`Vaccine effective  vs Covid variant’

LONDON: As more countries took steps to bar the entry of a new coronavirus variant, the head of drugmaker AstraZeneca, which is developing a vaccine widely expected to be approved by United Kingdom authorities this week, on Sunday (Monday in Manila) said researchers believed the shot would be effective against a new variant of the virus driving a rapid surge in infections in Britain.

Jacques Collineau, 75, receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine at Debrou nursing home (Ephad) in Joue-les-Tours, near Tours, on December 28, 2020 as France started its national vaccination campaign to fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP Photo