Coronavirus latest news: More than half of parents willing to vaccinate children, study finds
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More than half of parents with children aged 17 or under are willing to have them vaccinated against Covid-19 if jabs are offered to under-18s, a survey shows.
A YouGov poll of 938 parents found that 53 percent would get their child vaccinated, rising to 59 percent of parents who have already had, or were planning to get, the jab themselves.
However, one in five (18 percent) of all parents said that they would not vaccinate their children, while another 29 percent were unsure.
Even among those having the vaccine themselves, 29 percent of parents were uncertain about jabbing their offspring, while 12 percent said they would not do it.
Follow the latest updates below.
05:33 AM
Portugal to ramp up vaccination after surge in Delta variant
Portugal said it hoped to vaccinate a further 1.7 million people against Covid-19 over the next two weeks, as authorities scramble to contain a surge in infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant.
Cases in Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million, jumped by 2,605 on Saturday, the biggest increase since February 13, taking the total cases since the pandemic began to 887,047.
New cases are being reported mostly among unvaccinated younger people so daily coronavirus deaths, currently in single digits, remain well below levels in February, when the country was still under lockdown after January's second wave.
Portugal has fully vaccinated around 35 percent of its population, and those aged 18 to 29 can start booking vaccination appointments on Sunday.
05:00 AM
How changes to the job retention scheme will affect you
The furlough scheme is starting to unwind despite the Prime Minister's four-week delay in lifting remaining Covid restrictions.
The Job Retention Scheme, known as furlough, has acted as a lifeline to millions of households and will continue to run until the end of September. However, from today, employers are being asked to contribute 10pc towards the wages of furloughed workers for hours their staff do not work, rising to 20pc in August and September.
Employees will continue to receive 80pc of current salary capped at £2,500 per month until the scheme ends.
More than 2.4 million people continued to rely on the Government to pay their wages at the end of May 2021, with three in 10 employers still furloughing staff. This is down from 5.1 million at the height of lockdown in January.
03:57 AM
Olympic cloud hangs over Tokyo vote
Voters in Japan's capital are electing the Tokyo city assembly amid worries about health risks during the Olympics, opening in three weeks, as coronavirus cases continue to rise.
In Sunday's balloting, 271 candidates are vying for 127 seats. Eligible voters total 9.8 million people in the megacity with a population of nearly 14 million.
Public opinion surveys show most people want the Games canceled or postponed again. Behind the fears is the lagging vaccination rollout, with only about 10 percent of the population fully vaccinated.
Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike called in sick two weeks ago, citing exhaustion, and was not seen in public until Friday. Her routine role would have been to stump for her party, Tomin First, the biggest with 46 seats in the assembly heading into the election.
02:58 AM
Fall in new cases encouraging, says NSW Premier
Australia's most populous state reported a fall in new daily coronavirus cases on Sunday, following two days of record 2021 infections, as officials implored Sydney residents to follow rules so they could end a lockdown next week.
New South Wales recorded 16 new infections on Saturday, of which 13 were already in isolation. That was down from 35 new cases on Friday - the highest number of daily cases so far this year for the state - and 31 on Thursday.
"Whilst the numbers overnight are very encouraging, we know they have potential to bounce around. The next few days are absolutely critical," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
The outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant over the past few weeks has alarmed authorities amid a sluggish nationwide vaccination drive, and sent three state capitals into lockdown last week.
02:38 AM
Angry Brazilians protest 'corrupt' vaccine deal
Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets Saturday to protest against President Jair Bolsonaro, who faces an investigation over an allegedly corrupt Covid vaccine deal.
It was the third day of demonstrations against the government, which is also confronting mounting pressure from a parliamentary inquiry into its handling of the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 500,000 lives in the country.
Lima Mendes, a 47-year-old physician taking part in a Rio de Janeiro protest, squarely blamed the government for the high death toll.
"This government has killed more than 500,000 people through its spurious decisions, fake news, lies and now this absurd corruption scandal over the vaccines," she said.
01:37 AM
Bears and big cats vaccinated as zoo moves to protect species
A San Francisco Bay Area zoo is inoculating its big cats, bears and ferrets against the coronavirus as part of a national effort to protect animal species using an experimental vaccine.
Tigers Ginger and Molly were the first two animals at the Oakland Zoo to get the vaccine this week, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Saturday. The doses were donated and developed by veterinary pharmaceutical company Zoetis in New Jersey.
Alex Herman, vice president of veterinary services at the zoo, said none of the animals have gotten the virus, but they wanted to be proactive. Tigers, black and grizzly bears, mountain lions and ferrets were the first to receive the first of two doses. Next are primates and pigs.
01:16 AM
South Africa infections continue record-breaking run
South Africa hit a record of 26,000 fresh Covid-19 cases on Saturday, its second record-breaking tally in as many days, as a rampant third wave of infections coursed through a largely unvaccinated population.
The rampant rise in infections in Africa's most industrialised nation has stretched health services to breaking point, with hospitals out of beds and medics to man them, and forced the government to impose partial lockdown restrictions.
South Africa has recorded more than two million cases and 61,500 deaths so far during the pandemic, the data from the Department of Health showed, while 3.3 million people have been vaccinated — about 5 percent of the population.
The low vaccination rate has resulted from a mixture of bad luck and bureaucratic failures. The government had to destroy two million contaminated Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses earlier this year, while efforts to replace them have run up against global supply bottlenecks.
12:35 AM
Landmarks light up to thank NHS staff
Landmarks across England were lit up in blue on Saturday evening to thank NHS staff for their role in fighting the coronavirus pandemic on the health service's 73rd birthday.
The Wembley arch, the Liver building in Liverpool, Salisbury Cathedral and vaccination centres across England were among more than 70 sites to join the tribute.
Football stadiums, town halls, churches, hospitals and bridges in different parts also followed suit.
It comes as events are being held across England to commemorate health workers who have lost their lives to the virus.
11:19 PM
Today's top stories
Boris Johnson has signed off on plans to end the compulsory wearing of face masks from July 19, The Telegraph understands, as the Prime Minister prepares to declare this week that the link between Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations has finally been broken.
School bubbles and the requirement to self-isolate are “paralysing” society and risk prompting a further lockdown by the back door, a senior government vaccines adviser has said.
Sajid Javid accused world leaders of “herd behaviour” in their response to the coronavirus pandemic and likened them to panicked shoppers who hoarded toilet paper, The Telegraph can reveal.
Heathrow Airport is at risk of defaulting on its £15bn debt mountain after talks stalled over the return of flights between Britain and America.
The furlough scheme is starting to unwind despite the Prime Minister's four-week delay in lifting remaining Covid restrictions.
