this is bbc news. the headlines... a major breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus — a vaccine that's 90% effective in preventing the disease drug company pfizer says it's a great day for science. you feel it is such a great day for science and humanity and everyone sitting next to us, hoping for high numbers, this certainly was fulfilling our best expectations. shares soar on the news — markets around the world are up dramatically, airline shares benefit, too. the government confirm they have ordered a0 million doses of the vaccine. if all goes well, 10 million could be available to the uk by the end of the year. president—elect biden calls the news "cause for hope" but warns of a long battle ahead

as he names his taskforce to tackle the virus the 17—day lockdown comes to an end in wales — it's too early to say if it's made any difference. still struggling to get essential medication — we reveal how most disabled people still can't access what they need, even during a pandemic. "a great day for science and humanity. " that sentence alone tells you what a big day this could be in the fight against coronavirus. it's from the head of one of the drug companies jointly developing a vaccine that trials suggest is more than 90% effective in preventing covid—19. the news has sent stock markets soaring — although challenges remain and the world health organization warned the announcement alone would not be

a complete game—changer. the vaccine‘s developers now want to apply for emergency licensing so that the vaccine can start to be given to people in general public outside of trials — possibly before the end of the year. this report from jon donnison. could this be the moment the world has been waiting for? an effective vaccine against covid—19. it's been developed by the us drug company pfizer, and a german manufacturer, biontech. they say preliminary late stage trials say it's 90% effective. the ceo of pfizer, albert bourla, called it a great day for science and humanity, and a significant step forward in the battle against the pandemic. the uk government has already ordered 30 million doses of the vaccine, but pfizer says it still has to apply for emergency licensing so that it can be given to the general public outside of trials. well, certainly, any promising news about a vaccine is great news

and i'm very pleased to hear that there is a vaccine candidate that seems to be going through the phase three trial process, and according to what we've read today, the results are looking good. this could be a major game changer around the world in our response to covid—19. however, we really have to be careful about safety and scale around the vaccine. so whilst we can go with confidence, i don't think we're seeing any return to normal by christmas or the new year, as everyone would, i'm sure, hope among your viewers. president trump tweeted his reaction, calling it great news. "stock market up big," he said. and with covid—19 infection rates soaring, a vaccine cannot come too soon. jon donnison, bbc news. the chief scientific officer of pfizer gave his reaction to the news.

i've never felt, professionally, such a moment ofjoy, and we were justjumping up and down with joy for humanity and joy for a medical advances to put an end to this dreadful pandemic. of course, there are more steps. the next steps... include the regulatory guidelines in two weeks for it filing for emergency use, and around the same time, we will have put together manufacturing. i want to say, they we re very manufacturing. i want to say, they were very pleased with what they have seen. and so far, what we have seen have seen. and so far, what we have seen and what has also been very reassuring from a safety point of view. now, your vaccine needs to be

stored at very low temperatures because it is quite fragile. is that going to present some difficulties in rolling it out, given that it has to be stored at i think something like —80 degrees? to be stored at i think something like -80 degrees? that is a great question. you know, we have spent the last few months planning the logistics, and we have a very effective system where we will ship in containers with dry ice, where dry ice can keep it at —84 sometime and then be allowed to transfer to point of use and storage for a shorter time and then injected. i think we will be able, with pfizer's experience and logistics, this is not the first time for pfizer. we feel very confident we can make this happen. over time, we have plans to

turn this vaccine into a powder that can be even easier, but right now, time is of the essence, and that is why we choose this approach. that is the pfizer view. sirjohn bell — who sits on the uk's vaccine task force — says progress at both the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccine trials means life could be returning to normal soon. do we know so with confidence life should be returning to normal by spring? yes, i will be the first guy to say that, but yes. that is fabulous news. thank you for talking to us. our health correspondent michelle roberts is here. everybody is going like this. are we right to? it is very positive, very pleased we have got the result, it seems very pleased we have got the result, it seems very impressive, but we are

just not quite there yet to really p0p just not quite there yet to really pop the champagne cork. this is interim results, so we need to get to the end of the study, and there isa to the end of the study, and there is a chance that they may change slightly, but at the moment it is looking like 90% effective, which is really good for a vaccine. but we need the safety results and we need the approvalfor need the safety results and we need the approval for emergency use. there are always buts, aren't there? there are always buts, aren't there? there is the roll—out, there is the home many doses we might need? the types of people offered the first doses, it will be front—line workers, nhs staff exposed to this pandemic virus all the time. and the most frail people, the elderly who need protection from this virus. in this study that has just happened, there were elderly people in the study as well as very young, young teenagers, young adults, so we don't

yet know what the efficacy was in each of those subcategories. all along through this pandemic, we have been hearing that one vaccine on its own might not be enough and it might be that we need a few different types of vaccine against covid to protect everybody. all that said, all the caveats that everybody will understand, is this it? is this the moment where history will say that is when, for the first time, there was light at the end of the tunnel? this is certainly a pivotal point where we have got some late stage dated that shows it appears to protect. that is a really positive finding. but we still need to have the final dot the is, cross the ts to know we are fully there. but how long does the protection last? we only know that those people were jabbed back in july. only know that those people were jabbed back injuly. we don't know whether by next july jabbed back injuly. we don't know whether by nextjuly they will still

be protected or not. is it going to be protected or not. is it going to be an annual vaccine? will that be enough? there are a lot of questions still. but alongside that seems, we also have effective treatments, and we know how to blot limit the spread as well with facemasks and things. i don't think it is time to throw away your facemask don't think it is time to throw away yourfacemask and don't think it is time to throw away your facemask and start celebrating quite yet. john said things might change by spring? the hope is that if things play out like we think they will, that means we can start to protect people to stop the spread to protect people to stop the spread to those who are most vulnerable to getting sick with it, and that would bea getting sick with it, and that would be a real achievement. and then, hopefully, in the spring anyway with these winter respiratory diseases, they tend to wane off a bit during they tend to wane off a bit during the summer months, that would give us the summer months, that would give us time to vaccinate more and more people. joe biden said the new vaccine offered ‘hope', while president trump hailed it

as "great news." markets in europe immediately rallied, with stocks hit hard by the virus — such as airlines, builders and leisure companies — soaring in value. wall street is expected to follow suit when it opens within the next half an hour. keith wade is a chief economist at global investment manager schroders. hejoins me now. let's quickly talk about reaction to the vaccine. we have not seen markets respond like this for some time to anything. it is very positive and the vaccine is the key toa positive and the vaccine is the key to a much stronger recovery. the parts of the economy that are really struggling our services sector. the ones that have been most affected by new restrictions like social distancing, so we can see the market reacting to that very rapidly, and it is very encouraging because parts of our economy are a big part of our overall gdp growth. i would caution that it overall gdp growth. i would caution thatitis overall gdp growth. i would caution that it is going to take some time to roll out this vaccine and get it distributed. and the other thing is that a lot of people will probably still be quite cautious even when

the vaccine has been rolled out, because the experience of past pandemics is that it very often ta kes a pandemics is that it very often takes a long time for people to readjust their behaviour back to how it was before the virus struck. it is great news, but i think it will ta ke is great news, but i think it will take some time before it really begins to benefit the service sector. this happening to markets, who are already feeling buoyed by the news from the united states in terms of what a biden presidency would do for them. they are still working out what it means. before the election, the markets thought the election, the markets thought the democrats would get a clean sweep and we would get a large fiscal stimulus coming through, to theory and —— to or at 3 trillion. it does look like the senate is going to stay under the control of the republicans, and biden will have to work for the hard to persuade the republicans of his policies. it looks as though they won't want to support as big a stimulus bill, over

the last few months they have been wrangling over the size of the bill. the scaling back of the stimulus that would be provided, but it is certainly true that stimulus is neededin certainly true that stimulus is needed in the united states because you can see that a lot of the previous stimulus now is beginning to expire and houses are beginning to expire and houses are beginning to experience shortages in incomes. that is very critical. i think the other thing the market is looking out for is whether or not we can get an infrastructure bill. that might be something they can get bipartisan agreement on with the republicans, but that would take longer to feed through with the economy. but that would take longer to feed through with the economym but that would take longer to feed through with the economy. if you and i had through with the economy. if you and ihada through with the economy. if you and i had a pound for every time we said that the markets hate uncertainty. but the big organisations, nato, the climate change conferences thatjoe biden wants to be part of them once again, does that help? well, it does, because i think rejoining the paris accords would be a big step

forward , paris accords would be a big step forward, more international cooperation. if you think that a couple of years to when the trade wa rs couple of years to when the trade wars started between the us and china, that because a lot of disruption in markets and businesses said it was difficult to plan for the future. if we get more certainty and more use of international organisations, i think that would provide a framework that people would understand and they are familiar with and businesses could operate within that environment. i think that would help reduce uncertainty and help markets, but more importantly it would really help investment in business and gdp growth and employment. let's talk about the next few weeks. president trump, all eyes on how he is going to react when he does what he does. he still has the power to move markets, doesn't he? he certainly does. i mean, of course, one of, if you like, his legacy is is that he has actually demonstrated there is a lot of support for his views and he

can still move markets. we will have to see a wearable legal challenge goes. but longer term, we talk about congress, . .. goes. but longer term, we talk about congress,... will continue to want to pursue part of that agenda. quite a number of people now will be thinking about the 2024 election, so they will want to be positioning themselves and looking at a lot of themselves and looking at a lot of the policies that trump pursued and continue to champion those in congress, so i think that will prove to be the longer lasting impact and it might make life more difficult forjoe biden. in her daily government briefing, the first minister of scotland nicola sturgeon said the development was good news. it might not be all that visible at the moment, but there is light at the moment, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and don't forget that. the news we have heard this morning about the vaccine

development, the vaccine being developed by the pharmaceutical company pfizer, being trialled, the early indications is that it is 90% effective. that is good news, perhaps amongst the best news we have had in recent weeks. it is not going to provide us with the way out of this today or tomorrow or next week, or perhaps not even in this calendar year, but that's development, with all of the other work that is going into the development of other vaccines, does give us right now, real hope that in the not—too—distant future, science is going to find us the way out of this terrible time we have been living through. hold on to that hope today but also use it as a motivation. what we are living through right now and all the restrictions that are so difficult for all of us will not last forever, but it is really important that we stick with them now it so we get out the other side of this with as few

people as possible becoming ill, as a few people as possible losing their lives. and that means all of us their lives. and that means all of us sticking with these tough restrictions that we are all fed up with, but that we know have an impact in reducing the impact of this virus. please stick with it now and keep a hold of that hope today that there is an end, and hopefully, we will see it in the not—too—distant we will see it in the not—too—dista nt future. president—elect biden is to due announce his i2—member team to tackle coronavirus later today, ahead of announcing his own cabinet. it's a pledge he made in a victory speech at the weekend. mr biden says dealing with the pandemic is his top priority. well, to find out who might be in that task force and whether it will be able to bring the virus back under control, we can speak to devi sridhar. she's professor of global public health at the university of edinburgh. since we booked you, we have had this news from pfizer, and how excited should we be by this?|j

think excited should we be by this?” think it is tremendously exciting, and there are challenges with this particular vaccine that requires two doses and needs to be kept at cold temperatures, but it does show that a vaccine is coming and as possible and there are a number of candidates that will be here in the coming weeks and months, so we should all be very hopeful. can we talk about the caveats? it is very easy to say that this is eight and people suddenly change their behaviour and thatis suddenly change their behaviour and that is what we do not want to happen. for a start, will one vaccine be enough? for this particular candidate from pfizer that we are hearing about with the 90% effectiveness, it requires two doses several weeks apart for it to have the maximum effectiveness, so this is a logistical challenge we think about the number of people, the hundreds of millions across the world, who will need access to this. it'll shift from a scientific challenge to a logistical challenge, setting up chains, had you get this

vaccine set up at this temperature at countries all over the world. we cannot thinkjust at countries all over the world. we cannot think just about the uk at countries all over the world. we cannot thinkjust about the uk or our own local patches. this is a global crisis, so who have been working on arrangements permitting vaccines available to all parts of the world. this particular vaccine needs to be stored at ridiculously low temperatures. this has been a long—standing challenge with vaccines at the past. do they need a cold chain or do they need to be delivered in other forms? cold chain or do they need to be delivered in otherforms? this is a good step forward and a good sign for 2020 and should give people hope that suppression, those countries have managed to keep the numbers low, it was an optimal strategy because many vaccine comes along, it makes it so easy to break those chains of infection and reduce the number of susceptible people to covid—i9. number of susceptible people to covid-19. let's look at what is happening in the united states. the president—elect, who does not take office until january, but president—elect, who does not take office untiljanuary, but one of his firstjobs is office untiljanuary, but one of his first jobs is setting office untiljanuary, but one of his firstjobs is setting up this task. what do they need to be doing when they look at how to combat covid—i9?

they have already started. you see three things happening. first, a federal strategy which has been missing in the put into that really sensible things like testing, supporting people through isolation, ppe, vaccine standards, so there are quite a lot in there already when they start to put together a plan. the second thing is a trend towards science. the names start to come out and you recognise most of them because they are prominent infectious disease specialists, global health specialists. you will have a lot of technical expertise that can be applied to this crisis. and thirdly, we see a tend to be engaging multilaterally with organisations. the who has had a difficult relationship with the usa because of president trump, ucjoe biden saying on day one he will recommit to the who and other countries, european countries, to manage this crisis. what will

happen, the next days notwithstanding, anthony fauci, will he have a role? he is a trusted voice in america, and one of the things you have to remember with infectious disease outbreaks is communications and trust are vital, people need to understand the information coming through. people trust what she is saying. there are, again, challenges. you had 70 million americans who did vote for president trump, quite a few of those who may not take covid—i9 seriously. it is how do you bring those along as well and truly unite the country to say that of course there is a huge economic challenge, but we have to deal with the public health challenge first and then we can go on to having a robust economic recovery. if there's one thing that guarantees a grim future under coronavirus, it is people's behaviour? if we had voluntary micro—shifts in each of our behaviour, you wouldn't have to have harsh lockdown measures and each of

us harsh lockdown measures and each of us would slowly understand that getting outside to socialise, getting outside to socialise, getting outside to exercise, washing our hands, avoiding crowded settings, ventilating, simple things we can all do to avoid the virus. if everybody does this voluntarily, you avoid the need for lockdown measures and harsh restrictions. they might be needed in certain settings. it is very ha rd to be needed in certain settings. it is very hard to keep bars and clubs and pubs open, but you can start to target those measures more and user testing and tracing to reopen the economy in a big way. how much does today's announcement from pfizer change the way people will try to change the way people will try to change our behaviour in the coming weeks? this is kind of delight we all needed. there is a sense of hopelessness, especially as a lot of europe goes into second lockdown is as the numbers continue to accelerate across the world, the deaths pile up as well as fatigue over restrictions. hopefully there is light had and we will get through

this. i think the next few months will be tough for the northern hemisphere going into winter. but i am very positive about looking at february and march and thinking by that point, we will have hopefully one if not more vaccines improved, have mask testing in place and we will understand about transmission and also genetic work about understanding who actually becomes critically and she seems to be asymptomatic. research coming out on cross. . . asymptomatic. research coming out on cross... there is a lot of science delivering, and i would say that once we get to the spring, we should see some light ahead and we have been through the toughest period, but it is going to be a tough winter andi but it is going to be a tough winter and i think people need to accept the next few weeks will be rough, but hopefully there is payoff. one of the things with the professors, the lack of a nation, if you like, dealing with facts and giving it straight. but when you heard that news today from company mac, was there a little bit of a cheer and a

little bit of excitement? all of us in the scientific community senators will excitement and positive and we have all been hoping for. the only real exit strategy from this pandemic was going to be a scientific solution and a vaccine is the optimal way out of this, it is how we have had to deal with infectious diseases for hundreds of yea rs infectious diseases for hundreds of years in the past. measles killed a lot of children before we got an effective measles vaccine, and polio is well into we got an effective polio vaccines and vaccinations are important in bringing down the death that infectious diseases bring. it isa that infectious diseases bring. it is a really exciting day, but i think there were reservations because this was released in a press release, so the scientific community is saying let us see the data and understand what is underneath it. are there concerns around safety? how along with immunity last? the first feeling is joy and peace are convening as let us get back to looking at details and figuring out how we assess the robustness of the press release and also looking at

how you deploy the vaccine. half the battle is developing it and the other battle is rolling it out as pa rt other battle is rolling it out as part of the strategy of managing the crisis. really good to talk to you again. thank you. and you can get all the latest news in a bbc one special this afternoon. we will have the latest on the efforts to curb covid—i9, including a news conference by the prime minister on the day of a promising development in vaccine trials. join us from 4.30 on bbc one. and we'll be putting your questions on the first effective coronavirus vaccine in a ‘your questions answered' to dr markjit, professor of vaccine epidemiology and a member of the sage scientific advisory group, at around 3.30 this afternoon. the 17—day national lockdown in wales has ended. the country's health minister, vaughan gething, says it will be another fortnight before the full impact of the restrictions is known. opposition parties want strict measures to continue in parts of south wales where infection

rates remain high. our wales correspondent tomos morgan reports from cardiff. this time last year, 15—year—old osian roberts was making a name for himself playing for the cardiff blues rugby academy. but during the firebreak, he's had to train on his own. from today, though, he'll be able to practise with friends again at his local club in a group of up to 30. being able to play rugby again, going back to sort of normality, it's not going to be normal, but it's going to be more normal than it used to be. as well as outdoor sports training, gyms and indoor leisure facilities will be reopening today. along with those nonessential shops including beauty parlours and hairdressers that were also closed during the firebreak. two households will also be able to mix inside and form one extended household or bubble. covid—related figures are usually delayed, so we won't know for at least another fortnight whether or not the firebreak has had the desired effect.

the welsh government have already said that they wouldn't rule out another short, sharp lockdown in the new year. if it has worked, there will hopefully be further easing on restrictions in the run—up to christmas. in an effort to help those living alone and youngsters wanting to socialise, the welsh government have also said that four people from different households can meet for a walk or in a cafe, bar or restaurant. however, those four will have to socially distance inside hospitality venues, meaning fewer tables for establishments and also id checks will also be required. if you ask people the question, are you in the same household? and their eyes flicker, and maybe they're not. you know, it puts a lot of pressure on us to be able to say, well, actually, i don't believe you, or actually, are you really telling the truth? i mean, that's quite a harsh thing

for us to have to do. although restrictions have eased, the first minister once again emphasised today that people should be doing the minimum, not the maximum within the rules, in order to keep the virus in check. our exit from the firebreak needs to be careful and cautious so that we can maximise its impact. the national measures will be reviewed in a fortnight to see whether there is any new evidence we can use to help us to plot the future. as the festive season draws ever closer, a sense of some normality has returned in wales. but for just how long will depend on the success of these last two weeks. a futuristic transport system has trialled its first everjourney — with passengers — in the nevada desert. the virgin hyperloop allows passengers to travel in a pod through a tube at speeds of more than 100mph. in trials the pod travelled

the length of a 500—metre track in 15 seconds. the developer's ambition is to reach speeds of more than i,000kph, which would mean passengers could travel from gatwick to heathrow airport injust four minutes. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. the mist and fog has been lifting and clearing for many areas. looking cloudy for the rest of the day. quite mild still and there will be a few splashes of rain around as well. parts of wales, central and southern england prone to see most of those showers. further north, a bit drier. temperatures about 16 degrees. mild for this time of year. a lot of dry weather in between, but there could be the odd rumble of thunder. drier with clearer skies for northern ireland and the north of scotland as well. a touch of frost here, but a

mild start to tuesday morning for most. a few fog patches but not as extensive as the fog we had on monday morning. tomorrow, there will bea monday morning. tomorrow, there will be a bit more sunshine than we have seen be a bit more sunshine than we have seen today, so sunnier skies developing, the odd shower but generally fizzing out later. top temperatures around about 12 to 15 degrees. let's ta ke let's take you to new york. it follows the news of a possible vaccine. the new york stock

exchange. let's hear the opening bell and get a sense of the opening perhaps that has been expressed in markets around the world, with both the ftse and the french markets up considerably. let'sjoin the ftse and the french markets up considerably. let's join them. applause bell rings. well, every opening of the new york stock exchange is marked with some slightly celebrity based celebration, but today more than ever, following the main markets in london and frankfurt up 5%. there we 90, london and frankfurt up 5%. there we 9°, up london and frankfurt up 5%. there we go, up 5.6% on the opening bell. so sharing the optimism. airlines and

hotel groups making particularly large gains as a result of the news from pfizer. that is the live news coming from new york, an immediate rise in stocks there, mirroring what has happened around the world in response to that announcement of a vaccine that in trials has proved 90% effective. a long way to go, but like perhaps at the end of the tunnel at last. hello, this is bbc news with simon mccoy. the headlines — a major breakthrough in the fight against corononavirus — a vaccine that's 90% effective in preventing the disease. drug company pfizer says it's a great day for science. have never felt professioné such i have never felt professionally such a moment ofjoy, and we were justjumping up and down in the chairs, ofjoy for justjumping up and down in the chairs, of joy for humanity, justjumping up and down in the chairs, ofjoy for humanity, joy for medical advances.

shares soar on the news — markets around the world are up dramatically. the new york stock exchange up 5%. airline shares benefit, too. the government confirm they have ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine. if all goes well, 10 million could be available to the uk by the end of the year. president—elect biden calls the news ‘cause for hope' but warns of a long battle ahead, as he names his taskforce to tackle the virus. the 17—day lockdown comes to an end in wales — it's too early to say if it's made any difference. still struggling to get essential medication — we reveal how most disabled people still can't access what they need, even during a pandemic. sport now, and for a full round—up, from the bbc sport centre... holly. hello. liverpool bossjurgen klopp is calling on the premier league to change its fixture scheduling, stating his players are on the edge in the midst of such a hectic run of games.

klopp's manchester city counterpart pep guardiola has added his voice to the condemnation too — saying that players are not protected. the two sides played out a 1—1 draw yesterday after also both sides had european fixtures midweek. klopp says, if it continues in this way — injuries will continue to mount up. no team who plays on wednesday night, away or in champions league should have the 12:30pm kick—off on saturday. that's not allowed. and totte n ha m saturday. that's not allowed. and tottenham played on thursday and had today a i2pm kick—off. honestly, play sunday, no problem, wednesday, saturday, but not the 12:30pm, that is the complete killer, you wake up and you play football in a complete recovery phase. the premier league has to change that. it's not possible. the usa world cup winner megan rapinoe says her country needs to embrace change as it welcomes in its new president. speaking at the start of the bbc‘s women in football week, rapinoe says its more difficult to succeed if you're from a minority.

if you're a woman, you're constantly traversing the patriarch ee, and traversing, you know, being a woman may be in a male dominated workplace, or a male dominated field, or in sports in general, if you're black certainly in this country, you're constantly navigating racism and micro—aggression, all that. and i think that, while it is not necessarily people's fault, like, you know, people that were born now didn't create the country the way that it was created, but that doesn't mean that you don't have a responsibility to it. that full interview available on the bbc sport website. we are talking about this matter behind me. american chris nikic has become the first person with down's syndrome to finish an ironman triathlon event. the 21 year old who's from florida, crossed the line in 16 hours 46 minutes nine seconds — less than 14 minutes under

the official cut—off time. guinness world records called nikic‘s achievement "awe—inspiring". nikic now has his eyes set on being part of the 2022 special olympics. before i go — a reminder that the latest round of the international swimming league gets underway in the next half an hour or so. you can watch it on the red button and the bbc sport website. adam peaty won't be swimming today as he's been rested, but plenty of other british stars in action. that is all from me for now. i will be back in the next hour. well, some good news for president—electjoe biden and his new coronavirus taskforce — but it's there's still plenty on mr biden's agenda, as he prepares to become the 46th president of the united states. ben wright reports. #i,i # i, iwill survive! if donald trump remains in any doubt about the election result, he only needs to look out of the window.

joe biden's supporters continued to party outside the white house on sunday, while the president slipped away for another round of golf. mr trump has not conceded, and instead continues to claim, without providing any evidence, that there was widespread election fraud. while some senior republicans have backed donald trump's stand, on sunday the former president george w bush issued a statement of congratulations. "though we have political differences," he wrote, "i knowjoe biden to be a good man who has won his opportunity to lead and unify our country". well, ijust had the opportunity to have an excellent conversation with president—elect trump. after winning four years ago, donald trump met the outgoing president barack obama at the white house within a week of election day. the cordial beginning of a transfer of power that continues through to the inauguration. at least, that's how it's meant to work. so far, president trump has refused to acknowledge thatjoe biden has won. the president—elect does not need

donald trump's concession or congratulations to plan for power. joe biden and the vice—president—elect kamala harris are busy building a transition team, choosing key appointments, and yesterday launched a website, outlining the immediate priorities for his administration, from trying to repair the economy to tackling the pandemic. our work begins with getting covid under control. we cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish life's most precious moments, hugging our grandchildren and our children, our birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us, until we get it under control. covid is america's most pressing crisis. deaths are rising in 27 states, and the virus is surging across the country. today, mr biden will announce the makeup of a new covid task force that will work on containing the pandemic, but mr biden will not be able to take action until he becomes president. despite donald trump's refusal to accept the result, joe biden will be sworn into office in front of the capitol building on january 20th next year.

his supporters have high hopes. but the challenges are huge. and while mr biden has promised to work with republicans, the political divisions here are deep. ben wright, news, washington. research for the bbc suggests that 60% of disabled people who use social care have had difficulty getting hold of essentials, such as medication, during the pandemic. the survey by yougov was commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of the disability discrimination act, which established legal rights for people with disabilities. well, to discuss this more, iamjoined now by 26—year—old alex, who has mild learning disabilities and autism, and amelia, who is 22, who has a learning disability, which affects her motion and speech. shejoins me, alongside her mum, maria, via webcam, from south london. thank you both very much forjoining me. alex, first of all, you are 26, you were born the year before this act was passed. have you in your

lifetime, have people's attitudes to disability changed dramatically?” would say there has definitely been progress. there are certainly a lot more understanding, and i'm hoping with the work that i do, it will increase people's awareness of that, that disabilities, even though you can't see them, they still do exist, soi can't see them, they still do exist, so i would say there is definitely progress. and how has it been during the pandemic? during the pandemic, it was a bit hard to adapt to it first, having to work from home, and not going to work, doing my usual activities, so initially it took a bit of getting used to, but i think now i'm just sort of use to it, if that makes sense. it does make com plete that makes sense. it does make complete sense. i'm just worrying about the issue of stigma, which has been around, well, forever. are you sensing a change in that and people's perception of it?” sensing a change in that and people's perception of it? i think

there is definitely some change in stigma, but there are still a lot of work to be done to eradicate it completely. but, yeah, there has definitely been some progress over the years. that is positive. amelia, i'm just wondering, do you agree with alex, that things are better, in terms of how people perceive you? yes. they are getting better. and, amelia, when you say things are getting better, when you go out, when you could go out before, what reaction do you get from people? weird looks. some people don't come near me, but i don't mind that because ijust carry on with my day

and i'm happy. and i have had a lot of support. well, that's really good to hear. and, alex, when we're talking about getting access to things, i'm sorry, i'mjust talking about getting access to things, i'm sorry, i'm just going back to amelia, because you are asking your mum how you are doing, you are doing really well, by the way, it's really good to talk to you, so thank you, amelia, that's great. alex, let's just you, so thank you, amelia, that's great. alex, let'sjust talk you, so thank you, amelia, that's great. alex, let's just talk about the last few months, because what has it been like getting access to essentials, because this is what we're talking about today. has there a problem? i wouldn't say there has been such a problem, it is just getting used to the adaptions along the way, but initially i think in the way, but initially i think in the very early stages it was quite difficult because we couldn't go out, so consequently we had to have a delivery person come to our door, to give us essentials, so we can go out. so that was a bit weird to get

used to it first. because you are missing the social aspect of life? absolutely, and you don't get to see the people that you would normally see on a regular basis were so certainly from that point of view, it was definitely a bit strange to adapt to, but now, you know, with things slightly easier than they were, yeah, there is a bit more uncertainty still. yeah. amelia, what about your friends? how often do you see your friends? not that often because of the pandemic. on zoom. often because of the pandemic. on zoom. i often because of the pandemic. on zoom. lam often because of the pandemic. on zoom. i am able to see my friends. and which friends do you like talking to most? todd is my friend.

victoria. i've got lots of friends. and what do you and victoria, what are you talking about, are you talking about how you are feeling, and things like that? yes. girl things! laughter it's fun talking on zoom, though, isn't it? yeah. it isjust nice to talk to people when everyone has been a bit down, isn't it? and ask your mum how she is feeling about how you are doing? i'm really good. really proud. really proud? really proud, you have made so many friends in all yourgroups, and proud, you have made so many friends in all your groups, and you've done very, very well in coping with it, because you love your routine, don't

you? yeah. and you have managed to get a new routine for the new lockdown, haven't you ? get a new routine for the new lockdown, haven't you? from all the social groups on zoom. so amelia, it is fairto social groups on zoom. so amelia, it is fair to say you are happy? yeah. that's great. alex, i want to talk about the issue of routine, which amelia mentioned. how do you change your routine when we are all up against this different world that we are all in at the moment? how do i change it, sorry? yeah, i mean, what is different, your daily, your day, how has it changed?” is different, your daily, your day, how has it changed? i would say, it was like an interesting question, actually. i mean, are you still in touch with your friends, are you like amelia, are you on zoom a lot, how it working? i am on zoom a lot with my friends, colleagues, now and then. so certainly from that point of that is nice, but it is still a

bit, it is still hard that you can't see your friends face—to—face, if you know what i mean. we have had the first good news for a long time today, we don't know how this is going to work out, but when this is all over what are you most looking forward to when things go back to normal? when things go back to normal? when things go back to normal i would say the thing i'm looking forward to is getting back to my old activities, even though i do like some of the activities that ido do like some of the activities that i do now, but i'm looking forward to resuming the old activities, because i'm surei resuming the old activities, because i'm sure i speak on everyonemy behalf here, i reallyjust want things to go back to normal. everybody here is going here, here. what can for you with a disability, what is the biggest challenge do you think you are facing at the moment? the biggest challenges at the moment, you mean personally or professionally? both, personally first of all. personally i would say

being understood, because some people with disabilities feel they are misunderstood and ifeel misunderstood a lot, and may be professionally the biggest challenge would probably be, i'm not too sure on that, that's an interesting question, thank you for that. well, it was going to happen, i was going to our something interesting one day! but i'm interested in saying what you think about being understood, which perhaps is more about the people you are talking to thanit about the people you are talking to than it does about you.” about the people you are talking to than it does about you. i would say this goes on to the question of how i feel with my disability, this goes on to the question of how ifeel with my disability, because in my oldjob, ifeel with my disability, because in my old job, before i worked where i work now, i didn't feel like i was understood by a lot of people because of my disability. and was that frustrating? it was frustrating, yeah, upsetting as well, and i just frustrating, yeah, upsetting as well, and ijust wanted to tell them straight that, i've got a

disability, please be kind to me, but i just didn't disability, please be kind to me, but ijust didn't have the courage to do so at the time. really come you didn't feel able to tell people? so how were they with you? they were quite impatient with me, to be honest with you, simon, and not as understanding as the team that i work with now. the team i work with now are absolutely lovely. bacca that's really good to hear, and i'm just wondering what advice he would give to people watching you now, who may don't have the experience of working all the luck or the privilege of working with someone with disabilities will stop how weird you advise them to talk to you, too approach to you? to approach me, sorry? to be nice would probably be the thing, would it? yeah, be nice, iwould probably be the thing, would it? yeah, be nice, i would say, and the advice i would probably give to some disabled people in the same or similar boat as me, if you like,

would be don't give up, not everybody in this world is harsh and judgmental, be yourself, it's ok to ask for help, and yeah, just keep the faith, really. that is quite a message. amelia, i don't know if you had alex there, but what would you say to people, when they meet you? how would you like them to talk to you? patiently. and to understand me. well, i wish you well. good luck with your zoom meetings, have you got any more this afternoon with any of your friends? yeah yeah. cooking. i will let you get on with that, amelia thank you very much, it was a great pleasure to talk to you,. thank you. and alex, thank you very much, fascinating talking to you, thank you for your time. thank you

very much, simon, nice to be here. the bbc has been marking the 25th anniversary since the disability discrimination act was passed. it was a landmark piece of legislation which ensured, for the first time, that disabled people had civil rights. up until that point, they were excluded from much of society. a group of disabled people took their fight for independence to the streets, which finally helped change the law. we can now take a look at what you've been asking, it's time for bbc your questions answered. to a nswer to answer some of your questions around the act and any other issues... i am joined by catherine casserley, a lawyer, who specialises in disability discrimination. ijust want i just want to pick up ijust want to pick up on what i just want to pick up on what we have just heard, and the message i just want to pick up on what we havejust heard, and the message is clearly we just want to be understood better. yes. i think

attitudinal issues are one of the very significant matters that arise in many of the discrimination cases i see. it's still prominent for disabled people, still a really significant issue, both in the workplace, and also in relation to services, so for example someone going into a shop and experiencing staff who don't necessarily understand disability, aren't aware of it, and similarly when people make complaints, those complaints not being taken seriously, and disability access not being taken seriously. we have some questions, this first one i want to put your from maria, who said i recently discovered that people on universal credit are getting £100 a month more benefit to help ease the covert effect. people with tax credits are also receiving more benefits to ease the effects of covid, so could some look and to why some people on the fsa —— on esa and other disability

benefits are left with nothing? when it comes to benefits, there are many reasons why particularly at the moment benefits may be different. so for example when it comes to universal credit, there are some people who would have been working and would still need universal credit, because the income is so low and the income may be effected for example by lockdown now, so universal credit may increase. if there are differentials in benefit specifically because of disability —related issues, then there may be ways of challenging that, and they have been successful challenges to benefits introduced in the past, using both the equalities act and the human rights act, and if you wa nt to the human rights act, and if you want to challenge those benefits then they really do need to seek advice on that, and they can do that by talking to their local law centre for example possibly even to a local solicitor who deals with benefits and discrimination issues. this is from cathy watson smith in temperature who says if i encounter hostility from a staff member while

using public premises, she goes on to mention the o2 in this instance, andi to mention the o2 in this instance, and i am talking to a lawyer so tell me ifi and i am talking to a lawyer so tell me if i overstepped the mark, she says and think the premises have been changed to offer more limited and less favourable access to wheelchair users, is there anything ican do? wheelchair users, is there anything i can do? she says about 02, i complain to their customer services at the time and got no response.” think there are a number of different bits to that so i will deal with them severally. first in relation to attitude, that is one of theissues relation to attitude, that is one of the issues i come across certainly in my practice. the way in which the equality act, which is the it makes it unlawful to discriminate ona number of it makes it unlawful to discriminate on a number of different grounds and also to harass people. and harassment has a very broad definition, so it is when you violate someone's dignity, or you make the environment intimidating or hostile or offensive, and that can be the way in which you deal with

someone. be the way in which you deal with someone. so if a member of staff is making someone feel uncomfortable, if they are not treating them with dignity, then it may be that that person feels as though they are being harassed and it may be reasonable for them to feel like that, so they may have a claim for harassment. the other thing as well as that discrimination incorporates if they need to make adjustments, and that's when you don't adjust the way in which either the physical features of premises are set up for disabled people, and those are what people understand as the sort of basic features of premises, so it may be that there needs to be a ramp instead of stairs, it may be the installation of a lift, but it is also the way in which those premises are run. so to give you a very basic example, if someone goes into let's say a big shopping centre, and not necessarily talking about the o2 say a big shopping centre, and not necessarily talking about the 02 but it might be somewhere else, and the way in which it is laid out makes it difficult for a wheelchair user to manoeuvre, now that can be the way

in which it is set up, for example, it might be if you are in a small shop it might be the way in which the rails are set out, then that is the rails are set out, then that is the policy or practice or procedure and those need to be changed to avoid that disadvantage disabled people are put at, so that is another way in which the people providing services have to perhaps change the way they provide their services and if they don't that may be discrimination. so there are different ways in which the equality act works for the benefit of disabled people. now, in terms of taking those steps further, planing is the first step for people, and if that doesn't work, then the best thing to do is to seek advice, because what you can do is bring a claim can be can bring a claim in the county court, you might get compensation but more importantly for many people is the court can order that provider of services to change the way in which they do

things, and they have done that, and i have been involved in claims where the courts have ordered for example a bank to install a platform lift, they have ordered a service provider to change the way it does things.” have a very specific question from sharon in derbyshire. she asks why are the dwp so discriminatory and blind to disabled people who have to tra nsfer blind to disabled people who have to transfer from dla, the blind to disabled people who have to transferfrom dla, the disability living allowance, to pip, the personal independence payment? when you start answering perhaps you could just explain what has happened there. she goes on to say surely if you have been awarded dla, it should be obvious your disability has not disappeared as soon as you need to apply for a different award. but are making all of the decision is based on too many assumptions and inaccurate record. why are they causing so much stress and anxiety to people who already have to cope ona to people who already have to cope on a daily basis with a disability? lots of questions along these lines of how the system could change —— has changed, so perhaps you could

first outline what has changed for them. disability living allowance is a non—means them. disability living allowance is a non—mea ns tested them. disability living allowance is a non—means tested benefit, which means it doesn't matter how much income you have already, it is a benefit intended to help people with the additional cost of disability, basically, and that has been changed to what is called a personal independence payment, so it is a different type of benefit. and there have been a lot of complaints from people about the way in which the process has worked, and the way in which they feel like they have been treated. the dwp contracts out, as has been said, the assessment process for that, and there have been a number of different providers. and as that viewer has said, a lot of people are very unhappy about that process, about the fact they have to go through repeated proof of their disability. that is written into the rules. one of the things the equality act says is if there is no way in which a service provider can act, other than

to follow those rules, then discrimination can't apply, so there isa discrimination can't apply, so there is a bit ofa discrimination can't apply, so there is a bit of a get out there. what i would say, however, is that when you are dealing with the process, the duty to make adjustments to that process still applies, and in fact i am involved in a case at the moment where we are dealing with that. so there is a duty for example to make adjustments in that process, if the process of dealing with an assessment is going to call someone particular distress because of their disability, then that sso may need to do is not see someone face—to—face, they may need to make that decision based on the papers. they may have enough information not to go through that. so there are ways in which the equality act applies, and it is important to make sure that your rights are asserted in that process. catherine, thank you so much forjoining us this afternoon. great pleasure to talk to you.

now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. the mist and fog was quite extensive earlier on today, but it has gradually been lifting and clearing for many areas. for most of us, though, remaining fairly cloudy for the rest of the day, quite mild still and a few splashes of rain around too. parts of wales, central and southern england will be prone to seeing most of their showers, further north a bit drier, 13 to 16 degrees, certainly still mild for the time of year. in the evening, we will continue to see a few showers particularly across england and wales, could be the odd rumble of thunder, dryer with clearer skies for northern ireland and the north of scotland. you could see a touch of scotland. you could see a touch of last year a mile start your tuesday morning for most. again, a few fog patches but not as extensive as the fog we had first thing monday morning. mist and fog should slowly clear and tomorrow there will be a

bit more sunshine than we have seen today. some sunny skies developing, the odd shower but generally phasing out later in the day. a touch cooler than today, top temperatures around 12 to 15 degrees.

this is bbc news. the headlines... we feel that we are on the cusp of one of the biggest medical advances for society in the hundred years that have passed here, but we will work hard to make sure we deliver. shares soar on the news. markets around the world are up dramatically. airline shares benefit, too. the government confirm they have ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine. if all goes well, 10 million could be available to the uk by the end of the year. president—elect biden calls the news "cause for hope," but warns of a long battle ahead as he names his taskforce to tackle the virus. the 17—day lockdown comes to an end in wales. it's too early to say if it's

made any difference. still struggling to get essential medication — we reveal how most disabled people still can't access what they need, even during a pandemic. "a great day for science and humanity. " that sentence alone tells you what a big day this could be in the fight against coronavirus. it's from the head of one of the drug companies jointly developing a vaccine that trials suggest is more than 90% effective in preventing covid—19. the news has sent stock markets soaring — although challenges remain and the world health organization warned the announcement

alone would not be a complete game—changer. the vaccine's developers now want to apply for emergency licensing so that the vaccine can start to be given to people in the general public outside of trials — possibly before the end of the year. this report from jon donnison. could this be the moment the world has been waiting for? an effective vaccine against covid—19. it's been developed by the us drug company pfizer, and a german manufacturer, biontech. they say preliminary late stage trials say it's 90% effective. the ceo of pfizer, albert bourla, called it a great day for science and humanity, and a significant step forward in the battle against the pandemic. the uk government has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, but pfizer still has to apply for emergency licensing so that it can be given to the general public outside of trials.

well, certainly, any promising news about a vaccine is great news, and i'm very pleased to hear that there is a vaccine candidate that seems to be going through the phase three trial process and, according to what we've read today, the results are looking good. this could be a major game—changer around the world in our response to covid—19. however, we really have to be careful about safety and scale around the vaccine. so whilst we can go with confidence, i don't think we're seeing any return to normal by christmas or the new year, as everyone would, i'm sure, hope among your viewers. president trump tweeted his reaction, calling it great news. "stock market up big," he said. and with covid—19 infection rates soaring, a vaccine cannot come too soon. jon donnison, bbc news.

the chief scientific officer of pfizer, mikael dolsten, told us more about the vaccine's trials. it does feel that it is such a great day for science and humanity. while i was with everyone and sitting next to our ceo, albert bourla, hoping for high numbers, this certainly was fulfilling our best expectations, and we just felt so thrilled. it felt like a historic moment. there are more steps that need to happen, but we feel that we are on the cusp of one of the biggest medical advances for society and mankind in the 100 years that have passed here. but we'll work hard to make sure that it is delivered, and it was an amazing moment. i wish you would have been there with me. it was joy and tears all at once. so you were all sitting around waiting.

paint a picture for me, mikael. what was the scene like? how many people were there? what were you doing? we were sitting, a handful of people, socially distanced with masks on. the video was turned on, and the colleagues that have just been debriefed started to update us, and you could hear everybody scream, "oh, my god! this is just unbelievable!" wonderful. wonderful, and where was that in the us, physically? we were just at a small pfizer office, actually, in connecticut. and it is a once—in—a—lifetime experience for me. and i have been part of many, many medicines and vaccines through my career, but nothing beats when you are seeing this tremendous suffering — i live in new york city and i have got to know many of the staff

at the hospital who worked day and night, and to give them and all the patients, my big thank you, to all the participants in the trials, patients, physicians and all of you that have been following us. best wishes for success for other vaccine developers. we are winning this battle. that is my belief today. sirjohn bell — who sits on the uk's vaccine task force — told my colleague sarah montague that progress at both the pfizer and astrazeneca vaccine trials meant life could be returning returning to normal soon. to be no say with confidence that life should be returning to normal by spring? yes, yes, yes. i am probably first guy to say that, but i will say that with some confidence. that is fabulous news.

professorjohn bell, thank you so much for talking to us. england's chief medical officer, professor chris whitty, has tweeted his approval about the vaccine. he said... our health correspondent michelle roberts is here. the reaction tells us all we need to know about the significance of this announcement. given all the work that was going in it, should we be surprised, nonetheless, that at this stage, within a year of this virus emerging, that it looks like there isa emerging, that it looks like there is a vaccine that can work for the vast majority of cases? when you step back and look at it, it is amazing that we are at this point at this time. never have scientists work together so fast and so hard to

get to this end goal that they are all trying to work together for. we are not quite there yet. this is a brilliant results today, but we still need the final results coming through from this trial and the safety a nd through from this trial and the safety and then at the emergency approval by regulators. then once it is available, if that all goes well, we still need to see how quickly we can actually get it into people as an injection. you need to dose this three weeks apart which can be challenging in itself, but i think there is a lot of a wheel out there for people to come forward and have this jab. it looks from these trials that it this jab. it looks from these trials thatitis this jab. it looks from these trials that it is giving 90% protection, which is amazing. but we need to see. 90% protection from infection, but nobody knows how long that will last? and only time will tell. we

cannot get that information until time ticks forward, but there is a lot of hope that other vaccines as well will come on board and that we can be using a number of them as well as drugs and all of the measures we have got at the moment. it is definitely still important that we all do the social distancing, we don't let this virus sta rts distancing, we don't let this virus starts to creep away again. even from john bell's optimistic response on the world at one, it might be some time before we see life changing and getting back to normal? we know these things eb and flow. obviously, next winter, the hope is that we will be in a much more different situation from today, but we do not know how long the immunity will last, how many jabs we do not know how long the immunity will last, how manyjabs we will need, whether it is biannual, we just need to see what happens. listening to sirjohn in that interview, also wondering what makes that different from other vaccines for other viruses that have been

used before. he was saying that the whole approach is different this time. the actual science of this is really exciting. we have never had an mrna vaccine, this type of vaccine before, that is available. if it does work, there are lots of other conditions that you could use the same science to start treating. the actual nuts and bolts of it are really interesting. it is notjust that this is serendipity, a happy accident. the kind of mad scientist image as a child, people pouring one chemical after another, and eventually, by process suddenly finding the right commendation. this is actually changing the way you do this. it is taking a small part of genetic code from the virus and then using that to teach your body how to recognise and fight off the real deal. all of these vaccines that we are talking about whether it is for are talking about whether it is for a coronavirus or a flu or things in the past, none of them give you the

disease, it is protecting you from it, but this is doing it in a slightly different way that has never been done before. if it is working, there is hope to switching that code to different viruses that we have not got a vaccine for yet. our health correspondent michelle roberts. joining me now is professor beate kampmann, who's head of the vaccine centre at the london school of hygiene and tropical medicine. it isa it is a pleasure to have you on but a particular pleasure to have you on after this announcement. how would you describe it to us, its significance, in your world rather than the words ofjournalists who sometimes get a bit carried away by these things? i think michelle described it very nicely. it is a really exciting and encouraging first news from the first efficacy trial that has reported data on this vaccine, and she also said this is encouraging news for this vaccine technology because we haven't had a licensed vaccine that is based on

rna technology. but we have to also acknowledge that the results are still somewhat preliminary. i don't wa nt to still somewhat preliminary. i don't want to put a spoiler alert on this, but we need to know how long the protection will last, and at the moment, we're looking at data from 28 days after the follow—up after the volunteers had received their first two injections. what about the of medical breakthrough in terms of, rather than injecting a kind of a dead virus are part of the virus into somebody, getting their bodies and immune system to respond to it and immune system to respond to it and develop the antibodies, actually kind of cutting so much of the time out you can make this change to the genetic code. is that particularly significant‘s i think it is very significant‘s i think it is very significant because it will allow us to generate new vaccines at incredible speed. the fact that the information of the virus was so available beanie positioned people to get on with this kind of a

vaccine design and there are two of this vaccine design, rna vaccines, already in phase three trials, one being the pfizer vaccine. there are 32 candidates relying on these rna constructs, and few have come through to the last stages of trials, but this is really exciting. we just need to and give the regulators a chance to look at the dossiers that are going to be provided to the fda or a bma to understand whether all of the conditions are fulfilled, and there needs to be a follow—up before emergency license ship can be granted. so there still needs to be more work done to ensure the absolute copper bottom of these results. it is hard to contradict sirjohn bell, but it is important to also put the logistics into perspective and the privatisation

exercise that now has to happen, because there isn't going to be unlimited supplies, even if these results hold true in the larger follow—up studies that are still going on and, really, we need to carry on with the trials. we must keep collecting the data, we need to look prospectively at the duration of protection delivered by this vaccine. and we also need to whether the datasets have been approved by the datasets have been approved by the regulators so that emergency approval could be given. other vaccine candidates would have to follow suit. thank you so much for that and for putting it all into some context for us. thank you. and we'll be putting your questions on the first effective coronavirus vaccine in a ‘your questions answered' to dr markjit — professor of vaccine epidemiology and a member of the sage scientific advisory group — at around 3.30 this afternoon. joe biden said the new vaccine offered ‘hope', while president trump hailed it

as ‘great news'. markets in europe immediately rallied, with stocks hit hard by the virus , such as airlines, builders and leisure companies soaring in value. in the last hour, wall street has also opened sharply up. let's speak to our economics correspondent dharshini david. the obvious caveat of all of these things when we talk about sharers is a rally of shares is simply a bounce back, but what do you make of the scale of it and the range of shares that have benefited today? you are absolutely right. when we talk about markets moving, they tend to move on sentiment, on feelings. it is a very sort of spontaneous reaction, if you like, sometimes. we started the day with a very positive note for a monday morning. shares around the world up by 1% or 2%, they were calling it a biden bounce. the

market hate uncertainty. they liked slogans. they were hoping that this was a president elected to be passing a stimulus package that would help the world's largest economy to grow once again and that would ripple out across the world. then we had this news of hope, and we saw what they called the hope hop, the fact that we sort markets around the world soaring by 5% or more. the news brings hope of saving lives and getting us back to life as usual but also livelihoods. a lot of those sectors which had almost been written off under the current environment, and we talk about things like hospitality and airline travel, those are the bigger risers. as we speak right now, you can see airlines, sinner world's also which has suffered very badly under recent

restrictions —— cineworld. the likes of grocery delivery companies, some of grocery delivery companies, some of those shares have been dumped on the doorstep. in 20 is a mixed bag at the moment, but underlining all of this, as we have been hearing all the time, this is a very early—stage. the markets might think this is the point where they can stop holding their breath, but there is much work still to be done. do not forget, we are still looking at a global economy right now which is 10% smaller than when we started, so much still to be done, much for pfizer to come out within the coming months, but at the moment we are seeing that euphoria rippling around the globe. the big question, of is can it continue? yes. let's hope for it some more hops yet! the headlines on bbc news...

a major breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus — a vaccine that's 90% effective in preventing the disease drug company pfizer says it's a great day for science. shares soar on the news. markets around the world are up dramatically. airline shares benefit, too. the government confirm they have ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine. if all goes well, 10 million could be available to the uk by the end of the year. well, some good news for president—electjoe biden and his new coronavirus taskforce launched today, but there's still plenty on mr biden's agenda as he prepares to become the 46th president of the united states. ben wright reports. if donald trump remains in any doubt about the election result, he only needs to look out of the window. joe biden's supporters continued to party outside the white house on sunday while the president slipped away for another round of golf.

mr trump has not conceded, and instead continues to claim, without providing any evidence, that there was widespread election fraud. while some senior republicans have backed donald trump's stand, on sunday the former president george w bush issued a statement of congratulations. well, ijust had the opportunity to have an excellent conversation with president—elect trump. after winning four years ago, donald trump met the outgoing president barack obama at the white house within a week of election day. the cordial beginning of a transfer of power that continues through to the inauguration. at least, that's how it's meant to work. so far, president trump has refused to acknowledge thatjoe biden has won. the president—elect does not need donald trump's concession or congratulations to plan for power. joe biden and the vice—president—elect kamala harris are busy building a transition

team, choosing key appointments, and yesterday launched a website outlining the immediate priorities for his administration, from trying to repair the economy to tackling the pandemic. our work begins with getting covid under control. we cannot repair the economy, restore our vitality, or relish life's most precious moments, hugging our grandchildren and our children, our birthdays, weddings, graduations, all the moments that matter most to us, until we get it under control. covid is america's most pressing crisis. deaths are rising in 27 states and the virus is surging across the country. today, mr biden will announce the makeup of a new covid task force that will work on containing the pandemic, but mr biden will not be able to take action until he becomes president. despite donald trump's refusal to accept the result, joe biden will be sworn into office in front of the capitol building on january 20th next year. his supporters have high hopes. but the challenges are huge.

and while mr biden has promised to work with republicans, the political divisions here are deep. ben wright, bbc news, washington. our washington correspondent nomia iqbal joins us now from biden country in delaware. the city where he used to commute from four washington when he was in congress. how big a challenge is this transition going to be, particularly when the man in the office before him seems so reluctant to leave? i think the biden team would want president trump to bow to convention and acknowledge the results verbally as well as on paper, but there was also an

expectation that that was not going to happen. biden's team are hitting the ground running. today, they announced an acronym task. —— covid task force. 10 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded here, just on the news we are hearing today from pfizer, joe biden has released a statement welcoming that momentous news, but he is still encouraging americans to wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash their hands, and this covid task. will it basically involves scientists and doctors to make sure that the pandemic is gotten under control and send out those messages to the american people. there are lots of other things injoe biden's inbox as well. some of the other issues he will be tackling will be climate change, racial inequality,

she will want to be repairing relations with his global allies. and, yes, the transition, there will bea and, yes, the transition, there will be a delay to it, because as we have been hearing, mrtrump be a delay to it, because as we have been hearing, mr trump isn't planning to concede any time soon, but it is done, really, the election. we know what the results are. we can see that the accounting is still happening, joe biden is actually increasing the votes in lots of states. come january actually increasing the votes in lots of states. comejanuary be 20th, he will take office and his tea m 20th, he will take office and his team here are gearing up for that. we are expecting a press conference from them later today. and as you said, counting continues. i suppose the point that needs to be reinforced for people in the uk, this whole process is normal. this is normally what happens. you get a declaration made by the tv networks before the actual results are verified, which i think doesn't happen until the end of november, beginning of december. that is a great advantage of the long

transition period that the american constitution established, that you have time for all of the difficulties to kind of work themselves out, hopefully. that is right. there is a weight, but americans are used to that. we know the way that the system works here. actually, donald trump was speaking about his unhappiness at the way the media has been projecting the results and said that the media doesn't decide, but of course in 2016 it was exactly the same process by which he won and he had no complaint about it at the time. the constitution is also clear. it doesn't really matter if president trump doesn't concede or doesn't congratulate his opponent. on the 20th of january when the clock strikes midday, joe biden will become the 46th president of the united states and it will be moving day, quite simply from donald trump and if you doesn't leave the white house, the secret service will

remove him. even you saying that, it pulls you up short and makes you realise that there are very limited options for president trump. it is different to the uk system, where i think i remember ted heath's piano being wheeled out after he was defeated. at least donald trump has got plenty of time to get the furnishing cupboard, get the removal plans. —— furnishings out. and you can get all the latest news in a bbc one special this afternoon. we will have the latest on the efforts to curb covid—19, including a news conference by the prime minister, on the day of a promising development in vaccine trials. join us from 4.30 on bbc one. the 17—day national lockdown in wales has ended. the country's health minister, vaughan gething, says it will be another fortnight before the full impact of the restrictions is known.

opposition parties want strict measures to continue in parts of south wales where infection rates remain high. our wales correspondent tomos morgan reports from cardiff. this time last year, 15—year—old osian roberts was making a name for himself playing for the cardiff blues rugby academy. but during the firebreak, he's had to train on his own. from today, though, he'll be able to practise with friends again at his local club in a group of up to 30. being able to play rugby again, going back to sort of normality, it's not going to be normal, but it's going to be more normal than it used to be. as well as outdoor sports training, gyms and indoor leisure facilities will be reopening today. along with those nonessential shops including beauty parlours and hairdressers that were also closed during the firebreak. two households will also be able to mix inside and form one extended household or bubble.

covid—related figures are usually delayed, so we won't know for at least another fortnight whether or not the firebreak has had the desired effect. the welsh government have already said that they wouldn't rule out another short, sharp lockdown in the new year. if it has worked, there will hopefully be further easing on restrictions in the run—up to christmas. in an effort to help those living alone and youngsters wanting to socialise, the welsh government have also said that four people from different households can meet for a walk or in a cafe, bar or restaurant. however, those four will have to socially distance inside hospitality venues, meaning fewer tables for establishments and also id checks will also be required. if you ask people the question, are you in the same household? and their eyes flicker, and maybe they're not. you know, it puts a lot of pressure on us to be able to say,

"well, actually, i don't believe you," or "actually, are you really telling the truth?" i mean, that's quite a harsh thing for us to have to do. although restrictions have eased, the first minister once again emphasised today that people should be doing the minimum, not the maximum within the rules, in order to keep the virus in check. our exit from the firebreak needs to be careful and cautious so that we can maximise its impact. the national measures will be reviewed in a fortnight to see whether there is any new evidence we can use to help us to plot the future. as the festive season draws ever closer, a sense of some normality has returned in wales. but for just how long will depend on the success of these last two weeks. now it's time for a look at the weather with sarah keith lucas. the mist and fog is quite extensive

earlier on today, but has gradually been lifting and clearing for many areas. it is remaining fairly cloudy for the rest of the day. white male still, there will be a few splashes of rain around as well. —— quite mild still. a lot of dry weather in between, but there could be the odd rumble of thunder. dryer with clearer skies for northern ireland and for the north of scotla nd ireland and for the north of scotland as well they could see a touch of frost. a mild start to tuesday morning. a few fog patches but not the fog we had on a monday morning. mist and fog should slowly clear and tomorrow there will be more sunshine than we have seen the day, so some sunnier skies developing. the odd shower but gradually fizzling out later in the day. cooler today with top temperatures around 12 to 15 degrees.

this is bbc news. the headlines this hour. a major breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus — a vaccine that's 90% effective in preventing the disease. drug company pfizer says it's a great day for science. i have never felt professionally such a moment ofjoy, and we were justjumping up and down in the chairs, ofjoy for humanity, joy for medical advances. shares soar on the news — markets around the world are up dramatically. airline shares benefit, too. the government confirm they have ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine. if all goes well, ten million could be available to the uk by the end of the year. president—elect biden calls the news "cause for hope", but warns of a long battle ahead, as he names his task force to tackle the virus. the 17—day lockdown comes to an end in wales — it's too early to say if it's

made any difference. still struggling to get essential medication — we reveal how most disabled people still can't access what they need, even during a pandemic. sport and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's holly. good afternoon. premier league bosses could ask for five substitutes to be reintroduced this season, with many voicing their concern over the hectic schedule. liverpool bossjurgen klopp is among those calling on the top flight to change its scheduling, alongside his manchester city counterpart pep guardiola. the premier league is the only major competition to return to three substitutes, following project restart. another cause of angst over the weekend was the quick turnaround in games.

no team who plays on wednesday night, away or in champions league, should have the 12:30pm kick—off on saturday. that's not allowed. and tottenham played on thursday and had today a 12pm kick—off. honestly, play sunday, no problem, wednesday, saturday, but not the 12:30pm, that is the complete killer, you wake up and you play football, in a complete recovery phase. the premier league has to change that. it's not possible. the usa world cup winner megan rapinoe says her country needs to embrace change, as it welcomes in its new president. speaking at the start of the bbc‘s women in football week, rapinoe says its more difficult to succeed if you're from a minority. if you're a woman, you're constantly traversing the patriarchy, and traversing, you know, being a woman may be in a male—dominated workplace, or a male—dominated field, or in sports in general. if you're black, certainly in this country, you're constantly navigating racism

and micro—aggression, all that. and i think that, while it is not necessarily people's fault, like, you know, people that were born now didn't create the country the way that it was created, but that doesn't mean that you don't have a responsibility to it. that full interview available on the bbc sport website. some cricket news for you, and sussex have re—signed the world's number one twenty20 bowler rashid khan for next year's t20 blast. the afghanistan leg—spinner played for the county in 2018 and 2019, but did not return this year due to calendar clashes related to the coronavirus pandemic. khan recently passed the 300—wicket mark in t20 cricket and has been playing for sunrisers hyderabad in the indian premier league. american chris nikic has become the first person with down's syndrome to finish an ironman triathlon event. the 21—year—old, who's from florida,

crossed the line in 16 hours, 46 minutes, nine seconds, less than 14 minutes under the official cut—off time. guinness world records called nikic‘s achievement "awe—inspiring". nikic now has his eyes set on being part of the 2022 special olympics. that's all the sport for now. now time for your questions answered. our thanks to holly hamilton. back to our main story now, and drug company pfizer say their coronavirus vaccine has shown it is more than 90% effective in preventing covid—19 in late—stage trials. it's been called a "great day for science and humanity". joining me now to answer your

questions is markjit, professor of vaccine epidemiology at the london school of hygeine and tropical medicine1. iam i am really pleased to say we have had loads of questions since this story broke. before we start with those, what would you like to say about this announcement, this potential breakthrough? hi, sean, great to be answering the questions. i would like to say this is great news, very i would like to say this is great news, very early news, because these are preliminary interim results. we haven't got a lot of details but it is looking very positive, so the best news we have had about the coronavirus for a long time. yes, i think so say everyone watching. let's crack on with the questions. the first one we have no name for this one but someone who wants to know how will it be decided who receives the vaccine? well, in the uk there is a committee called the joint committee on vacuums —— vaccines and immunisations which has

worked at data on who has been getting coronavirus, who has been getting coronavirus, who has been getting really sick from it and going to hospital, and they have come up with a list of interim advice for the minister, so for insta nce advice for the minister, so for instance they say the people with the greatest priority should be much older people, health care workers, people working in care homes, so that might change as we know more about the vaccine, but as far as for now, that is the advice they have given the minister, so it is up to the minister to decide finally, but ministers usually take the advice of these expert committees. particularly on something like this, i should imagine. particularly on something like this, ishould imagine. simon particularly on something like this, i should imagine. simon wants to know who are the 10% of people for whom the vaccine doesn't work? is it simply the most vulnerable because their immune system is compromised or whatever, or have the trials given us an indication of any pattern to this? right now, we literally only have a press release from the manufacturer, with very few details, and this isjust the interim analysis, so it doesn't have

a lot of people in the trial yet, so as those results come out, we will probably want to do a really deep dive into the results. the vaccines usually work less well in people whose immune system is compromised because of things like hiv for instance, but we don't know right now, we really have to look more carefully. it is interesting, isn't it, that question of the effectiveness, because that raises the question of the continuing need for there to be other vaccines, that we can't just rely for there to be other vaccines, that we can'tjust rely on this one breakthrough, as it looks to be, and on that subject, john wonders, would there be any health consequences for a patient if they had two different coronavirus vaccines? well, again thatis coronavirus vaccines? well, again that is something we don't know now, although it should be something we need to start looking at. i would say it is not an immediately urgent question because if this vaccine is successful and it gets licensed,

there won't be enough for anyone straightaway, —— for everyone, let alone this plus another vaccine, so the priority will really be if you haven't got any vaccines, you get vaccinated. over time as we get more and more doses of the vaccines, we might say you only got the less effective vaccine, let's give you a more effective vaccine and then we will have to start looking at those studies to see whether it is safe to do so but i imagine for at least the first year that won't be a question we need to answer. andrew asks how will the uk distribute the coronavirus action when we currently can't get the flu jab because of demand? again, that goes back to the prioritisation thatjc vi has given. not everyone will get it the most, the ones who are most at risk of having very severe disease or dying if they got the coronavirus, they will be first in line when we vaccinate them. then the next set of priority groups then the next set.

eventually we hope there will be enough doses to vaccinate everyone who wants it. hopefully a large proportion of the population so we don't have to worry about this virus, but that will take quite a long time. helene asks would be vaccine be effective on all strains of the virus, as they have been reports of mutations for example in denmark? think she is referring to a mutation of the virus getting into mink and then the minca giving it to humans. yes, that is a concern, and again this is something we don't know. it might be that the antibodies that people get when they are vaccinated, those are the proteins that protect us from then getting infected have some degree of cross protection, that is they might even work against a mutated strain, but until we actually look, we won't be able to tell. which kind of raises a linked question, from heather, who says if the virus mutates further, will we have to

find a new vaccine for everybody with the mutations? well, we hope not. the virus has been mutating, but very, very slowly. this new sort of mink coronavirus is a bigger mutation. we don't know what are the implications for vaccines. in the worst—case scenario, this will be something like a flu vaccine, where you have to get re—vaccinated every year, but i'm sure we would all agree we would rather get a vaccine every year than have the coronavirus, so every year than have the coronavirus, so even every year than have the coronavirus, so even that is not the end of the world, but obviously we would prefer that is not the case. we would like to have a vaccine where you give it once and that last for at least five or ten years. this again is related, about the distribution question, isabel is asking do we yet have a deal to ensure the uk gets this vaccine? well, yes, the uk has signed a deal with the company unifies and biotech

thatis with the company unifies and biotech that is —— pfizer bile and tech, the uk also has a number of deals with other manufacturers like astrazeneca, which is developing the oxford vaccine, and importantly, the uk as part of a mechanism the who has set up, the kovacs mechanism that actually together with most countries in the world purchases man —— vaccines from most manufactures them all to some —— distribute them to most countries, so make sure that every country will get some vaccines as well. and finally for this section, alan asks for people who get the vaccine be given documentation so they can travel freely? i think i can't predict what governments will do, but i think this might be, my guess is it is unlikely, especially in the early

stages. well, there are a number of things we don't know. this vaccine is only 90% effective so it doesn't guarantee that someone who has been vaccinated won't have, won't be infected. we don't know for sure the vaccine works against a infection as well. i mean, that might be in the details, but we haven't seen any figures on that yet. so it will probably be the case that countries will be more open to relaxing their borders to countries that have good control of coronavirus, just like, i mean, we have been talking about travel corridors with countries that have very low numbers of cases, no one is that worried about new zealanders travelling to their country for instance. not so far, at least. thank you very much for speaking to us. great to talk to you, sean.

research for the bbc suggests that 60% of disabled people — who use social care — have had difficulty getting hold of essentials such as medication during the pandemic. the survey by yougov was commissioned to mark the 25th anniversary of the disability discrimination act, which established legal rights for people with disabilities. our disability correspondent nikki fox reports. it may not look that much, but for fi, this small plastic filter is critical. she has muscular dystrophy and uses a ventilator every night to help her breathe. but, since the pandemic hit in march, her regular supply of crucial filters from the nhs has stopped. typically, i use it every night, all night. it's been very stressful. i've been panicked, to be honest. it's been hard not knowing when we

are next going to get supplies. i don't want to go to hospital in a pandemic. the department of health and social care says it has got sufficient stocks and that patients should contact their local care provider. but, like others across the uk, fi has been unable to get any more filters. the one she is currently using is six months old. they should be changed every day. what's your greatest fear, fi? that i will end up with pneumonia from using dirty filters too long and the girls will end up without a mum. a survey by the bbc has found that the pandemic has severely affected the lives of disabled people across the uk, from equipment shortages, like fi's, to concerns about ppe for support workers and medication. now, with a second wave of infections, the fear is a repeat of the issues seen first time around. is ppe going to become a problem again? are carers going to become a problem again? there has been a lack of adequate

planning and emergency planning for disabled people and their families. i mean, people have been let down. i'm tess daly and i'm from sheffield. tess is a successful social media influencer. she has spinal muscular atrophy and is unable to clear her airways on her own if she coughs. despite a change in nhs england's no—visitor policy, she's worried that if she's admitted to hospital with covid, her personal assistant might not be allowed to go in with her. i need somebody that is well versed in my needs, and i was outright told that, "well, we hope you could have a carer with you. but we're not sure". if i get admitted to a ward, and the matron or head nurse says no to my carer, what do i do? die? coronavirus is touching all our lives. but disabled people have been disproportionately affected. 60% of those who have

died had a disability. the government defended its record, saying its support has been inclusive. but the question now is, as well as the fear of the virus itself, to what extent will the pandemic damage disabled people's rights and independence? nikki fox, bbc news. spinal muscular atrophy is a disease that affects up to 1,300 people in the uk. more than a year ago, a drug called spinraza was given approval. however, it's estimated that a third of people living with the condition won't get it, despite being told they were eligible. national institute for health and care excellence, the organisation in charge of managing access, has announced a new evidence review has begun into who is able to qualify. with me is 19—year—old jake ogborne from bristol, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy type 3, been campaigning for access to the drug. jake connor thank you very much for

talking to us. first of all, for those who don't know much about spinal atrophy, can you explain what you are having to live with and how it affects your life? well, spinal muscular atrophy is a degenerative disorder where over time this disorder where over time this disorder takes the ability for me to do pretty much anything, so i used to be able to walk, to run, i played football, and now i can't sit myself up football, and now i can't sit myself up in bed, i can't cut food properly, and it has taken a lot away from me. yes, i can imagine it has. what do you think the effect would be of spin rather, if you were given it, because it is a degenerative disease are always degenerate, what does this drug spinraza do, slow the effects? the aim is to stop the progression of the disease but in lots of cases,

especially with my type of spinal muscular atrophy, which is type three, there has been lots of, light, subtle improvements, which really improve the quality of the person who is getting spinraza's life. it helps a lot. it would probably allow me to cough a bit easier, pick up glasses of water easier, pick up glasses of water easier, and even though they are just little things, it completely changes everything for me, even making a cup of tea may be. you just said something, which i think would perhaps chime with a lot of people who have disabilities, some are visible, some aren't, and when you say that it makes a difference to small things, and i guess it is the small things, and i guess it is the small things, and i guess it is the small things that, because they are small, they can be overcome, but they can then make your day to day life a lot more bearable than if you just have to be told well, you have got to put up with not being able to make a got to put up with not being able to makea cup got to put up with not being able to make a cup of tea very easily, not choosing yourself whether you pick up choosing yourself whether you pick upa choosing yourself whether you pick up a glass of water or not or having to depend on somebody else to do

this stuff for you? exactly, yeah, it is those little things that really improve the quality of life, and it is notjust the little things though, it is the bigger things, like walking and not being able to drive, which are massive, but it is definitely the little things that spinraza would give me back and improve everything. as you said, you have had stuff taken away from you that you had no expectation would be taken away from you and it must be very ha rd taken away from you and it must be very hard at times to keep thinking, all right, i can get on with what i can do. i understand you initially saw the criteria for getting spinraza and you thought you would be eligible, or that you would get it. can you explain a bit about that? yes, so it was 2018, and they said nhs came out and said spinraza for all, so that meant all types of sma. obviously me and my family were

so sma. obviously me and my family were so happy, and it was only a few weeks later when they came out with a criteria, this completely arbitrary crazy criteria, which said if you have walked before but can't walk five steps now, you can't have the drug, which to me, i don't understand why that is a criteria. it makes no sense, no other countries in the world have a criteria for the drug. so it is just com pletely criteria for the drug. so it is just completely mind boggling why there isa completely mind boggling why there is a criteria put down. i don't know where my life is going without this drug, really. ican't where my life is going without this drug, really. i can't quite, where my life is going without this drug, really. ican't quite, it makes no sense to me, but then, we will keep pushing to try and get that interview, and i'm sure they will be keen to explain it. have you and yourfamily will be keen to explain it. have you and your family tried will be keen to explain it. have you and yourfamily tried an will be keen to explain it. have you and your family tried an appeals process , and your family tried an appeals process, is there anything you could

challenge a ruling like that, is there anyway get around it? we have been appealing a lot, we have been fighting the nhs, fighting nice, trying to get in contact with people on the inside, and we ended up people on the inside, and we ended up getting a letter from people on the inside, and we ended up getting a letterfrom nice in writing, explicitly saying if you and your consultant both agree and think that this drug would help you, there is no reason why we can't do it, so we have that in writing, but they are still pushing back against us, saying no, you can't have it, you don't fit the guideline, and it is tiring. it's horrible.” you don't fit the guideline, and it is tiring. it's horrible. i can imagine, it makes no sense, you use a word like guideline, guideline means flexibility, somebody once said to me guideline is not a tram line, you can't only go in the one direction, you have a choice, and it is to help guide that choice. but we can't answer and it wouldn't be fair to say why they are doing this if

they are not here to explain. leave this site, which is fully important to you, what are the things that most make a difference to your life, as somebody he was living with a disability, because there is a danger i think when people like me interview a guy who has a disability, we say, jake has a disability, we say, jake has a disability, like jake isn't a bloke with all the other thing is that all the rest of us have, and i want to give people a sense of who jake is, not just that jake is a give people a sense of who jake is, notjust that jake is a man who has this particular condition, because that ought to be incidental to tell us that ought to be incidental to tell usa that ought to be incidental to tell us a little bit about yourself. that isa us a little bit about yourself. that is a really great question, because it is often misconstrued that someone it is often misconstrued that someone with a disability, you just see this person with a disability and that's all they are, but i am a 20—year—old who wants to live their life to the fullest i can. i am at the uni doing psychology and philosophy, obviously from home

because of covid and that whole situation, but, you know, iam just, like, a normal teenager, situation, but, you know, iam just, like, a normalteenager, like, i grew upfairly like, a normalteenager, like, i grew up fairly normal, like my disability only really had properly an effect on me when i was 15 or 16, so an effect on me when i was 15 or 16, soi an effect on me when i was 15 or 16, so i hada an effect on me when i was 15 or 16, so i had a fairly i would say as normal as it can become if that can even be used from childhood. so now this disability is taken on me, i don't feel like a disabled person, i am just don't feel like a disabled person, i amjusta don't feel like a disabled person, i am just a person. and don't feel like a disabled person, i amjust a person. and a don't feel like a disabled person, i am just a person. and a very special one. thank you very much for speaking with us. good luck with the degree, a great subject to do and i hope it works out for you. i am pleased to say we have been able to get through to the associate director of managed access agreement, which is the rules, if you like, at the national institute for health and care excellence. brad, i'm sorry we've had some technical difficulties, we have got a lot of time, i'm afraid, so do you

wa nt to a lot of time, i'm afraid, so do you want to give your response and explain why these criteria are there, and why jake's case in the end, having had a letter saying if you and your consultant think you should have it, he is still being told he can't have it? the committee reviewed for some time ago and when the conduct of the review they found that there was insufficient evidence that there was insufficient evidence that some groups within this patient ovulation to demonstrate that the treatment really does provide a clinical benefit, so what nice did at the time was made a conditional recommendation so further data can be collected on patients who were recommended, and as an additional sort of extra measure, nice has undertaken to do a review of the evidence, just over a year after that managed access agreement was put in place, so that we can see whether there is further evidence available to suggest that patients who have lost the ability to walk could be benefiting from this treatment. so we are just about to

start that process and undertake an evidence review. we are hoping to complete that review within the next six months or so, and at the end of that, we should have a better understanding of whether there is more information available now, and whether nice could actually review the decision they made last time and extend it, and we are doing that review with input from a range of patient groups, clinical experts, academics and others, and trying to do it ina academics and others, and trying to do it in a really focused, concerted way, so do it in a really focused, concerted way, so we can do it in a really focused, concerted way, so we can do it a decision on these criteria and whether they are clinically valid as soon as we possibly can, and then hopefully the patients who aren't currently getting access, who have lost the ability to walk, we can then provide ability to walk, we can then provide a definitive answer, in terms of what their access will be, going forward. i know there is a reason why all this happens in the way it happens, but kind ofjust having listened to what jake had to say, do you understand how in a sense it almost doubles the impact of the

disappointment, when you think that you fit, you here you might fit, and then somebody says for a reason that it is very hard for you to understand that you can't have something that you believe and even your clinical advisers believe could have a transformative effect on the symptoms you are living with? because the condition is the condition, jake is not unrealistic about what that means for his life and his future, but it is making the best of it at that age. yeah, i wouldn't be human if i didn't say i had at least some sympathy for what jake and other people in his circumstances feel. nice's decision making very in these situations is really driven by the evidence and we are really reliant on companies and academics and patients and clinical experts to come forward and give us the evidence, and unfortunately in this situation we just haven't been able to have the evidence yet to demonstrate patients who lost their ability to walk would benefit from

this treatment to a sufficient level and that is now what we are trying to explore with a range of stakeholders to see if we can find new evidence that has become available. brad groves, thank you very much for coming through. i am grateful to you because it is important we hear from you, grateful to you because it is important we hearfrom you, and hopefully jake will be on to you to find out how that review is going on a few months‘ time. now time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. monday started on a mild, misty and murky sort of note. the fog has been gradually lifting and clearing and for some of us there has been a bit of blue sky coming through. for most places, we are keeping quite a lot of cloud as we have through the remainder of today, so fairly grey, still quite mild, and there are a few splashes of rain around too. those showers are courtesy of this area of low pressure moving its way in from the south—west, a fairly wea k area in from the south—west, a fairly weak area of low pressure so nothing too heavy, but some of those showers

could be on the sharp side and perhaps even the odd rumble of thunderfor wales down perhaps even the odd rumble of thunder for wales down toward central southern england as well. temperature—wise, this afternoon, temperatures up to 16 or 17 degrees, certainly mild for the time of year. as we head into the evening hours, the odd thunderstorm mixed in, dry over scotla nd the odd thunderstorm mixed in, dry over scotland and for northern ireland as well through the course of tonight. another fairly cloudy, murky night, there will again be some fog forming, not as extensive as it was first thing monday morning but parts of the north and east in particular seeing some foggy patches. clearer skies of northern scotla nd patches. clearer skies of northern scotland and that is where temperatures will fall lowest. through the day tomorrow, we still have this secluded front shifting its way slowly eastwards across the uk, so that will bring a few showers around, particularly parts of wales, central and southern england, but most central and southern england, but m ost pla ces central and southern england, but most places it will be predominantly a dry day, and there will be a bit more sunshine breaking through that cloud, certainly compared to what we have had out there today. still quite mild, but temperaturesjust

down a notch on recent days was top high is typically 13 or 14 in the north, possibly 16 degrees in the sunny spells. moving through tuesday night and on into wednesday, you can see this active front approaching from the atlantic, a squeeze ahead of that in that isobars, so the winds will be picking up through the day on wednesday, a southerly breeze, some fairly heavy rain pushing into northern ireland, western scotland, perhaps into wetter parts of england and wales, but the central and eastern parts, you should stay dry through the day on wednesday. temperatures are a bit cooler through recent days, 11 to 14 degrees, and you will notice that breeze too. stays unsettled and windy especially through the south but that should clear away, then we look to the north—west, where there will be more rain heading in during the course of friday. a very u nsettled the course of friday. a very unsettled second half of the week.

this is bbc news. i‘m shaun ley. the headlines... a major breakthrough in the fight against coronavirus — a vaccine that‘s 90% effective in preventing the disease drug company pfizer says it‘s a great day for science. we feel that we are on the cusp of one of the biggest medical advances for society and mankind in the 100 years that have passed here. but we‘ll work hard to make sure that it is delivered. bell rings. shares soar on the news. markets around the world are up dramatically. airline shares benefit, too. the government confirm it has ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine. if all goes well, 10 million could be available to the uk by the end of the year. president—elect biden calls the news "cause for hope," but warns

of a long battle ahead, as he names his taskforce to tackle the virus. the 17—day lockdown comes to an end in wales. it‘s too early to say if it‘s made any difference. still struggling to get essential medication — we reveal how most people with disabilities still can‘t access what they need, even during a pandemic. hello. "a great day for science and humanity." that sentence alone tells you what a big day this could be in the fight against coronavirus. it‘s from the head of one of the drug companies jointly developing a vaccine that trials suggest is more than 90% effective

in preventing covid—19. the news has sent stock markets soaring — although challenges remain, and the world health organization warned the announcement alone would not be a complete game—changer. the vaccine‘s developers now want to apply for emergency licensing so that the vaccine can start to be given to people in the general public outside of trials possibly before the end of the year. this report from jon donnison. could this be the moment the world has been waiting for? an effective vaccine against covid—19. it‘s been developed by the us drug company pfizer, and a german manufacturer, biontech. they say preliminary late stage trials say it‘s 90% effective. the ceo of pfizer, albert bourla, called it a great day for science and humanity, and a significant step forward

in the battle against the pandemic. the uk government has already ordered 40 million doses of the vaccine, but pfizer still has to apply for emergency licensing so that it can be given to the general public outside of trials. well, certainly, any promising news about a vaccine is great news, and i‘m very pleased to hear that there is a vaccine candidate that seems to be going through the phase three trial process and, according to what we‘ve read today, the results are looking good. this could be a major game—changer around the world in our response to covid—19. however, we really have to be careful about safety and scale around the vaccine. so whilst we can go with confidence, i don't think we're seeing any return to normal by christmas or the new year, as everyone would, i'm sure, hope among your viewers. president trump tweeted his

reaction, calling it great news. "stock market up big," he said. and with covid—19 infection rates soaring, a vaccine cannot come too soon. jon donnison, bbc news. the chief scientific officer of pfizer, mikhael dolsten, gave his reaction to the news. it does feel that it is such a great day for science and humanity. while i was with everyone and sitting next to our ceo, albert bourla, hoping for high numbers, this certainly was fulfilling our best expectations, and we just felt so thrilled. it felt like a historic moment. there are more steps that need to happen, but we feel that we are on the cusp of one of the biggest medical advances for society and mankind in the 100 years that have passed here. but we‘ll work hard to make sure

that it is delivered, and it was an amazing moment. i wish you would have been there with me. it was joy and tears all at once. so you were all sitting around waiting. paint a picture for me, mikael. what was the scene like? how many people were there? what were you doing? we were sitting, a handful of people, socially distanced with masks on. the video was turned on, and the colleagues that have just been debriefed started to update us, and you could hear everybody scream, "oh, my god! this is just unbelievable!" wonderful. wonderful, and where was that in the us, physically? we were just at a small pfizer office, actually, in connecticut. and it is a once—in—a—lifetime experience for me.

and i have been part of many, many medicines and vaccines through my career, but nothing beats when you‘ve seen this tremendous suffering — i live in new york city and i have got to know many of the staff at the hospital who worked day and night, and to give them and all the patients, my big thank you, to all the participants in the trials, patients, physicians and all of you that have been following us. best wishes for success for other vaccine developers. we are winning this battle. that is my belief today. and we can see some pictures now. they‘ve just come in of president—elect biden and his vice president

kamala harris having that briefing with the covid—19 advisory council. those pictures from wilmington in delaware. the wilmington in delaware. office of the president—ell the the office of the president—elect of the united states. he doesn‘t get the united states. he doesn‘t get the seal of office until the 20th of january, but he wants to hit the ground running, which you can understand giving the number of people who have died in the states. he needs to be seen to do that. sirjohn bell, who sits on the uk‘s vaccine task force, spoke to my colleague sarah montague on radio four earlier. she asked him whether this news meant that life could be returning to normal by spring. when you look at the immunological responses you get from the oxford astrazeneca vaccine and the ones from the pfizer—biontech and, indeed, even the moderna vaccine, they all look about the same. so i‘m optimistic that that probably reflects similar levels of efficacy. so do you think we could have more than one vaccine being rolled out in the uk before the end of the year? yeah, or early in the new year. yeah.

it‘s very close. this is very exciting news. it‘s very important, yeah. because there‘s no other really obvious way to get on top of this thing, frankly. so do we now say with confidence that life should be returning to normal by spring? yes, yes. yes. i‘m probably the first guy to say that, but i will say that with some confidence. england‘s chief medical officer, chris whitty, has tweeted his reaction to the news. he said... with me now is dr duncan robertson, policy and strategy analytics academic at loughborough university.

thanks very much for being with us. what was your reaction when you heard the news? it's very exciting andi heard the news? it's very exciting and i think particularly their still some regulatory hurdles to get over, particularly looking at these trials, the kind of age and whether the efficacy is true for everyone on the efficacy is true for everyone on the trial, but it is very exciting news. the question that will be asked by everybody watching this, and we already had some of these questions on your questions answered about 40 minutes ago, who gets it, how do they get it and when to beget at‘s we have experts that have been looking at this for some time. experts looking at who should get this vaccination. it is important to look at a few things. one is that it is generic advice, not for this particular vaccine. it is interim advice, and if more information comes they will adjust it. and thirdly, it is for england and wales. who gets it was meant if you

are ina wales. who gets it was meant if you are in a care home or a care home worker were resident, you are at the top of the list, that is because people in care homes are at the highest risk. then you look at health and care workers, the front—line workers, and then we go down the ages. if you are over 80, 70, 65. then you get to the group that are high risk no matter how old they are. then you go to the over 50s and then everybody else, and thatis 50s and then everybody else, and that is how, at the moment, with the limited information that we have, the vaccine will be allocated. we are told that the government has already ordered some of this vaccine subject to it being approved. but each person if you receive said, putting to the companies involved, will need to dose is. does that effectively half the number of people who are going to be helped by those vaccines that we have ordered?

that‘s right. as you say, there are a few things about this particular vaccine. it is to dose is. it requires to be chilled to low temperatures, and the sort of logistics things need to be worked out. that does half the number of people. importa ntly, out. that does half the number of people. importantly, what we‘re seeing is these experts are being proactive in looking at who should get the vaccine. i think the other thing to say is that it doesn‘t mean we can change our behaviour. a vaccine is on the horizon, but we still need to suppress the virus and we need to carry on doing what we are doing and get the test, trace and isolate working and get the virus suppressed because then you don‘t need as many people to the vaccine. just on that question of the vaccine, not only do we know,

the vaccine, not only do we know, the majority of people need to benefit, it is possibly that we might still need other vaccines that other people that are doing research on this needs to keep going with that research? this might not be the silver bullet we are all hoping for? that‘s right, and, of course, science doesn‘t stop once we have had a vaccine candidate. there may be other vaccines that are more appropriate for different types of people. perhaps some older people. so we need to continue this research, we need to all be working as hard as we can to make sure that the population as a whole, notjust this country but around the world, gets the benefit of these vaccines. doctor duncan robertson, not only was i putting words in your mouth, i was i putting words in your mouth, i was putting the wrong words in my mouth! it is robertson, not roberts. though the news of the vaccine has been received positively on the whole,

there‘s also been conspiracies and disinformation circulating on social media. let‘s get more from our specialist disinformation and social media reporter marianna spring. good to have you in the studio again. it is fair to say that the vaccines have been a source of conspiracy theorist meat and drink for them for quite a long time, long before we even in new about covid—19. before we even in new about covid-19. vaccine conspiracy theories and disinformation is something that has existed for many yea rs something that has existed for many years and particularly has grown with the rise of social media. anti—vaccination communities on facebook are not uncommon, but we have seen a boom in the coronavirus pandemic, and over recent months i have been looking at local facebook groups, whatsapp chats, and the most popular conspiracies tend to focus on building dates because he is so supportive of vaccines and suggested, for instance, vaccines

could be a tool for mass genocide or could be a tool for mass genocide or could be a tool for micro—chipping the population, again for which there is no evidence. it came as no surprise to me today when we started to see rumours and speculation on social media, a lot of people were reacting to the news, and we saw, for instance, bill gates is trending in the uk because people are sharing those conspiracy theories that i mention, and also because they are taking the mick. certain people suggesting it was deliberately planned to be announced after president trump had lost the election. there is a zero proof to substantiate that, no evidence of that, but that is really starting to pick up steam on social media. the absence of evidence, for people that believe in conspiracy theories, is

almost evidence in itself, isn‘t it? people watching might be watching and rolling their eyes and say they are not worried much about this, but sometimes these kind of conspiracy theories can actually prove fatal for people. i was thinking case like in pakistan where there were programmes for vaccination to help children with potentially life—threatening diseases, diseases that were wiped out in our country in the uk, but were health workers we re in the uk, but were health workers were being attacked because they we re were being attacked because they were carrying out vaccination? absolutely, and it is something i have been investigating throughout the pandemic, the human cost of misinformation that we see online. we have had various examples of individuals who have come to harm because they have believed conspiracy theories being spent on social media and have not followed health guidance. vaccine are the big worry and there are a lot of concerning rumours and conspiracy theories going around which could influence people not to take a vaccine even if we have the full

trust that they could be totally fine, so that is the real concern. over the next few hours and days, people need to be really careful about what they are sharing on social media. it is an emotive time on the political backdrop, that means we might want to post things immediately without pausing and thinking before we do that. immediately without pausing and thinking before we do thatm immediately without pausing and thinking before we do that. it is a lwa ys thinking before we do that. it is always good advice, pausing and thinking before you press send. joe biden said the new vaccine offered "hope," while president trump hailed it as "great news." markets in europe immediately rallied, with stocks hit hard by the virus, such as airlines, builders and leisure companies, soaring in value. in the last hour, wall street has also opened sharply up. and you can get all the latest news in a bbc one special this afternoon. we will have the latest on the efforts to curb covid—19, including a news conference by the prime minister, on the day of a promising development in vaccine trials. join us from 4.30 on bbc one.

the crossbench peer, lord kilclooney, has been accused of racism for describing vice president—elect kamala harris solely as "the indian". he tweeted. .. there have been calls for action against the former ulster unionist party deputy leader over this tweet about ms harris, who is the first black and asian—american person to be elected to the role. lord kilclooney has insisted there was nothing racist in the tweet. our political correspondent ellie price is at westminster. it's it‘s not the first time lord kilclooney has got himself into a bit of trouble over his social media posts ? bit of trouble over his social media posts? a couple of years ago, lord kilclooney talked about the

taoiseach of ireland being that indian. you acknowledge that that was a mistake, and in the last few minutes he has just tweeted again on this issue, whilst biden is proud to be irish and harris is rightly proud of her indian background, i certainly withdraw my reference to her as certainly withdraw my reference to heras an indian certainly withdraw my reference to her as an indian as it seems to have upset some people. i did not know her name and identified her with the term indian. most people understood. i suspect that won‘t be quite enough for some people, including the lord speaker who tweeted a few minutes ago, or slightly longer ago, that he told lord kilclooney to retract his comments which he hasjust told lord kilclooney to retract his comments which he has just done and apologise. this is an offensive way to refer to anyone let alone a woman who has just made to refer to anyone let alone a woman who hasjust made history. that follows other reaction for the conservative mp who i have just

spoken to. he said he had submitted a formal complaint. others are saying they will submit official complaints, and the labour party deputy leader who said her name is kamala harris. he has in the last few minutes retracted that term, the indian, but no apology as yet, so suspect this isn‘t the end of it. thank you very much. a former defence worker who disclosed top—secret details of a uk missile system has dramatically changed his plea to guilty and admitted breaching the official secrets act. simon finch had become disillusioned by british authorities after he reported being the victim of homophobic attacks in 2013. our security correspondent gordon corera has more. simon finch changed his peat today he had been standing trialfor breaching the official secrets act are not disclosing passwords to his

devices. —— plea. this came about after he disclose sensitive information to do with weapons systems in a series of e—mails in october 2018. he had said that he had been the victim of a hate crime backin had been the victim of a hate crime back in 2013 that had not been investigated properly. he had started taking to carrying weapons himself, he said, to defend himself, and then had been arrested by the police. he said he had been abused by the police and the prosecution painted a picture of a man who wa nted painted a picture of a man who wanted retribution against the british state and as a result sent these e—mails containing very sensitive details, which were not revealed in court because clearly they are very sensitive and potentially would be a value to adversaries of the uk. now, he had not pleaded guilty originally, but yesterday, a judge rejected a defence of duress, in other words, he felt he had to do it, and after

that today, he changed his play in court to guilty and he will be sentenced tomorrow for breaching the official secrets act —— plea. sentenced tomorrow for breaching the official secrets act -- plea. what is the potential sentence? it is a very serious crime. in this case, one of the issues is is it is not entirely clear whether the sensitive information reached the hands of foreign powers, if you like. that was something he had said he had done, but it is not entirely clear whether that did happen, and that may make some difference in terms of the sentencing and the fact that he has changed his plea today. gordon corera, our security correspondent, thank you very much. the 17—day national lockdown in wales has ended. the country‘s health minister, vaughan gething, says it will be another fortnight before the full impact of the restrictions is known. opposition parties want strict measures to continue in parts of south wales where infection rates remain high. our wales correspondent tomos morgan

reports from cardiff. this time last year, 15—year—old osian roberts was making a name for himself playing for the cardiff blues rugby academy. but during the firebreak, he‘s had to train on his own. from today, though, he‘ll be able to practise with friends again at his local club in a group of up to 30. being able to play rugby again, going back to sort of normality, it‘s not going to be normal, but it‘s going to be more normal than it used to be. as well as outdoor sports training, gyms and indoor leisure facilities will be reopening today. along with those nonessential shops including beauty parlours and hairdressers that were also closed during the firebreak. two households will also be able to mix inside and form one extended household or bubble. covid—related figures are usually delayed, so we won‘t know for at least another fortnight whether or not the firebreak has had the desired effect. the welsh government have already

said that they wouldn‘t rule out another short, sharp lockdown in the new year. if it has worked, there will hopefully be further easing on restrictions in the run—up to christmas. in an effort to help those living alone and youngsters wanting to socialise, the welsh government have also said that four people from different households can meet for a walk or in a cafe, bar or restaurant. however, those four will have to socially distance inside hospitality venues, meaning fewer tables for establishments and also id checks will also be required. if you ask people the question, are you in the same household? and their eyes flicker, and maybe they‘re not. you know, it puts a lot of pressure on us to be able to say, "well, actually, i don‘t believe you," or "actually, are you really telling the truth?" i mean, that‘s quite a harsh thing for us to have to do. although restrictions have eased, the first minister once again emphasised today that people should be doing the minimum,

not the maximum within the rules, in order to keep the virus in check. our exit from the firebreak needs to be careful and cautious so that we can maximise its impact. the national measures will be reviewed in a fortnight to see whether there is any new evidence we can use to help us to plot the future. as the festive season draws ever closer, a sense of some normality has returned in wales. but for just how long will depend on the success of these last two weeks. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with sarah keith—lucas. hello. monday started on a mild, misty and murky sort of note. the fog has been gradually lifting and clearing and, for some of us, there has been a little bit of blue

sky coming through. this was the scene in east sussex earlier on. but for most places, we are keeping quite a lot of cloud as we head through the remainder of today. fairly grey, still quite mild, and there are a few splashes of rain around as well. those showers are courtesy of this area of low pressure that is moving its way in from the south—west. a fairly weak area of low pressure, so nothing too heavy for most places, but some of those showers could be on the sharp side and perhaps even the odd rumble of thunder for wales down towards central southern england as well. temperature—wise this afternoon, temperatures up to about 16 or 17 degrees. certainly mild for the time of year. as we head into the evening hours, we will still see some of those showers, particularly across parts of england and wales. the odd thunderstorm mixed in. drier for scotland and northern ireland as well through the course of tonight. another fairly cloudy murky night. they will again be some fog forming. not as extensive as it was first thing monday morning, but parts of north and east in particular seeing some foggy patches to start off tuesday morning. clearer skies for northern scotland, and that is where temperatures will fall lowest.

through the day tomorrow, we have still got this fairly weak affair, the secluded front just shifting its way slowly eastwards across the uk. that will bring a few showers, particularly for parts of wales, central and southern england, perhaps around the east coast as well, the odd shower. but for most places, it is going to be a predominantly dry day, and there will be a bit more sunshine breaking through that cloud, certainly compared to what we have had out there today. still quite mild, but temperatures down a notch on recent days. highs 13 or 14 in the north. further south, 15 or possibly 16 degrees in the sunny spells. moving through tuesday night and into wednesday, there is a fairly active front approaching from the atlantic. a squeeze ahead of that in those isobars. winds will be picking up on wednesday, a southerly breeze, and there will be some fairly heavy rain pushing into northern ireland, western scotland, perhaps into western parts of england and wales later on in the day, the for central and eastern parts, you should stay dry through the day on wednesday. temperatures cooler than recent

days, around 11 to 14 degrees. and you will notice that breeze as well. it stays quite unsettled and windy especially through the south on thursday, but that should clear away. more rain heading and during the course of a friday. a fairly unsettled second half of the week. goodbye.

from the government, today led by the prime minister. first, the headlines... a major breakthrough in the fight against corononavirus — a vaccine that‘s 90% effective in preventing the disease. the drug company pfizer says it‘s a great day for science but the world health organisation is urging caution. we feel that we are on the cusp of one of the biggest medical advances for society and mankind in the 100 years that have passed here. but we‘ll work hard to make sure that the promise delivers. does this mean that life can go back to normal in the near future? the answer is life will go back to a new normal and we're not there yet.