LAST UPDATE | 11 Dec 2020

EVERY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you all the news you need to know as you start the day.

1. #VACCINE ROLLOUT: The government is considering asking retired healthcare workers to help with the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine. Details for the roll-out are to be submitted by the High-Level Task Force on Covid-19 Vaccination today.

2. #OPENING UP: Ministers in the North have warned against a “festive free-for-all” as certain sectors re-open today after a two-week ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown.

3. #RIP: Actress Barbara Windsor, best known for her roles in Eastenders and the Carry On franchise, has died at the age of 83. 

4. #PERSON OF THE YEAR: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been named as Time’s Person of the Year for 2020.

5. #APPROVED: A US government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

6. #WEXIT: Wales’ nationalist party Plaid Cymru has pledged to hold an independence referendum within five years if it commands a majority after the country’s parliament elections next May.

7. #CONCERNED: Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has warned that Irish politics is becoming more polarised due to the influence of social media.

8. #WHISTLEBLOWERS: Today marks five years since former Air Corps members alleged that they became unwell due to their exposure to dangerous chemicals at Baldonnel Airfield.

9. #EU SUMMIT: EU leaders have agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 after an all-night summit in Brussels.