Highlights

The Guardian has reported that a ‘COVID exit strategy’ is being drawn up by the UK Government that could take effect from April. These reports are unconfirmed by the Government, but leaked documents from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) have been obtained by the newspaper that show plans of winding down the official government-backed testing system and tracing operations.…

The COP26 summit ended last weekend with nearly 200 countries agreeing to the “Glasgow Climate Pact”, to keep 1.5C alive. The summit was the largest international event of its kind ever held in the United Kingdom, and more than 25,000 delegates convened in the Scottish capital to speed up the pace of climate action. The deal was headed for unanimous…

The Government has announced a funding injection of nearly £250 million pounds into the modernisation of diagnostic technology in the NHS. The overall goal of the investment is to support the NHS’s ongoing push to drive down care backlog figures, and ensure that diagnostic screenings are at the necessary level to detect undiagnosed diseases within the UK population. The improved…

All four UK health services have now pledged to achieve net zero carbon emissions, the Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid has announced. This commitment comes as 47 other countries have agreed similar ambitions across the world as part of the COP26 Science and Innovation Day. The list of countries are pledging “landmark commitments to develop climate resilient, sustainable…

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, took place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. The summit was co-led by the United Kingdom and Italy. BIVDA members can download here a briefing document on the key commitments made by world leaders regarding climate change, and transformations within global health services to reduce…

A new state-of-the-art cancer clinical diagnostics facility is to be installed at the Royal Marsden NHS Trust. The liquid biopsy testing facility will be a hub for related research and has been agreed upon following a partnership with Guardant Health, a leading precision oncology company. Guardant Health’s role will facilitate a rapid development of the unit’s technology, so that cancers…

Variants of concern (VOCs) and variants of Interest (VOIs) are impacting immunity from vaccination to SARS-CoV-2. Join SelectScience's upcoming webinar on Tuesday, November 9 to expand your understanding of how serology testing can be utilized following natural infection or vaccination. The critical role of monitoring for variants with easy-to-use RT-PCR-based molecular testing will also be reviewed. The webinar takes place…

LumiraDx is a medical technology company developing, manufacturing and marketing smart connected diagnostics and diagnostic-led care solutions. Founded in 2014 by entrepreneurs with a successful track record in building and scaling medical diagnostics and health IT businesses, the company has major operations in the UK and the USA, and is supported by a global sales network, LumiraDx is a high…

The Department for Transport has, pursuant to Article 14(1) of the retained EU Drivers’ Hours Regulation, gained the approval of the Secretary of State for Transport to extend the temporary relaxation of the enforcement of the retained EU drivers’ hours Regulation in England, Scotland and Wales, until 9 January 2022. This is due to the exceptional circumstances arising from the cumulative…

Please see below a list of interesting videos from the UK Pharmacogenetics & Stratified Medicine Network's Opening Meeting 2021. #UKPGx2021 Recorded Talks Welcome to the 8th Annual Open Meeting of the UK Pharmacogenetics & Stratified Medicine Network - Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed First reflections on the UK response to COVID-19 - Professor Jonathan Van-Tam COVID-19 and beyond - a new…