Almost 900 people were injected with expired Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses at a vaccination site in New York's Times Square last week, CBS New Yorkreports. The New York State Health Department is recommending that they schedule another Pfizer shot.
Eight-hundred-ninety-nine people got the injections at the former NFL Experience building between June 5 and 10.
ATC Vaccination Services, the company that administered the shots, told CBS New York in a statement, "We apologize for the inconvenience and want people first and foremost to know that we have been advised that there is no danger from the vaccine they received."
An email from the state health department said the doses were in a freezer too long and added that there's no guarantee of the expired vaccine's effectiveness.
Gabrielle Napolitano Swift, mother of 15-year-old recipient Dante Swift, pointed out that "it's not like it was one day that they messed up. It was five days."
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo relaxed the statewide COVID-linked restrictions Tuesday, calling it "a momentous day."
The move was a result of more than 70% of adults in the state getting at least one dose of the vaccine.
The headline on a YouTube video and a person who speaks in it make a troubling claim about the way the COVID-19 vaccines work.
"Spike protein is very dangerous, it's cytotoxic," they say, referring to the molecule that triggers the bodys immune system to produce antibodies against COVID-19 infection.
Its one of a number of widely shared social media posts alleging that the vaccines are toxic or "cytotoxic," which means toxic to cells.
The YouTube post, which was shared on Facebook, was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
Experts say there is no evidence that the spike proteins produced by the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, or the spike protein created by genetic material in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, are toxic.
The video
The 15-minute video, posted June 13, shows three people speaking on a podcast.
Bret Weinstein, who is identified in the video as an evolutionary biologist, is the one who says the spike protein in the vaccines "is very dangerous, its cytotoxic."
Dr. Robert Malone, identified in the video as the inventor of mRNA vaccine technology, said he sent "manuscripts" months ago to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration claiming the spike protein posed a health risk. "And their determination was that they didnt think that that was sufficient documentation of the risk that the spike was biologically active," he said.
The third person in the video is identified as "serial entrepreneur" Steve Kirsch, who said he is an engineer. He cited a claim by Canadian viral immunologist Byram Bridle that the vaccine doesnt stay in the shoulder, where its injected, but "goes throughout your entire body, it goes to your brain to your heart."
Bridles claim False
We rated False Bridles claim that the COVID-19 vaccines spike protein means people are being inoculated "with a toxin."
Experts told PolitiFact there is no evidence to back his allegation that the spike protein produces a toxin that could cause serious health problems.
COVID-19 vaccines work by triggering the human bodys natural immune response, without introducing a form of the COVID-19 virus itself.
The actual COVID-19 virus uses the spike protein to bind to cells, causing infection. But the mRNA vaccines, from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, contain neither the virus nor the spike protein just the genetic instructions for the body to make the spike protein associated with the coronavirus.
Once the cell receives these instructions, it creates the protein and displays it on its surface. The immune system then spots the unknown protein and makes antibodies to protect against the virus.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine contains a modified adenovirus not the COVID-19 virus with a gene that induces cells to produce the spike protein, said vaccine expert Dr. Walter Orenstein at Emory University. As with the mRNA vaccines, this leads the immune system to recognize the spike protein as foreign and make an immune response against it, he said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which calls the spike protein harmless, explains: "Our immune systems recognize that the protein doesnt belong there and begin building an immune response and making antibodies, like what happens in natural infection against COVID-19. At the end of the process, our bodies have learned how to protect against future infection."
An FDA spokesperson told PolitiFact: "There is no scientific data to indicate that the spike protein in mRNA vaccines is toxic or that it lingers at any toxic level in the body after vaccination."
Expert views
Responding to the claim made in the video, Emorys Orenstein and vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit of the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia said they are not aware of any major dangers from the spike protein.
"Where is the evidence?" said Offit. "No one is saying that vaccines are risk free. The minute theres any reasonable signal that things are occurring in a vaccinated group and not in an unvaccinated group, then the FDA takes a closer look."
Offit noted as an example the federal response following reports of a small but higher-than-expected number of cases of heart inflammation called myocarditis and pericarditis developing in mostly young people after they received doses of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC announced June 10 that it will convene an emergency meeting on June 18 to discuss a possible link between the condition and the vaccines.
Our ruling
The headline of a widely circulated YouTube post, and a person speaking in the video, say the COVID-19 vaccines spike protein "is very dangerous, it's cytotoxic."
U.S. public health authorities and vaccine experts say there is no evidence that the spike protein is toxic or cytotoxic.
We rate the post False.
CORRECTION, June 16, 5:02 p.m.:An earlier version of this fact-check incorrectly described how Johnson & Johnson's vaccine works. The rating is unchanged.
Fairview 14-year-old receives COVID-19 vaccine
Tara Hokaj, a 14-year-old Fairview Township girl, talks about why she wanted to be one of the first people her age to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
David Bruce, Erie Times-News
Editor's Note: The Erie County Department of Health originally said a case of the Delta COVID-19 variant, discovered in India, hadbeen detected in the county. That is not correct and this story has been updated.
Erie County health officials are encouraged by the number of children and teenagers who are receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
About 25% of county residents between the ages of 10 and 19 have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, said Charlotte Berringer, R.N., director of community health services for the Erie County Department of Health.
Marjorie Cua, M.D.: What parents need to know about kids, COVID-19 and vaccines
That number is impressive considering that 10- and 11-year-olds are not currently eligible for the vaccine and 12- to 15-year-olds have only been allowed to be vaccinated since mid-May.
"I'm pleased with the number of young people getting vaccinated, but it needs to continue," Berringer said.
One reason Berringer wants to see vaccination rates climb is that more variants of COVID-19 havebeen detected in the county.
A case with the Gamma variant, originally found in Brazil, was detected May 26, while a case of the Beta variant, originally found in South Africa, was detected June 1, Berringer said.
The variants are often more transmissible than the original COVID-19 strain.
"Another concern is that our hospitalization rates have not decreased significantly in recent weeks," Berringer said. "There is still virus in the community and people are getting sick enough to be hospitalized."
The county's 14-day moving average of daily COVID-19 hospitalizations was 14.8 on Tuesday, about the same number it was in early April. The actual daily number has declined in recent days, including just six hospitalized county residents on Tuesday.
One way to reduce new cases and hospitalizations is to properly isolate yourself if you test positive for COVID-19 and quarantine yourself if you are determined to be a close contact of a positive case, Berringer said.
"These public health policies have not changed," Berringer said. "If you test positive for COVID, you need to isolate for 10 days from the date of your first symptom. If you are determined to be a close contact, you must quarantine for 10 days and wear a face mask for days 11 to 14."
Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) In a new push to increase vaccinations in the state, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced $900,000 in grants going to healthcare providers to support vaccination efforts on Wednesday.
Weve got to work with the primary care provider groups to make sure that they have the resources they need to get them all barred into this concept of getting to your doctor and get vaccinated, Gov. Kelly said.
The money will be used across the state to hire dedicated staff members to promote and administer vaccines.
The governor held a roundtable discussion with primary care providers, joined by Dr. Marci Nielsen, the states Chief Advisor of Vaccine Distribution, to talk about the challenges providers face getting coronavirus shots to Kansans.
Many providers discussed issues with vaccine hesitancy, noting that some people are apprehensive about getting the shot due to misinformation. Wilson County Health Officer, Dr. Jennifer McKinney, said some providers in rural areas are also lacking the technology to effectively distribute vaccines.
A lot of us are out in rural Kansas, and we dont have anyone else to ask, or any resources other than what we have in our own clinics, McKinney said.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will provide the Kansas Association of Family Physicians and the Kansas Association of Pediatricians each with a three-year $450,000 grant, totaling $900,000.
According to the state, the grants will allow primary care providers to hire workers who will serve as a liaison to the KDHE immunization team, specifically supporting providers in on-boarding, administering and advocating for vaccinations. One of the jobs workers will be tasked with is enrolling more vaccine providers and helping those struggling to order vaccines.
The announcement comes after the pandemic state of emergency ended at midnight on Wednesday.
Kansas health officials said the state has seen a slow down in vaccinations. Without the emergency order in place, the state will no longer receive additional help from the Kansas Department of Emergency Management and National Guard in their vaccination efforts.
The governor said the state will have to work harder to meet its vaccination goals.
Having to move the equipment in the middle of the game, so that a different agency is dealing with it, is just a completely and totally unnecessary hiccup that makes it harder for us to do what we do, said Gov. Kelly. But well just work harder, and well get it done.
NEIDL, Broad Institute scientists say next-generation vaccines could stimulate another arm of the immune system, imparting better protection against coronavirus variants.
A new study looking at the way human cells activate the immune system in response to SARS-CoV-2 infection could open the door to even more effective and powerful vaccines against the coronavirus and its rapidly emerging variants keeping the global pandemic smoldering.
Researchers from Boston UniversitysNational Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories(NEIDL) and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard say its the first real look at exactly what types of red flags the human body uses to enlist the help of T cellskillers sent out by the immune system to destroy infected cells. Until now, COVID vaccines have been focused on activating a different type of immune cell, B cells, which are responsible for creating antibodies. Developing vaccines to activate the other arm of the immune systemthe T cellscould dramatically increase immunity against coronavirus, and importantly, its variants.
In their findings,published inCell, the researchers say current vaccines might lack some important bits of viral material capable of triggering a holistic immune response in the human body. Based on the new information, companies should reevaluate their vaccine designs, saysMohsan Saeed, a NEIDL virologist and the co-corresponding author of the paper.
When Broad Institute researchers reached out for help exploring the molecular effects of coronavirus infection, Mohsan Saeed (center) and members of his NEIDL lab, Da-Yuan Chen (left) and Hasahn Conway (right), were ready to leap into action: they had already created human cell lines that could be readily infected with SARS-CoV-2. Credit: Photo courtesy of Saeed lab
Saeed, a BU School of Medicine assistant professor of biochemistry, performed experiments on human cells infected with coronavirus. He isolated and identified those missing pieces of SARS-CoV-2 proteins inside one of the NEIDLs Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3) labs. This was a big undertaking because many research techniques are difficult to adapt for high containment levels [such as BSL-3], Saeed says. The overall coronavirus research pipeline weve created at the NEIDL, and the support of our entire NEIDL team, has helped us along the way.
Saeed got involved after he was contacted by genetic sequencing experts at the Broad Institute, computational geneticists Pardis Sabeti and Shira Weingarten-Gabbay. They hoped to identify fragments of SARS-CoV-2 that activate the immune systems T cells.
Mohsan Saeed, BU NEIDL virologist, says the new findings could be a gamechanger for coronavirus vaccine design. Credit: Photo courtesy of Mohsan Saeed
The emergence of viral variants, an active area of research in my lab, is a major concern for vaccine development, says Sabeti, a leader in the Broad Institutes Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program. She is also a Harvard University professor of systems biology, organismic and evolutionary biology, and immunology and infectious disease, as well as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
We swung into full action right away because my laboratory had [already] generated human cell lines that could be readily infected with SARS-CoV-2, Saeed says. The groups efforts were spearheaded by two members of the Saeed lab: Da-Yuan Chen, a postdoctoral associate, and Hasahn Conway, a lab technician.
From the outset of COVID pandemic in early 2020, scientists around the world knew the identity of 29 proteins produced by SARS-CoV-2 virus in infected cellsviral fragments that now make up the spike protein in some coronavirus vaccines, such as the Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Later, scientists discovered another 23 proteins hidden inside the virus genetic sequence; however, the function of these additional proteins was a mystery until now. The new findings of Saeed and his collaborators revealunexpectedly and criticallythat 25 percent of the viral protein fragments that trigger the human immune system to attack a virus come from these hidden viral proteins.
How exactly does the immune system detect these fragments? Human cells contain molecular scissorscalled proteasesthat, when the cells are invaded, hack off bits of viral proteins produced during infection. Those bits, containing internal proteins exposed by the chopping-up processlike the way the core of an apple is exposed when the fruit is segmentedare then transported to the cell membrane and pushed through special doorways. There, they stick outside the cell acting almost like a hitchhiker, waving down the help of passing T cells. Once T cells notice these viral flags poking through infected cells, they launch an attack and try to eliminate those cells from the body. And this T cell response isnt insignificantSaeed says there are links between the strength of this response and whether or not people infected with coronavirus go on to develop serious disease.
Its quite remarkable that such a strong immune signature of the virus is coming from regions [of the virus genetic sequence] that we were blind to, says Weingarten-Gabby, the papers lead author and postdoctoral fellow in the Sabeti lab. This is a striking reminder that curiosity-driven research stands at the basis of discoveries that can transform the development of vaccines and therapies.
Our discovery can assist in the development of new vaccines that will mimic more accurately the response of our immune system to the virus, Sabeti says.
T cells not only destroy infected cells but also memorize the virus flags so that they can launch an attack, stronger and faster, the next time the same or a different variant of the virus appears. Thats a crucial advantage, because Saeed and his collaborators say the coronavirus appears to delay the cells ability to call in immune help.
This virus wants to go undetected by the immune system for as long as possible, Saeed says. Once its noticed by the immune system, its going to be eliminated, and it doesnt want that.
Based on their findings, Saeed says, a new vaccine recipe, incorporating some of the newly discovered internal proteins making up the SARS-CoV-2 virus, would be effective in stimulating an immune response capable of tackling a wide swath of newly emerging coronavirus variants. And given the speed with which these variants continue to appear around the world, a vaccine that can provide protection against all of them would be a game-changer.
Reference: Profiling SARS-CoV-2 HLA-I peptidome reveals T cell epitopes from out-of-frame ORFs by Shira Weingarten-Gabbay, Susan Klaeger, Siranush Sarkizova, Leah R. Pearlman, Da-Yuan Chen, Kathleen M.E. Gallagher, Matthew R. Bauer, Hannah B. Taylor, W. Augustine Dunn, Christina Tarr, John Sidney, Suzanna Rachimi, Hasahn L. Conway,Katelin Katsis, Yuntong Wang, Del Leistritz-Edwards, Melissa R. Durkin, Christopher H. Tomkins-Tinch, Yaara Finkel, Aharon Nachshon, Matteo Gentili, Keith D. Rivera, Isabel P. Carulli, Vipheaviny A. Chea, Abishek Chandrashekar, Cansu Cimen Bozkus, Mary Carrington, MGH COVID-19 Collection & Processing Team, Nina Bhardwaj, Dan H. Barouch, Alessandro Sette, Marcela V. Maus, Charles M. Rice, Karl R. Clauser, Derin B. Keskin, Daniel C. Pregibon, Nir Hacohen, Steven A. Carr, Jennifer G. Abelin, Mohsan Saeed, Pardis C. Sabeti, Accepted 27 May 2021, Cell.DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.046
This research was supported by the National Institute of Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Clinical Proteomic Tumor Analysis Consortium, a Human Frontier Science Program Fellowship, a Gruss-Lipper Postdoctoral Fellowship, a Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program Fellowship, a Rothschild Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Cancer Research Institute/Hearst foundation, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, EMBO Long- Term Fellowships, a Cancer Research Institute/Bristol-Myers Squibb Fellowship, the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, the Emerson Collective, the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation, the Bawd Foundation, Boston University startup funds, the Mark and Lisa Schwartz Foundation, the Massachusetts Consortium for Pathogen Readiness, the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, and the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) Wake County teens have another chance to take advantage of a free program thats teaching them about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Thursdays boot camp is meant to inform teens on how to talk to family and friends who are hesitant to get vaccinated.
There is a virtual, two-hour session that begins at 10 a.m. today and you must register in advance.
There are 10 more sessions that will be held through the end of August.
The dates of those sessions are below:
June 29 and July 1: 6 8 p.m.July 13 and July 15: 10 a.m. to NoonJuly 27 and July 29: 6 8 p.m.Aug. 10 and Aug. 12: 10 a.m. to NoonAug. 24 and Aug. 26: 6 8 p.m.
Click here for more information and to register for future events.
A vial labelled with the AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine is seen in this illustration picture taken March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TOKYO, June 15 (Reuters) - Japan will send a million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday, as the southeast Asian nation steps up vaccine procurement to fight a more stubborn wave of infections.
With a population of about 98 million, Vietnam's tally of infections stands at 10,241, and only 58 deaths, since the pandemic began. read more
The shipment of AstraZeneca PLC (AZN.L) vaccines produced in Japan is due to arrive in Vietnam on Wednesday, Motegi told reporters.
Japan is considering additional vaccine donations to Vietnam and Taiwan, and plans similar shipments to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand from early July, Motegi added.
Taiwan received 1.24 million AstraZeneca doses from Japan this month to counter a domestic resurgence of cases. Its government thanked Japan on Tuesday for considering additional aid. read more
"We will continue to maintain close communication with the Japanese side and look forward to the smooth arrival of the vaccines in Taiwan as soon as possible," the island's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Japan has pledged $1 billion and 30 million doses to the COVAX facility that provides vaccines to needy countries. But the shipments to Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian neighbours are being made outside of COVAX to speed up delivery, Motegi said.
"If we go through an international organisation, the procedures in getting approval may take time," he said.
Japan has contracted to buy 120 million doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine, which it approved last month. But there are no immediate plans to use it at home, as concerns linger over international reports of blood clots. read more
Taiwan has millions of doses on order worldwide but supply shortages have led to delays in receiving them, with just about 4% of a population of 23.5 million having received at least one shot as it battles the spike.
With just 132 new cases reported on Tuesday, the island is gradually bringing the domestic outbreak under control.
"The overall trend seems to be heading in a better direction, but we still can't relax," Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said in Taipei, the capital.
Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
The passes, valid through mid-December, will be available to people getting vaccinated at the All4Oregon clinic at the Oregon Convention Center, and at clinics focused on vaccinating Black communities, Indigenous communities and communities of color. Quantities at all locations will be while supplies last.
As our region looks to meet the governors goal of a 70% vaccination rate, we need to do everything we can to encourage people to get these safe, effective vaccines, Metro Council President Lynn Peterson said. We need to do this to safely reopen and offer shows and events at the Oregon Convention Center, Portland Expo Center and Portland5 Centers for the Arts. But more importantly, we need to do this to protect the lives of Oregonians and ensure there isnt another harmful surge of COVID-19 this fall that devastates even more Oregon families.
The All4Oregon vaccination center at the Oregon Convention Center has vaccinated more than half a million Oregonians over the past several months, earning nationwide acclaim for its organization and efficiency. The clinics final day of operation is June 19. While walk-ins are welcome, people are encouraged to make appointments atAll4Oregon.
We want to welcome people back to the Oregon Zoo in a way that hasnt been possible for more than a year, said zoo deputy director Uptal Passi, who made the passes available for this promotion. And the sooner we reach that 70% rate, the sooner we can see that happen.
As part of the Metro family, the Oregon Zoo helps make greater Portland a great place to call home. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Oregon silverspot and Taylors checkerspot butterflies, western pond turtles and northern leopard frogs.
Support from theOregon Zoo Foundationenhances and expands the zoos efforts in conservation, education and animal welfare. Members, donors and corporate and foundation partners help the zoo make a difference across the region and around the world. To contribute, go tooregonzoo.org/donate.
The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness headed above 177 million on Thursday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, while deaths climbed above 3.8 million. The U.S. continues to lead the world in total cases at 33.49 million, while deaths total 600,653. The number of fully vaccinated Americans rose to 146.5 million, or 44% of the total population, according to the latest data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with the number of U.S. adults receiving at least one dose increasing to 64.7%. There was disappointing news on the CureVac CVAC, -41.77% vaccine when the company said it's only 47% effective at preventing COVID, well below the more than 90% efficacy of the vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc. PFE, +0.22% and BioNTech SE BNTX, +4.13% and Moderna Inc. MRNA, +1.57%, which also use mRNA technology. CureVac said that its "pivotal" study, conducted in 10 countries and involving about 40,000 people, showed the vaccine candidate's being a poor match against a "fast changing environment" of at least 29 COVID-19 variants, with the original coronavirus strain "almost completely absent." The news sent its stock down sharply premarket. On a global basis, India is second in total cases at 29.7 million and third by fatalities at 381,903, although those numbers are expected to be undercounted given a shortage of tests. Brazil has the third-highest caseload at 17.6 million, according to JHU data, and is second in deaths at 493,693. Mexico has fourth-highest death toll at 230,624 and 2.5 million cases. The U.K. has 128,190 fatalities and 4.6 million cases, the highest number of deaths in Europe and fifth-highest in the world.
LONDON Agnieszka Bleka has had to work hard in past years to find companies that need workers, spending much of her day reaching out to local businesses in the northern English city of Preston where she is based.
But now, Ms. Bleka, who owns Workforce Consultants, a company that finds jobs in Britain for mostly Eastern and Central Europeans, said that she was fielding several calls a day from companies looking for temporary staff, and that she cant keep up with the demand.
The fish pond is getting smaller, she said. And people are picking and choosing the jobs, or leaving as well, going to their home countries.
Free movement between Britain and Europe technically ended at the start of 2021 because of Brexit, but the effects were masked by strict pandemic travel restrictions. Only lately, as the economy picks up steam, is the new reality beginning to be fully felt.
Migration experts say there is not enough reliable data to determine whether perceived shortages of workers are the result of Brexit, the pandemic or some combination of the two. It is also unclear whether they are temporary or reflect a more enduring shift. But there is little question that many companies are having considerable trouble filling jobs.
Ms. Bleka described it as an employees market, particularly among the workers she typically places in jobs in industrial warehouses, construction, landscaping and other low-skilled jobs.
Its like 180 degrees, she said. Where we used to have lots of people and not so many vacancies to fill up, now its the other way around.
But others less tethered to Britain moved back to their home countries, even before the pandemic hit, particularly those from Eastern and Central Europe who filled those lower-skilled jobs that now seem so tough to fill. Brexit and the anti-immigrant sentiment that helped drive it made many feel unwelcome, while others were discouraged by the sharp drop in the pounds value after the vote to leave the European Union.
As a member of the Polish community whose children attend a Polish school in Preston, Ms. Bleka said the number of students had noticeably dropped since the pandemic began.
There must be something that is taking people back, and Covid definitely didnt help, she said, noting that some workers may be finding a better quality of life and stronger economies in their home countries now than when they left.
Post-Brexit immigration changes, which use a points-based system, were intended to restrict the movement of lower-skilled workers from Europe in favor of higher-skilled workers in specialist roles.
Nevertheless, Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, a research body at Oxford University, said it was difficult to draw a direct line between the changes in the countrys immigration system and the worker shortage. Lack of reliable migration data, the fact that some workers are still on furlough and the uncertainty of the pandemic have all made the true picture more opaque.
She has written about how the migration data collected in Britain during the pandemic offers an imperfect picture, and warned that estimates of Europeans leaving by the hundreds of thousands may be way off. The true figure, she said, is more likely to be closer to tens of thousands.
But that could still be significant, she added.
At the macro level, the impact of changing the system in this way is actually not expected to be very big, she said. But for individual employers, it can be absolutely huge.
Industries like food manufacturing and food processing, which have relied heavily on low-skilled European migrants, could find their growth hampered by a lack of workers, she noted.
Before Brexit, Ms. Sumption said, What we might expect to see is that as recruitment picks up again, new people would come into the U.K. using their free movement rights, or people who had previously left coming back. Now, that is no longer an option.
The hospitality industry in Britain has been one of the major employers of European migrants and is already suffering from an inability to recruit new arrivals.
When Englands first lockdown was lifted last summer, the Australian restaurateur Bill Granger said he had encountered no problem taking on staff for all four of his Granger & Co. locations in London.
But this time around, he said, it has been a trial.
After a number of prolonged shutdowns, and with the added complications of Brexit visa changes and broader travel restrictions, he said he had found that many of his former employees had moved on. Some, such as waiters and chefs from France, Hungary, Italy, Romania and Spain, as well as Australian baristas, had returned home. Others had moved out of hospitality work entirely.
We opened and closed, and opened again, and whats happened now is weve lost all those people, Mr. Granger said. Even with the added help of a newly contracted human resources team, the company is still struggling to fill positions.
And with a smaller number of people working longer shifts because of the vacancies, he said, his current staff were stretched. All our team are absolutely exhausted, he said.
While some hospitality workers have taken the chance for a career change, others are still on furlough because of the pandemic and not ready to apply for new jobs yet.
Mr. Grangers restaurants in London have in the past relied on an influx of young European and Australian recruits, who are no longer traveling in the numbers they once did because of tighter restrictions on movement.
Everyone is happy to be back, but also just with losing people, its really, really hard, Mr. Granger said.
Jack Kennedy, an economist at Indeed, a job search site, said the demand for hospitality workers was outpacing the number of available workers across the sector.
The job postings have been rising so fast and the supply of candidates just really hasnt been able to keep up with that, he said, adding that a reliance by some industries on foreign-born workers who may have left during the pandemic had probably been part of the problem.
But the dearth of employees is also driving up pay, he said, with hourly wages advertised for hospitality roles across the country increasing. That raises the question of whether other industries struggling to fill roles will follow suit, and how big of an impact on the economy the shortages will have.
Ms. Sumption, of the Migration Observatory, said she was surprised to see so many reports of shortages, because unemployment in Britain is actually quite high and is higher among residents who hail from the European Union than among those born in the country. But, she noted, in industries like food manufacturing and food processing, workers from European Union countries made up most of the staff, and those sectors could be feeling more of a crunch.
Some employers have a business model that has really relied on free movement, and for those employers, there are much harder questions about how they deal with it, she said. Are they able to adjust to a world without free movement, or will they just do less, or even go out of business?
She noted as an example that, after large numbers of Eastern European workers arrived after 2004, there was a large amount of growth in Britain in the production of soft fruit, which is labor-intensive, because the influx of workers made it more affordable.
One of the kind of long-term impacts that one should expect to see is a change, not necessarily in the total economic prosperity of the U.K., but in the composition of the economy, she said. So we could have less growth in labor-intensive sectors that have relied on free movement.
