LONDON (July 17): British health minister Sajid Javid on Saturday said he had tested positive for Covid-19, but added that his symptoms were mild and he was thankful to have had two doses of vaccine against the disease. Javid tweeted on March 17 that he had received a first shot of Oxford/AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, posting a picture of him getting a second dose on May 16. Vaccines are not 100% effective at preventing infection, but fully vaccinated people are less likely to get seriously ill with Covid-19 even if they can test positive. Britain is facing a new wave of cases of Covid-19, but Johnson and Javid claim the vaccine programme has largely broken the link between Covid-19 cases and mortality, although Johnson has said that the country should reconcile itself to the prospect of more deaths from Covid-19. Britain has the seventh highest Covid-19 death toll in the world, and has fully vaccinated two-thirds of adults, although it is not vaccinating children.

Source: The Edge Markets July 17, 2021 13:49 UTC