News Round-Up

• “Free Covid tests for all will end when latest wave is over” – The Government’s strategy for living with the virus will see only very vulnerable groups offered lateral flow tests at no cost, but the cut-off has been pushed back to when the current wave has receded, the Telegraph reports.
• “Just ‘64% of people are now self-isolating after Freedom Day’” – Just 64% of people with Covid in England said they stayed home and quarantined for at least five days between February 28th and March 8th, according to the ONS, the Mail reports.
• “New Pfizer document shows immunosuppression in first seven days and natural immunity exists” – The Naked Emperor on a lone document released early ahead of the next Pfizer trial documents release which states: “Clinical laboratory evaluations showed a transient decrease in lymphocytes that was observed in all age and dose groups.”
• “Efficacy of a Fourth Dose of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine against Omicron” – An Israeli study in the NEJM finds “low vaccine efficacy against infections in health care workers, as well as relatively high viral loads suggesting that those who were infected were infectious”. It concludes: “A fourth vaccination of healthy young health care workers may have only marginal benefits.”
• “Why Hong Kong can’t escape Covid” – Chaos and incompetence are forcing citizens to flee, writes Philip Cowley in UnHerd.
• “The People Promising Us “Net Zero” Have No Clue About The Energy Storage Problem” – The storage problem is the critical issue that must be addressed if there is ever going to be ‘Net Zero’ electricity generation, let alone a ‘Net Zero’ economy based on all energy usage having been electrified, writes Francis Menton in the Manhattan Contrarian.
• “Now tedious nanny state bores want to crack down on cheap meat” – God forbid poorer shoppers might be able to afford some nutritious and protein rich meat to feed their families, says Ben Kelly in CapX.
• “England faces being carpeted with solar panels in Net Zero push” – Telegraph report that England faces being carpeted with solar panels covering an area close to the size of Exmoor under plans being considered as part of Boris Johnson’s green energy drive.
• “The rouble rebounds. Have sanctions failed?” – The rouble has steadily advanced back almost to where it was before the invasion while the Russian stock market has risen sharply since it partially reopened last week, raising doubts about the impact of Western sanctions, writes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
• “The incoherence at the heart of NATO” – The alliance spent years stoking a conflict with Russia it had no intention of fighting, argues Tim Black in Spiked.
• “NHS trusts ask men if they are pregnant before having scans” – Male cancer patients and those having X-Rays face “unfair” and “confusing” questions after this supposedly ‘anti-woke’ Government removed the word “female” from clinical guidelines, the Telegraph reports.
• “Why Britain shouldn’t pay reparations for slavery” – During the Royal visit to Jamaica, there were calls for the British to atone for the slave trade – but the demand contains one key flaw, argues Michael Deacon in the Telegraph.
• “Black Privilege” – “Apparently it’s okay when a black man hits someone. Applauded even. My career was ended for saying England was a warm and tolerant place. I’m starting to wish I could swap some of my ‘white privilege’ for the one Will Smith benefits from,” writes Laurence Fox in TCW Defending Freedom.
• “‘This is wrong and must be called out’: Sharron Davies leads backlash in transgender cycling row” – Trans athlete Emily Bridges, who last month won bronze in a men’s race, will race in Saturday’s National Omnium Championships against Olympian Dame Laura Kenny, sparking a backlash and threats of legal action, the Telegraph reports.
• “Explorer and abolitionist David Livingstone condemned by Glasgow council for ‘links to slavery’” – The fate of his monument, which stands next to Glasgow Cathedral, hangs in the balance along with other “problematic” city statues, according to the Telegraph.
• “It’s absolute madness to even contemplate vaccinating these children” – Watch Professor Angus Dalgleish on GB News clash with Dr. David Strain, who draws doubt on his grasp of medical ethics by arguing: “It halves the risk of giving it to your granny.”

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