Northern Ireland passes Covid-19 jab milestone as walk-in vaccinations begin

Good afternoon
Welcome to your Coronavirus news update from the News Letter.

There have been an additional 211 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland. No further deaths have been reported in the past 24 hours and sixteen patients are in hospital with two in intensive care.
The latest vaccination figures show 2,010,028 jabs have been administered in the region in total.
In other news: The Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, has told the Stormont Executive Committee that he expects to reach an agreement with the UK government concerning the movement of chilled meats from Great Britain into Northern Ireland within the next 48 hours.
This news came after Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who was elected DUP leader designate by his party’s electoral college on Saturday, that the removal of the post-Brexit barriers on trade between NI and the rest of the UK would be one of his key priorities in the role.
Read Alex Kane: Loyalism should beware a retreat to its bad old ways.
Is loyalism capable of change? Is it capable of shifting from a position where its every move seems to be a predictable kneejerk response to a perceived slight or grievance, to one where it promotes its own positive agenda and socio/economic platform?
Have a good afternoon
Michael Cousins
Deputy digital editor

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