China’s Sinovac jab also effective against Brazil variant, early data suggests; Biden urged to establish temporary Covid health credentials; Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine ‘neutralises’ new variant
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Preliminary data from a study in Brazil indicates that the Covid-19 vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd is effective against the P1 variant of the virus first discovered in Brazil, a source familiar with the study told Reuters on Monday.
The source, who did not provide data details, said the study had tested the blood of vaccinated people against the Brazilian variant of the virus.
Coronavac, as the Sinovac shot is known, is the main vaccine currently being used to inoculate people in Brazil.
The prospects for a consumer spending boom after lockdown have been downplayed by a senior Treasury official, amid warnings that wealthier families have saved more than low-paid workers during the pandemic.
Charlie Bean, a former Bank of England deputy governor who sits on the government’s budget responsibility committee, said it would take several years for households to spend £180bn in extra savings accumulated mainly by retirees and higher-paid workers during the crisis.
Related: Post-Covid consumer spending boom ‘implausible’, says Treasury official
