The number of coronavirus deaths registered in England and Wales has fallen for the second week running, new figures show.
There were 2,756 deaths registered in the week ending December 11 mentioning “novel coronavirus” on the death certificate, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
This is 79 fewer deaths than were registered during the previous week, or a 2.8% fall, with Covid-19 accounting for 22.4% of all deaths.
The previous week saw weekly registered deaths involving Covid-19 fall for the first time in three months, as the four-week national lockdown was lifted.
Overall, 1,542 more deaths were registered during the week ending December 11 compared to the average for this period over the past five years.
– EU to get 12.5 million doses of BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine by year-end
BioNTech and U.S. drugmaker Pfizer will supply 12.5 million doses of their Covid-19 vaccine to the European Union by the end of the year, the German company said on Tuesday.
That is more than half the 20 million doses expected to be delivered to the United States before the end of the year, BioNTech’s chief business officer, Sean Marett, told a briefing.
With two shots administered three weeks apart, the EU deliveries would be enough to vaccinate 6.25 million people as the companies gear up to deliver the first shots following regulatory approval on Monday.
The 27 EU member states that want shots will receive them within five days, Mr Marett told a briefing.
