Newspaper headlines: 'Vaccine victory', and Captain Sir Tom Moore in hospital

By BBC News
Staff

Published: 5 hours ago

image captionPrime Minister Boris Johnson has celebrated a "crucial milestone" after all older people in English care homes were offered a coronavirus vaccine, the Times reports. The paper says that figures on Monday are expected to show that the NHS has reached some 10,000 care homes with older residents. A small number have reportedly had their visits deferred because of local coronavirus outbreaks. Meanwhile, images of Captain Sir Tom Moore feature prominently on most front pages after he was admitted to hospital with coronavirus.

image captionFollowing the care home rollout, the Daily Telegraph says Mr Johnson is pledging to "accelerate" the programme across the population. Across the UK, nearly nine million people have received their first dose, including a record 598,389 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Britain will prioritise offering spare vaccines to Ireland once stocks are secured for the UK rollout, the paper adds.

image captionElsewhere, Brussels is trying to reassure its allies after sparking international anger over plans to curb vaccine exports, the Financial Times reports. New measures give EU member states and the European Commission powers to block vaccine shipments from companies that also have contracts to supply the EU. Canada and Japan have raised concerns over the new export rules, and South Korea has warned governments against grabbing more vaccines than they need, the paper adds.

image caption"UK breaks vaccination record with 600,000 jabs in a day" is the headline leading the i's front page. Nearly 1% of the population has been vaccinated in a single day, the paper reports, with the effects of the vaccination programme expected to be apparent in two weeks. However, health chiefs have warned that the easing of lockdown should be gradual, the paper adds.

image captionThe Daily Express celebrates Health Secretary Matt Hancock's comments that the growing pace of the vaccine rollout means the UK is set for a great summer.

image captionHowever, it will take months for the NHS in England to return to normal service after the Covid crisis ends, the Guardian reports, as the workforce is "exhausted and traumatised". The paper quotes a major hospitals boss who warned that "very large numbers" of staff will go on long-term sick leave or quit. Cancelled surgeries will also take time to return to normal, the report continues.

image captionMetro leads with news that Sir Tom Moore is in hospital. The 100-year-old World War Two veteran, who raised millions for NHS charities last year, became ill after returning from a Christmas trip to Barbados, the paper adds. His daughter, Hannah Ingram-Moore, said he had been suffering from pneumonia for several weeks and tested positive for Covid-19 last week.

image captionOn Sir Tom's admission to hospital, the Daily Mirror quotes the PM, who said: "You've inspired the whole nation and I know we are all wishing you a full recovery."

image caption"Pray for Tom" is the headline on the front of the Sun, accompanied by a picture of him walking. His daughter, Ms Ingram-Moore, said he was not in intensive care and thanked medics doing "all they can" to make him comfortable.

image captionMeanwhile, the Daily Mail leads with the financial and career impact the pandemic is expected to have on children, according to an economic research group. Pupils missing classes during the pandemic could face up to £350bn in lost earnings over their careers, a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicts. Children who have lost six months of normal education could lose an average of £40,000 in income in their lifetime, the report adds.

image captionAnd the Daily Star says that a "gut-busting" new pill that captures fat in food and stops it turning into calories will soon be available.

Captain Sir Tom Moore, who is in hospital with coronavirus and pneumonia, is pictured on many of the front pages - among them the i, the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and the Daily Express.

The Daily Mail and the Sun ask readers to pray for the war hero who raised millions for NHS charities.

The Daily Mirror has several pictures of Captain Tom, who turned 100 in April, including in his uniform during the World War Two and completing laps of his garden as part of his fundraising efforts.

The Daily Telegraph leads with the story that the programme to immunise millions of people against coronavirus is set to escalate now that every elderly care home resident in England has been offered the jab.

The paper notes that the last few days have seen growing confidence in the vaccine rollout, buoyed by the news that two more vaccines ordered by the government have shown success in trials.

The Telegraph says the latest figures will heap pressure on Scotland, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the rollout of vaccines there has been constrained by the fact that care home residents were prioritised.

image copyrightReuters

image captionCaptain Sir Tom Moore has been admitted to hospital with coronavirus

On its front page, the Yorkshire Post has reaction to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies about the cost of lost schooling.

Business and education leaders in the north are calling for the government to take "urgent action".

The Post says that, while the authors of the report find no simple north-south divide in the likely impact of coronavirus across England, some northern communities are more vulnerable due to the challenges of remote learning and high absence levels.

The Sun makes its own assessment of lost schooling, warning that bored teenagers, robbed of their social lives, are fuelling a lockdown explosion in cannabis use.

It adds that there is no vaccine to cure the mental health crisis and a return to normality cannot come soon enough.

The Financial Times has a picture on its front page of a woman surrounded by police wearing riot gear in St Petersburg.

She was one of thousands arrested during a second week of anti-government protests.

image copyrightEPA

image captionRussia has seen days of protests in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny

The Times believes that the security operation mounted in Moscow was on a scale never previously seen in the Putin era.

The Independent online sums up the heavy-handed response of the Kremlin in three words "lockdown, dogs and truncheons".

The front of the Metro shows demonstrators brandishing gold-coloured toilet brushes - an apparent reference to a lavish palace which has been linked to President Putin.

Meanwhile, the Times and the Telegraph reveal that, while a dog has been declared a man's best friend, it was in fact women who paved the way.

Researchers at Washington State University found that men may have used dogs for hunting and herding but women gave them names and treated them with affection - and so were the first to create a bond between humans and canines.

Researchers comment that whoever started the close bond, dogs have hitched themselves to humans and followed them all over the world in what has been a very successful relationship.