Here are the coronavirus morning headlines for Monday, January 24 as unvaccinated NHS workers who lose their jobs in England could end up working in Wales.
Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said he would "not rule out" recruiting staff who left their jobs because of the mandatory vaccination policy in England, which is not in place here.
Frontline staff in England must be fully vaccinated against Covid with two jabs by April 1 - meaning they must have had their first dose by February 3.
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UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has urged NHS staff in England who have not had their mandatory Covid vaccines to do so amid calls for the deadline to be delayed.
Mr Raab played down suggestions the April 1 deadline could be postponed while NHS representatives have warned the policy could force thousands of frontline workers to leave their roles at a time when patient demand is high.
Vaccines are not compulsory for NHS staff in Wales, but Mr Drakeford said a "vast majority" of care sector staff had taken the "protections that vaccination offers".
In an interview for BBC Radio 4 on Sunday, he was asked if he would take on NHS staff from England.
The First Minister said: "We wouldn't rule it out but it would depend on what anybody said in an interview when they were applying for a job. We're not going to make vaccinations mandatory in our NHS.
"We haven't in our social care services because we have succeeded by persuasion by getting the vast majority of people who work in our services to do the right thing and take up the protections that vaccination offers."
He added: "I don't expect us to go looking for people who have not been vaccinated but, if people apply, then they would be interviewed in the normal way. We'd look to see what lay behind their decision. We wouldn't rule them out but we certainly won't be going out there looking for them."
Pat Cullen, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said the deadline for mandatory jabs should be delayed or the policy would "backfire".
She said: "Nothing matters more to a nurse than caring for their patients safely. Right now, our members are telling me they can't always do that. We are calling on the Government to recognise this risk and delay a move which by its own calculations looks to backfire. To dismiss valued nursing staff during this crisis would be an act of self-sabotage."
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Wales Health Minister gives update on what could change at Feb 10 review
Health Minister Eluned Morgan has confirmed that the use of Covid passes and face masks will be examined during the next review of restrictions in Wales next month.
Wales is on track to revert to Alert Level Zero by the end of this week, which will mean that after January 28, the only rules in place in Wales are that everyone over the age of 11 has to wear face coverings in indoor public places, with the exception of hospitality venues.
The Covid pass to prove that you are either fully vaccinated or have tested negative on a lateral flow test will also still apply for anyone over the age of 18 attending, large events, cinemas, theatres and concert halls. Read what the First Minister has said about Covid passes here.
Reviews are moving from weekly to three-weekly, meaning that the next review will be on Friday, February 10.
When asked on BBC's Sunday Politics if that date would be too early to get rid of Covid passes and rules around face masks, Baroness Morgan said: "We have got thinking to do before then and we will continue to be driven by the data and the science.
"It is interesting to hear the World Health Organization say that wearing masks are something that people should consider for the longer term. We have got to assess how people feel about this, we have got to assess if the science supports it.
"Clearly, we are keen to see face masks go in schools earlier than perhaps the rest of the population, but all of these things are things that we will be considering."
On the subject of pupils wearing face masks in the classroom, she repeated what the First Minister Mark Drakeford said on Friday (January 21) that it was likely this rule would remain in place until at least the half-term at the end of February. Read what was said here.
Ms Morgan said: "We know how difficult it is for children, but the key thing for us is that we keep children in school. If this helps us to do that, then obviously we will support the teachers, and we will support the children in our best efforts to stop that infection in schools."
Mask-wearing rules for pupils in English schools were scrapped this week but it was reported that some head teachers had defied the UK Government and insisted they will remain in place.. The Daily Telegraph reported that more than 100 schools have already written to parents to say that children must continue wearing masks in lessons despite the Prime Minister’s announcement that the measure is no longer necessary.
Omicron could mean an end to the pandemic in Europe, WHO Europe director says
The Omicron variant has moved the Covid-19 pandemic into a new phase and could bring it to an end in Europe, the WHO Europe director has said.
“It’s plausible that the region is moving towards a kind of pandemic endgame,” Hans Kluge told AFP, adding that Omicron could infect 60% of Europeans by March.
Once the current surge of Omicron sweeping across Europe subsides, “there will be for quite some weeks and months a global immunity, either thanks to the vaccine or because people have immunity due to the infection, and also lowering seasonality”.
“We anticipate that there will be a period of quiet before Covid-19 may come back towards the end of the year, but not necessarily the pandemic coming back,” Kluge said.
The Omicron variant, which studies have shown is more contagious than Delta but generally leads to less severe infection among vaccinated people, has raised long-awaited hopes that Covid-19 is starting to shift from a pandemic to a more manageable endemic illness like seasonal flu.
But Kluge cautioned that it was still too early to consider Covid-19 endemic.
“There is a lot of talk about endemic but endemic means ... that it is possible to predict what’s going to happen. This virus has surprised (us) more than once so we have to be very careful,” Kluge said.
With Omicron spreading so widely, other variants could still emerge, he warned.
Coronavirus infection rates, cases and deaths for all parts of Wales
Eight more people have died with coronavirus in Wales, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales, but the infection rate continues to fall.
The data, published on Sunday, January 23, and covering a 24-hour period up to 9am on January 21, shows 2,827 new positive cases to bring the total to 756,727.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive in Wales has now reached 6,771.
Data published on lateral flow tests, which is updated weekly in Wales, show that there has been another slight increase in the number of positive tests. There were a total of 15,393 positive tests out of 383,021 tests carried out and registered.
The latest infection rate based on PCR tests, for the seven days up to January 16, now stands at 472 cases for every 100,000 people – down on the 490.9 recorded on Thursday. However these figures don't include people testing positive through LFT tests.
UK is over worst of Covid says top scientist
The UK is past the worst of the Covid pandemic but should be braced for some “possible bumps on the road”, according to the scientist who helped shape Britain’s lockdown strategy.
Prof Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London , said things were looking up as the country passed the peak of yet another wave of coronavirus infections, reports The Guardian.
“I am optimistic that the bulk of the pandemic, in terms of deaths and hospitalisations, is behind us. Though we should still be prepared for some possible bumps on the road,” he said, adding that any new variants – which were highly likely to arise – may have a less dramatic impact than Omicron.
“The very high level of immunity in the UK population – acquired via both vaccination and infection – means that the risk of a new variant causing unmanageable levels of healthcare demand is much reduced,” he said. “An additional positive is that if any new variant arises from Omicron – not a certainty – there is a fair chance it will retain the reduced severity of that strain.”
Pfizer boss backs yearly jabs to fight pandemic
Pfizer boss Albert Bourla has backed an annual Covid vaccine to fight the pandemic.
The chief executive says a yearly vaccination would be preferable to more frequent booster shots, reports Mail Online.
Pfizer/BioNtech's Covid-19 vaccine continues to be effective against severe disease and death caused by the Omicron variant of the virus, but less effective in preventing transmission.
And as cases spread rapidly, booster programmes across the world have been expanded, while some countries have shortened the gap between shots.
But asked in an interview with Israeli TV if he sees booster shots being administered every four to five months on a regular basis, Bourla replied: "This will not be a good scenario. What I'm hoping (is) that we will have a vaccine that you will have to do once a year.
"Once a year - it is easier to convince people to do it. It is easier for people to remember.
'So from a public health perspective, it is an ideal situation. We are looking to see if we can create a vaccine that covers Omicron and doesn't forget the other variants and that could be a solution."
He added that Pfizer could file for approval for a redesigned vaccine to fight Omicron, and be ready to mass produce it, as early as March.
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