epidemic post-COVID-19.

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Dire Need

No doubt developing countries would face issues in obtaining enough vaccines for their populations, so when supplies arrived earlier this year through Covax efforts, the gap in access seemingly narrowed. However, today, those countries are faced with vaccine shortages and are unsure when they will receive further aid to offer second vaccines to some, and first vaccines to others.

Bruce Aylward, an adviser from the World Health Organisation (WHO), said that 80 lower-income countries have thus far received vaccines through the program. At least 40 of those countries have already either run out of vaccines or are on the verge of running out.

Important

To bring an end to the pandemic, vaccination against the virus is essential. With slowdowns in inoculation programs, unfortunately, there is more room for problematic new variants to emerge and essentially cause infection rates to rise once again.

The cycle will continue as vaccinated people are put back at risk. Countries that do not have rich health budgets cannot afford to turn to the expensive private market for doses. If supplies are not restocked, nations will need to leave vulnerable populations of older people and health workers partially vaccinated.

According to the WHO, seven countries in Africa, including Ivory Coast, Gambia and Kenya, have used up all their Covax supply. Other countries in Asia, Latin America and beyond are close to exhausting their supplies. As a result, many of these countries are forced to slow down or halt vaccine programs.

What is Covax?

Covax was set up last year to ensure that there would be equitable access to vaccines around the world. The program was set up by the non-profit Gavi (the Vaccine Alliance), the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and the WHO.

Covax set up a global purchasing and distribution pool specifically for less-wealthy nations who may otherwise find it difficult to enter large pre-purchase vaccine deals and/or would be unable to manufacture their vaccines.

Ultimately, the goal is to deliver 1.8 billion to more than 90 lower-income countries by early 2022. Thus far, the program has shipped only close to 88 million doses – this is close to the number of doses already administered in California, Texas and New York.

What is the delay?

Covax is heavily reliant on AstraZeneca Plc’s two-dose vaccine. They are now facing delays in shipments from the vaccine’s key manufacturer, the Serum Institute of India, as the country has halted exports in an attempt to tackle the large outbreak at home.

Ivory Coast has thus far used close to 730,000 doses of AstraZeneca and now relies solely on the 100,000 Pfizer doses acquired a couple of weeks ago. To maintain the public’s faith in the vaccine program and ensure it can continue protection measures, Ivory Coast and countries in similar situations need to acquire millions of additional doses soon.

Covax rollouts in Ghana and Ivory Coast started on March 1, marking a key moment, which has been seen as a light at the end of a long tunnel. Since March, Ghana has used 90% of its doses. In preparation for delays with Covax, the country did sign pacts with several other suppliers including Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.

However, even with extra measures in place, supply challenges have fettered deliveries. The Gambia has reportedly also run out of AstraZeneca shots and has turned to Sinopharm Group Co. to introduce the Chinese company’s vaccine this month.

Other countries in Africa: Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi and Rwanda, have used all the vaccines received through Coax. Angola, Uganda, Ethiopia and Egypt have used over 80% of their supply.

Beyond Africa

In Bangladesh, vaccination of the public has slowed close to a halt with the government turning to Russia and China to secure more supplies. Sri Lanka is awaiting health ministry approval to give people Pfizer’s vaccine as the second dose amid a shortfall in AstraZeneca shots.

In Nepal, supply shortages have slowed the process of vaccination, the country has only managed to fully vaccinate less than 3% of the population. Nepal’s health ministry director Tara Nath Pokhrel has stated, “vaccination to the entire population is a dream that is quite far off.” A sentiment that is a reflection of the current situation in most of the world’s poorer countries.

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