As the BMA worries about the possibility of NHS staff losing their jobs if the Covid vaccine becomes mandatory, a Mexican doctor wrote to The independent why they oppose mandatory vaccines.

Marcos del Rosario Santiago says: “In medicine, we are taught to respect the patient’s will and freedom. This means that we also have to respect the decisions they make about their bodies, no matter how unpopular they are. “

Read the full track here:

Front row members of the government were divided over whether a face mask should be worn in the House of Commons as they gathered to hear the Chancellor present the budget.

While Boris Johnson did not wear a face mask during PMQs earlier Wednesday, he put one on alongside other Cabinet members as Rishi Sunak stood at the shipping box, reports our deputy editor. Katy clifton.

Notable exceptions who decided not to wear a face mask in the Commons were Jacob Rees-Mogg and Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey.

Now let’s see more expert comments on the budget, this time from a professor of health economics.

Dr Marisa Miraldo, from Imperial College Business School in London, said:

“The announcement was also not clear as to whether some of the increased funding will be funneled into other areas critical for the NHS.

“Solving the backlog of patients requires better planning tools, lives could have been saved if, during the pandemic, there had been stronger leadership to define the optimal priority of patients to be treated, stronger disease management and better prevention. The pandemic has taught us that prevention is paramount and essential even beyond preventing Covid.

“The backlog of waiting lists will also have an impact on the cost of care, exposing hospitals to financial losses, which will not be resolved with diagnostics and IT investments.”

Our health correspondent Shaun lintern reports the following on NHS budget commitments.

A new mutation detected in the Delta variant of the coronavirus worries several countries as more and more cases are detected.

AY.4.2 is an offshoot of the B.1.617.2 or Delta variant, known as the subline. Some fear that the “Delta plus” variant, as some call it, appears to be more heritable than Delta, although there is currently no concrete evidence to confirm this, reports Shweta sharma.

It also carries the Y145H and A222V mutations in its spike protein, which have independently emerged in other variants.

Coronavirus booster vaccines will soon be available in Sweden for healthcare workers and people over 65, the government said on Wednesday.

Reuters announced that 1.5 million Swedes would be offered booster shots as part of the expanded program. Previously, only residents of nursing homes or people aged 80 and over were eligible.

Almost 67% of Sweden’s total population have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to Our World in Data.

And now for Scotland’s recent daily figures. Scotland has recorded 27 coronavirus-related deaths and 2,566 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data.

The positivity rate for daily tests was 8.9%, up from 11.5% the day before, according to the latest figures released by the Scottish government on Wednesday.

There were 925 people hospitalized on Tuesday with a recently confirmed coronavirus, up from eight the day before, with 57 people in intensive care, down from two.

As part of his long-awaited budget, announced today, Rishi Sunak spoke about the “moral” challenges the government faces as it responds to the impact of Covid, telling MPs his goal is to reduce taxes.

“Taxes are at their highest level as a percentage of GDP since the early 1950s. I don’t like it, but I can’t apologize for it,” he told the Commons, adding:

“This is the result of the unprecedented crisis we have faced and the extraordinary measures we have taken in response. But now we have a choice. Do we want to live in a country where the answer to every question is, “What is the government going to do about it?”

“Where every time prices go up, every time a business has problems, every time a new challenge arises, the answer is always, ‘The taxpayer has to pay’?

“Or do we choose to recognize that government has limits. This government should have limits. If that sounds like a controversial statement to make, then I’m all the more happy to say it because it means it had to be said – and we believe it is.

“My goal is to reduce taxes. By the end of this Parliament, I want taxes to go down, not up. I want it to be a company that rewards energy, ingenuity and inventiveness. A company that rewards hard work.

Novavax has submitted final data for its Covid vaccine to the UK regulator, the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), for approval.

The company behind the vaccine said it anticipated a “positive decision” after more than 15,000 people participated in the phase 3 Novavax trial at various UK hospital sites.

According to the results of a phase three trial in the UK, announced in March, the jab offers 100% protection against serious illnesses, including all hospital admissions and death.

Results published in January by Novavax from its trial in South Africa showed 60% protection against mild, moderate or severe disease, where most cases were the South African variant.

On Wednesday, Novavax said its conditional marketing authorization (CMA) application marks the UK’s first application for authorization of a protein-based coronavirus vaccine.

Britain has ordered 60 million doses of the vaccine.

Stanley Erck, President and CEO of the Company, said, “We look forward to the MHRA review and will be ready to deliver vaccine doses following what we expect to be a positive decision. “