https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55280671
Not that it makes an ounce of difference, but what is expected to be imminently announced is the roll out of the new Astrazeneca vaccine developed in Oxford after being approved for use in the UK.
This comes as the PM is expected to announce further counties to enter the toughest "tier 4" cough lockdown cough measures which really wouldn't have been needed if said vaccine was brought out a month or two earlier before this new strain became the prevalent one.
Why is the Oxford vaccine much less useful you might ask? 50-70% protection is good right?
Well, for individuals it might tilt the odds but if the prevalent vaccine is going to be this one and not the ones from Pfizer or Moderna, then reaching herd immunity is absolutely not going to happen.
Fauci has finally revealed that the true percentage needed for herd immunity is closer to 90% and with the new strain dominating new infections, the Oxford vaccine will fall woefully short of that 90%; closer to 70%.
At this point, the best and admittedly desperate solution is to go into full lockdown yet again for as long as is needed, possibly 6-8 weeks to curb infections to a very significant level, and then deliver a single dose of the two required from the Pfizer Moderna vaccines.
Oxford ones being deployed are just to save face from the British falling desperately short of being able to come up with functional solutions, or adequately allocating funds to procuring the right solutions in absence of domestic ability to produce one.
It's going to be a really ugly few months ahead.