We will need 100 days.

From the moment a decision is taken that a tweaked vaccine is necessary, that is how long the chief executive of Pfizer has said it will take for the first regulatory-approved vaccine tailored to the new variant. thetimes.co.uk/article/how-lo…
And that decision, writes science editor @whippletom, is now looking more likely than ever.

Of all the mutations in the variant discovered in South Africa, it is the ones that threaten immunity that worry government scientists the most.
There are many, many unknowns. This could yet prove to be nothing more than the pandemic’s final scare.

But if there is a possibility this variant can find a chink in the immune armour built up at such cost, we now have a way to get ahead of it.
Some things cannot be rushed, though. It takes time to culture a virus, and South African laboratories will need at least a week to make enough to share with foreign partners.
It’s possible that South Africa has already sent some unwittingly, kept incubated in a passenger on a long-haul flight.

If so, we might just get some a little sooner.
When we do, it will go to the laboratory at Porton Down. Here, it will be tested against blood from vaccinated people.

How will the blood respond? How will the antibodies bind?

thetimes.co.uk/article/how-lo…
Pfizer worked on a vaccine specific to the Delta variant, then decided it was not necessary — the original vaccine was good enough.

But if the immunity evasion of Nu is as big as some fear, this time the decision might be different.
Day 0⃣

We already know the genetic code of the virus — all we have to do is tweak it out and a lab will have made a prototype vaccine.

But this is only the beginning. The challenge is not making one but making a billion, and getting it approved. We will be racing against time.
Day 3⃣3⃣

The variant may undermine the vaccines but it does nothing to blunt the effectiveness of antivirals.

As, inevitably, a winter wave grows, the two drugs the UK has bought could be critical in keeping people out of hospital.
Day 6⃣6⃣

Normally, there is a process. You invent a vaccine, you trial the vaccine, then you make it. The same will happen with variant vaccines.

“Using an existing “platform” for a new vaccine would speed the regulatory process dramatically.”
Day 1⃣0⃣0⃣

Spring is here, and the third year of the pandemic is well under way. Once again, the nation watches in expectation and hope

This time, though, their audience is less triumphant, a little more cynical and a lot more tired

Read the full report thetimes.co.uk/article/how-lo…

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More from @thetimes

27 Nov
Boris Johnson has tonight announced that:

⚪ Facemasks are to be made compulsory again in shops and on public transport

⚪ Anyone travelling to the UK will be required to take a PCR test and self-isolate until they have received a negative result thetimes.co.uk/article/compul…
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also been asked to extend booster jabs to those aged between 18 and 39
The JVCI has further been asked to reduce the gap between second and third jabs to five months instead of six
Read 11 tweets
27 Nov
On the hunt for a new book? 📖

@thetimes and @thesundaytimes books critics have chosen the best books of 2021, from fiction and history to cooking and memoir 👇 thetimes.co.uk/article/best-b…
The best fiction books ✍️

From @blgtylr’s Filthy Animals to Oh William! by @LizStrout, these are our favourite fiction books of 2021 thetimes.co.uk/article/best-f…
The best thriller books to get your pulse racing 💥 thetimes.co.uk/article/best-t…
Read 9 tweets
27 Nov
Welcome to Steart, a little bit of Britain that is fighting to keep its head above water

The only way to access the tiny Somerset village is via a single narrow country lane – one day, the only way out may be by boat

#TimesChristmasAppeal

thetimes.co.uk/article/times-…
Residents know climate change is not some distant problem – rising sea levels and heavy downpours regularly bring the issue to their doorstep

Locals remember the sea wall being breached, damaging homes and killing farm animals

#TimesChristmasAppeal

thetimes.co.uk/article/times-…
The @WWTworldwide, supported by the #TimesChristmasAppeal, found a way to fight water with water

Marshland once covered huge areas of Britain, soaking up rainfall and flooding. As the climate changes, their protective powers are needed more than ever

thetimes.co.uk/article/times-…
Read 5 tweets
27 Nov
This year, @thetimes and @thesundaytimes are joining forces once again for our #TimesChristmasAppeal

We are asking readers to support three charities working to address urgent issues affecting vulnerable adults, children and the places we live

thetimes.co.uk/article/times-…
The @refugeecouncil provide assistance to 13,000 adults, families and unaccompanied children each year

Many have fled bloodshed and persecution in their homelands, sometimes arriving with only the clothes on their backs

#TimesChristmasAppeal

thetimes.co.uk/article/times-…
The @WWTworldwide want to protect Britain’s disappearing marshlands and the wildlife that depend on them

Wetlands are the forgotten weapon against climate change and 90% have been lost in this country

#TimesChristmasAppeal

thetimes.co.uk/article/times-…
Read 5 tweets
26 Nov
When did Matthew Macfadyen feel he’d got the measure of Tom Wambsgans?

“It was the scene with Greg at the baseball where he turns on him, and that was the hook. I thought, ‘Oh, OK. This is good. He’s that awful bully who kicks the cat.’"

thetimes.co.uk/article/matthe…
Macfadyen relishes Tom’s toe-curling dialogue. “There’s always a part of you thinking, ‘This is excruciating.’ But it’s delicious to play. And very therapeutic."
He and Sarah Snook, who plays his wife, Shiv, in Succession, discussed the central puzzle: what this smart, beautiful, worldly heiress sees in Tom.

The script has one allusion to how messed up she was when they met.
Read 15 tweets
26 Nov
“I’m not nervous or worried on any stage in the world,” Suchet says. “That’s my home.”

The Times sits down with @David_Suchet to discuss Poirot, his time at the RSC, and why his father “was never really pleased about me acting”. thetimes.co.uk/article/david-…
Suchet is touring an interview show about his life and career.

“I take what I do incredibly seriously,” he says, his voice as audiobook-rich off stage as it is on stage. “I don’t want to play games with my life as an actor.”
Not only did he wear padding to play Poirot, he also stayed in character throughout the day on set. He will start his work analysing a script three months before he starts a project.
Read 10 tweets

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