Image source, EPA

A scientist advising the government has warned the UK faces a "rough winter," with Covid combining with "other seasonal viruses" that "are going to come back".

Prof Calum Semple, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), says pandemic measures such as hand washing and social distancing "got rid of influenza, and many of the other viruses".

"Now that we're opening up society, we've got to... live with not just Covid, but the flu will come back, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) bronchiolitis will come back," he tells BC Breakfast.

He says it "wouldn't surprise" him if local directors of public health begin "suggesting" the use of face masks in shops and on public transport over the winter period.

Image source, Getty Images

Headteachers say guidance for pupils and parents over whether children have a coronavirus vaccine at school is "not advice that teachers are qualified to give".

Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that schools are public buildings and the government could choose to rollout vaccines to children.

"But vaccinations are voluntary and people need to make the choice based on medical advice," he says.

"This is a medical procedure rather than an educational procedure and we will have to make sure that that sacred bond of trust between school and home is maintained.

"It's not teachers and school leaders that are able to give advice to parents or young people about whether they should take up the voluntary vaccine or not, and that's where our concerns lie at the moment. This advice and encouragement has to come through the health services and the professionals... If it's done like that hopefully we can avoid any unpleasantness in schools."

Image source, Getty Images

China has seen a new surge in coronavirus cases, linked to a primary school in Fujian province.

Initial reports suggest the outbreak could be due to a student's father, who tested positive on 10 September - 38 days after returning from Singapore on 4 August.

He had served 21 days in quarantine and nine tests he took during that time were negative, said a report in the state-run Global Times newspaper.

Authorities in Fujian have ordered that all teachers and students must be tested within a week, after more than 100 cases were reported in four days.

Schools have been closed and anyone leaving Putian must have proof of a negative Covid test within the last 48 hours.

Public venues such as cinemas, museums and libraries have been told to suspend indoor activities, and restaurants asked to limit their operating hours.

Image source, Pacemaker

We've got more on the latest jobs figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) which show the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% in the three months to July.

The ONS's deputy statistician, Jonathan Athow, says: "Early estimates from payroll data suggest that in August the total number of employees is around the same level as before the pandemic, though our surveys show well over a million are still on furlough."

But Mr Athow points out that the recovery was not even, with areas such as London and sectors like hospitality and the arts still down.

"The overall employment rate continues to recover, particularly among groups such as young workers who were hard hit at the outset of the pandemic, while unemployment has fallen," he said.

The ONS cautioned though that young people had been badly affected by job losses.

The vaccines minister says he hopes the booster programme will be the "final piece of the jigsaw" in reducing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Nadhim Zahawi says: "The JCVI recommended in the interim advice that we look at boosting the most vulnerable to Covid and of course flu as well.

"Where possible we will try and co-administer, with one caveat - with flu, GPs and pharmacies - which are the backbone of the vaccination programme - can rapidly vaccinate lots of people.

"If we are using the mNRA vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna, there is a 15-minute observation period for the Covid boost.

"But, wherever possible, we will try and co-administer.

"This is probably the last piece of the jigsaw to allow us to transition this virus from pandemic to endemic, and I hope by next year we will be in a position to deal with this virus with an annual inoculation programme as we do flu."

More from Professor Anthony Harnden, who says varying advice on whether the vaccine should be given en masse to 12 to 15-year-olds from the JCVI and the chief medical officers (CMOs) could cause "uncertainty, hesitation and debate" among families.

He tells the BBC Today Programme: "I think the public in the end will appreciate our honesty and I think they will also appreciate the CMOs' perspective, and the government offering them choice.

"I agree it will cause uncertainty, hesitation and debate within families, but sometimes life isn't black and white, and this is one of those situations."

He adds that parents and children need to be "properly informed" and their choices on whether or not to have the vaccine should be "respected".

He says there will be a "grade of competency" based on age when considering whether a child's decision to take the vaccine against a parent's wishes can be honoured.

"The law clearly states that the child and parent should try to come to an agreed conclusion... the clinician involved in administering the vaccine needs to be absolutely sure that the child is competent to make that decision.

"There will be a grade of competency from the age of 16 downwards, so 14 to 15-year-olds may be deemed competent to make that decision on their own, it's less likely that a 12 or 13-year-old will be deemed competent."

Image source, Reuters

Covid PCR testing should be abandoned for most holidaymakers, says travel organisation Abta.

Fully vaccinated travellers should not need to be tested on their return from lower-risk countries, it said.

It also called for a "significant overhaul" of the traffic light system for travel destinations.

Abta said the policies had "choked off" this summer's travel trade, with seven out of 10 travel firms planning to make redundancies after furlough ends.

It also called for the government to reduce the traffic light system to just a small number of "red list" countries, purely for the management of known Covid variants of concern.

The expense of PCR testing is widely blamed for discouraging people from travelling abroad.

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting, vaccine invitations are due to be sent out to all children aged 12 to 15 in England.

They will be offered one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab and parental consent will be sought for the schools-based vaccination programme.

It follows advice from the UK's chief medical officers, who say the jab will help reduce disruption to education.

A rollout is yet to be confirmed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

You can read more about the rollout here.

Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) which advises the government, has been explaining to us why there is a "marginal health benefit" for children with no underlying health concerns being vaccinated against coronavirus.

Prof Harnden tells the BBC Today Programme: "What we have said on our committee is that there is a marginal health benefit from the vaccination.

"That's because the risks of Covid to well young children is very small indeed, but the benefits of the vaccine are very small because of the small risk of a very rare side effect.

"We felt that on balance that we couldn't give advice based on the health benefits alone.

"But the CMOs (chief medical officers) have re-looked at this, and they've looked at a much wider thing about educational factors which were much outside our remit - such as school infection control, social isolation, school closures - and they felt that on balance there was more of a benefit in offering the vaccination."

The vaccines minister says teachers will not be involved in advising parents and children on coronavirus jabs.

Nadhim Zahawi tells BBC Breakfast if there is a difference of opinion between a parent and a child over whether to have a jab then a clinician will bring them together to try and reach consent.

Asked about whether there could be further national lockdowns to tackle coronavirus during the winter he says these tough restrictions were once our only defence "but vaccines have changed all that".

He says vaccines are now the "main tool within our arsenal" and that he is "confident we can put some downward pressure on the virus through the booster programme" - but "people would be foolhardy to say we rule out anything".

He also told Sky News a winter lockdown would be an "absolutely last resort".

Vaccines for 12-15s could prevent 110,000 missed school dayspublished at 07:51 British Summer Time 14 September 2021

07:51 BST 14 September 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

There's a reason this decision-making process has been so long and, at times, seemingly painful - it's such a finely-balanced call.

Healthy children aged 12 to 15 are at such low risk from Covid, that the benefit of vaccination on health grounds is only marginal - and not enough to warrant going ahead with a mass vaccination programme.

And add in the benefit from limiting school disruption and you only just get there.

The emergence of the Delta variant means the vaccines are less effective at preventing infection than they once were.

What is more, more than half of secondary school age children may have natural immunity after having been infected.

The assessment released by the CMOs suggests it may stop 30,000 infections between October and March in England.

This is based on a number of assumptions on uptake and spread of the virus in the coming months which could be wrong.

But if that is the case, that would prevent 110,000 missed days of in-person schooling - or one day for every 20 children. The attention given to this issue is, perhaps, rather disproportionate.

The first Covid jabs will start to be given to 12 to 15-year-olds in England "hopefully" by 22 September, the vaccines minister has told BBC Breakfast.

Nadhim Zahawi says first clinicians will give information to parents and children through leaflets and online resources delivered through the school-age immunisation service.

He says parental consent forms for children to have their jabs will then be sent home "in the usual way" via a letter home or an email.

Here's our explainer on parental consent for Covid vaccines.

The vaccines minister says there should be "no stigma attached" to jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds "whatsoever".

Nadhim Zahawi tells BBC Breakfast the government has been "very careful" in looking at the data and clinical evidence before coming to its decision to offer vaccines to this age group.

Other countries in Europe "have been doing it for months now", he says.

Zahawi says the jabs will be delivered through the school age-immunisation service which is "very well-equipped" and "has been doing this for years".

Plan for the worst, hope for the bestpublished at 07:28 British Summer Time 14 September 2021

07:28 BST 14 September 2021

Nick Triggle
Health Correspondent

There is a huge amount of uncertainty about what winter will bring. In fact, it's not even clear what the next month will bring.

It was feared September could see Covid cases rise, but there are no signs of that happening yet.

Big surges in infection levels are probably behind us, given the amount of immunity built up in the population.

But if current levels are sustained throughout winter the NHS will struggle. That will certainly be the case if other respiratory illnesses bounce back like experts fear.

RSV, which can cause 30,000 hospitalisations every winter among the under fives - five times the number admitted for Covid since the start of the pandemic - is already circulating at very high levels.

Flu could also take off. Lockdowns and social distancing last winter means immunity has waned across the board. It's important to plan for the worst, while hoping for the best.

Image source, Getty Images

We understand a UK-wide programme of booster jabs to help manage Covid will be confirmed later.

Ministers are expected to announce jabs for the over-50s as part of their Covid winter plan, after advice from the independent vaccine panel, the JCVI.

BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the booster would be a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine at least six months after a second dose.

The NHS began preparing for the booster programme in July.

But the government has been waiting for recommendations from the JVCI on who should receive the extra doses before announcing more details.

The BBC understands the booster programme will be similar to the interim proposals published by the vaccine experts in June - which suggested jabs should go to the over-70s and those most at risk first, before expanding to all adults aged over 50.

You can read what we know so far about the booster programme here.

The number of UK workers on payrolls rose by 241,000 between July and August to rebound above pre-pandemic levels, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) says.

Job vacancies have hit a record high as the economic recovery continues and the furlough scheme starts to wind down, according to official figures.

The number of vacancies rose above one million for the first time since records began in the three months to August, the ONS says.

We have more on these figures here.

This morning's front pages mainly focus on what the Sun calls a "jabs blitz", external- with details of the plans to offer a single dose to 12 to 15-year-olds, and the launch of a booster programme for the over 50s.

The Guardian describes it as a "widespread acceleration", external of the vaccine rollout, as Boris Johnson prepares to set out his "Covid winter plan".

The Daily Express, external says the prime minister is "confident" his strategy won't involve another lockdown - but the Daily Mail, external appears downbeat. "Return of the doom squad" is its headline, after government advisers delivered a "gloomy assessment" of the chances of avoiding disruption over the winter.

The Daily Mirror, external warns that conflicting advice from experts about giving jabs to children "may spark vaccine hesitancy among parents".

Its editorial accuses Boris Johnson of putting all his eggs in one basket by relying solely on vaccinations to deal with the crisis, arguing Covid passports "would be another weapon in our armoury".

You can see a review of the front pages here.

Welcome to our coronavirus live page where we will be bringing you the latest from the UK and around the world. Here's a look at the stories we are covering first thing:

• The government is expected to reveal its Covid winter plan for England later, including what action would be taken if the NHS was at risk of becoming overwhelmed
• The plan is expected to include a UK-wide programme of booster jabs for the over-50s, the BBC understands
• It comes as Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi confirmed all children aged 12 to 15 in England would be offered one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid jab
• The vaccination programme will be based in schools and invitations will start being sent out next week, with parental consent being sought, the government says
• Meanwhile, travel organisation Abta has called for Covid PCR testing to be abandoned for fully vaccinated travellers returning from lower-risk countries
• And in China, there is a new surge in coronavirus cases, linked to a primary school in Fujian province.