What scientists know about the new variants and the Covid-19 vaccines When it comes to the new variants and the Covid-19 vaccines, some of the news is very good. But some is potentially very bad indeed. Andrew Joseph STAT

here is now real evidence that at least one coronavirus variant seems to elude some of the power of Covid-19 vaccines. What, exactly, that means for the pandemic is still being sussed out.

Vaccines Could Blunt U.K. Epidemic in Weeks

LONDON — Britain is on a pace to give the first shot of a two-dose coronavirus vaccine to its entire population by the end of June, if it can avoid supply and logistical issues that threaten to slow one of the world’s fastest rollouts.

The most vulnerable will get their first doses much sooner — likely over the next two weeks — which could drastically reduce deaths. People over 70, nursing home residents and workers, health and social workers, and those whose health problems make them extremely vulnerable are all on schedule to receive their first vaccine shots before Feb. 15. Together these groups have accounted for 88 percent of all Covid-19 deaths.

The timeline shows the promise of vaccination as a path out of the deadliest stage of the pandemic in the countries that are moving quickly. ...

Mutated virus may reinfect people already stricken once with covid-19, sparking debate and concerns The finding, though far from conclusive, has potential implications for how the pandemic will be brought under control, underscoring the critical role of vaccination. Carolyn Y. Johnson, William Wan Washington Post

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AstraZeneca vaccine works against UK coronavirus variant: study The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine protects against a more transmissible variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom, according to research published Friday. Peter Sullivan TheHill

The AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine protects against a more transmissible variant of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom, according to research published Friday.

U.S. Coronavirus Cases Are Down but Eclipse Spring and Summer Peaks New cases have fallen almost 50 percent since the highest peak, on Jan. 8. Still, the numbers are far higher than at any point before Oct. 1. nytimes

The worst of the current wave of coronavirus infections seems to be behind us, with the seven-day rolling average of new cases trending down in almost every part of the country. Nationally, that average peaked on Jan. 8 at nearly 260,000 new cases; the figure for Feb. 3, 136,442, amounts to a 47 percent drop from that peak.