Fortification of flour is a public health policy known to reduce neural tube defects in babiesFolic acid is to be added to the most commonly consumed flours in the UK to help prevent spinal conditions in babies, the government has announced.Doctors adv…
Scottish Covid vaccine trialists ‘treated like second-class citizens’
Novavax volunteers fear start of vaccine passports next month could put them at further disadvantageScottish vaccine volunteers are being treated like “second-class citizens” while waiting for the Novavax jab to be approved, an MSP has said, as they co…
Health ‘levelling up’ will flop if cuts are not reversed, Javid told
Exclusive: Ministers must restore public health funding after decade of cuts, world expert Michael Marmot to saySajid Javid’s vow to “level up health” will fail unless the government reverses a decade of cuts to public health, one of the world’s leadin…
The Observer view on the government’s flawed winter plan for Covid | Observer editorial
Measures taken now, such as mask wearing and better ventilation in schools, would help the NHS avoid further costly delays to non-Covid treatmentA small room, with the windows shut, packed tightly with more than 30 people, none wearing masks. This is t…
Private hospitals profit from NHS waiting lists as people without insurance pay out
As NHS waiting lists reach record levels, more and more patients are paying for ops out of their own pocketsBritons without health insurance on why they paid to go privateWhen Fabien needed to have a decayed tooth removed in May, his dentist told him t…
More than 4m stopped wearing masks this summer in Britain, ONS data shows
Report comes as government scientific adviser describes Tuesday’s maskless cabinet meeting as ‘toxic’ for public adherenceCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageMore than four million people stopped wearing face coverings in public…
Covid teams can vaccinate pupils against parents’ wishes, schools told
Guidelines say health staff can decide whether children receive jab without parental consent, as headteachers fear protestsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHealthcare staff can decide whether children get a Covid vaccine agai…
UK medicines regulator approves Covid vaccines for use as booster shots
MHRA says third jab of Pfizer or AstraZeneca would be safe as JCVI meets to decide on booster programmeCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe UK’s medicines regulator has granted emergency approval for the Pfizer and AstraZenec…
Unvaccinated health and care workers in England could be redeployed
Remarks by UK care minister come amid consultation on mandatory vaccines for frontline health staffCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageHealth and care sector workers in England who decline to be fully vaccinated could be moved t…
What has Boris Johnson announced in his social care plan?
The PM has revealed the first outlines of a shake-up also intended to help the NHS recover from CovidPolitics live: Boris Johnson confirms rise in national insuranceBoris Johnson has given the first outlines of what Downing Street is billing as a once-…