A double dose of Covid-19 vaccines is almost as effective against the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus first identified in India as it is against Britain’s dominant strain, English health officials said on May 22.

Two doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are around 85 percent to 90 percent effective against symptomatic disease, Public Health England (PHE) said on May 20, citing an analysis of real-world data from the rollout of the shot.

Covid-19 vaccines deployed in England can cut transmission of the coronavirus in households by up to a half, data from Public Health England (PHE) showed on April 28, in addition to the protection the shots offer against symptomatic infection.

Public Health England (PHE) published real-world analyses of people in the U.K. who had received the first shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, with the data – which were published in The Lancet – showing that there was a decrease of about 70 percent in infections among healthcare workers after the first shot.

Drugmakers agreed to cut prices by around 50% on average for more than 100 medicines in order to have them included in China’s state medical insurance scheme from March, potentially heralding a massive leap in sales.

More than half of Covid-19 patients discharged from hospitals still experienced symptoms of breathlessness, fatigue, anxiety and depression for two to three months after their initial infection, according to the findings of a small UK study.

Australian researchers said the virus that causes Covid-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, highlighting the need for frequent cleaning and handwashing.