as well, and those shower streaming further westwards. this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the oxford astrazeneca vaccine offers limited protection against mild disease caused by the south african variant of covid—19. but scientists say it will still help to beat the pandemic. we may not be reducing the total number of cases, but there is still protection in that case against deaths, hospitalisations and severe disease. the uk government has no plans to introduce "vaccine passports", according to the vaccines minister, who says the focus should remain on the inoculation programme itself. of course you have the evidence that you have been vaccinated, held by your gp, and if other countries will require you to show proof of that evidence then

that is obviously up to those countries. tens of thousands of anti—coup protestors gather for a second day in myanmar demanding the release of leader aung sann suu kyi. doctors in england are to be paid an extra £10 for each house—bound patient they vaccinate against coronavirus. the collapse of a himalayan glacier causes flash flooding in northern india — three people are dead and at least 150 are missing. heavy snow could bring significant disruption to the south—east of england in the coming hours with weather warnings issued by the met office for large parts of britain. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world.

astrazeneca, which makes the oxford coronavirus vaccine, says a small study suggests it offers only limited protection against mild disease caused by a covid variant that emerged in south africa. the company said it had yet to establish how effective the jab is in preventing severe disease caused by the strain. tim allman reports. day after day, jab afterjab. the battle between virus and vaccine is waged. more and more people are getting their first dose, but covid—19 doesn't stand still. the financial times is reporting a study showing the oxford astrazeneca vaccine may not offer protection from all forms of the virus. a spokesperson for the drug company said...

this was a relatively small test group and according to the financial times the data has not yet been peer—reviewed, but astrazeneca seems confident its jab will offer protection against more severe forms of the virus as it creates neutralising antibodies. i do think the coronavirus is here with us to stay, unfortunately, but on the optimistic side it has been wonderful to see that these vaccines do seem to prevent hospitalisations, which is the thing that we are most concerned about. astrazeneca, along with other drug companies, is looking at ways to adapt its vaccine and a new version, if needed, could be ready for delivery by the autumn. as the virus evolves, science reacts. tim allman, bbc news.

professor sarah gilbert leads the team at oxford university that produced the astrazeneca vaccine. she says they will still provide protection against the threat of serious illness cause by coronavirus. what we are seeing from other vaccine developers is that they have a reduction in efficacy against some of the variant viruses and what that is looking like is that we may not be reducing the total number of cases, but there is still protection in that case against deaths, hospitalisations and severe disease, so that pushes us more back to the first scenario with the pyramid of cases that i was talking about. maybe we won't be reducing the number of cases as much, but we still won't be seeing the deaths, the hospitalisations and severe disease and that is really important for health care systems. even if we are having mild and asymptomatic infections, to prevent people from going to hospital with covid would have a major effect. the new version of the vaccine will generate antibodies that recognise the new variant and then

it will be very much like working on flu vaccines, so people will be familiar with the idea that we have to have new components, new strains in the flu vaccine every year to keep up with the main flu strains that are circulating and there are regulatory procedures that are well established for that, it is called a strain change, and vaccine developers know how to go through that process, so we will be following that process again in future for the coronavirus vaccines. our political correspondent ben wright said ministers are confident that any new booster jabs will help fight against any new variants that may emerge. she said they are doing lots of work already on the south african variant and she expected that to be incorporated into the jabs being given out as early as the autumn, she said the same about the brazil variant, so i thought in terms of how work was progressing on trying to get ahead of the virus as it mutates, she sounded i thought rather reassuring and that was echoed by the vaccines minister, nadhim zahawi,

who talked again about us having to get used to this being an annual jab which is refined perhaps with a booster every autumn as the virus develops. and a lot of talk as people turn their attentions to whether or not they can go on a summer holiday about vaccine passports, this quite controversial idea. we did hear a bit from the vaccines minister on that. we did, the greek government has talked about it as a way of reopening tourism, allowing people who have that stamp in their passports to get on a plane and visit other countries. it has been speculated here about for a few weeks, what will the government to do? will they go behind this idea? ed miliband, from the labour front bench, said labour was open—minded to the idea, but nadhim zahawi really squashed the suggestion this is something that could happen any time soon. this is what he said. there are several reasons why we are not doing it. one, vaccines are not mandated in this country, as borisjohnson quite rightly reminded parliament. that is not how we do things in the uk, we do them by consent.

we yet don't know what the impact of vaccines on transmission is and it would be discriminatory. of course you have the evidence that you have been vaccinated, held by your gp, and if other countries require you to show proof of that evidence, then that is obviously up to those countries, but we have vaccinated or given the first dose to 11 and a half million people and we have no plan of introducing a vaccine passport. that is the vaccines minister and as the vaccine roll—out becomes more and more successful and the numbers go up and up and up, people will be asking how quickly can restrictions be eased? yes, and nadhim zahawi was not giving much away. we know the broad outline for the timetable for the next few weeks, the prime minister and the government are going to be looking at all the evidence around hospitalisations, the mortality rate, transmissibility of the virus in the community over the next week or so. then there will be a statement to parliament on the 22nd of february sketching out the route map. the government wants schools to be

back in england by march the 8th. beyond that, there is a lot of uncertainty around. i didn't think nadhim zahawi was giving much away, he's sounding quite cautious, just as labour were today, they are urging the government not to rush the release of lockdown. i'mjoined by adam finn, professor of paediatrics at bristol university, and a member of the government's joint committee on vaccination and immunisation. he's speaking to us in a personal capacity. you must be delighted by the vaccine roll—out at the moment and the government appeared to be on course for this target of mid—february one vaccinating the top four cohorts. yes, the numbers that do seem to be very impressive and that is a great news, but i think the really key issueis news, but i think the really key issue is that it is notjust a question of numbers, it is getting the vaccine doses into the right people and that is being achieved, i

think. we are seeing a very high percentages of people in their 80s now covered and now increasing number of people in their 70s, and particularly older age groups, that is the really powerful predictor of risk, so it is notjust numbers, it is also getting targeting right. find is also getting targeting right. and when ou is also getting targeting right. and when you talk about the right groups of people, this is a matter of some controversy when you come down at the age groups and this is the recommendation of thejoint recommendation of the joint committee recommendation of thejoint committee on vaccination and immunisation, to go down the age groups, but of course we have had calls for example for front—line workers like teachers, key workers like police officers, to be vaccinated ahead of some people may be in their 50s or even 60s who are working from home, not necessarily at high risk. what would you say about trying to balance that kind of judgment? the about trying to balance that kind of “udament? , about trying to balance that kind of 'udament? , ., _ , judgment? the first thing to say is that it is not _ judgment? the first thing to say is that it is not just _ judgment? the first thing to say is that it is notjust age, _ judgment? the first thing to say is that it is notjust age, so - judgment? the first thing to say is that it is notjust age, so the - that it is notjust age, so the current plan does include people who are clinically vulnerable of all ages alongside people in their 60s,

people who have comorbidities that predict high risk of serious illness will be scooped in a comment so it is notjust an age driven programme at the moment, but it is focused on trying to release the pressure on hospitals and people needing hospitals and people needing hospital care. it is it still an open question are beyond that and once you get beyond and below the age of 50 and people who have those at high risk factors, there are all sorts of social and political considerations which come into it, so it will go beyond thejcvi and will go to a broader group of people to decide how to do that, but i would say the one thing to focus on is making a system which is easy to operationalise. you have to be able to identify the people you want to target and get to them quickly. {eek target and get to them quickly. 0k comic so you are saying that essentially it is a political decision as well as a decision for thejcvi, | decision as well as a decision for thejcvi, i get that. another

interesting point, and may be a moral point, which is later on, as we go down the age groups and get the very young age groups, people act not very high risk, when we giving away vaccines to other countries around the world? we keep hearing this mantra that we cannot be safe until the whole world is vaccinated, is it a question of vaccinating everyone in this country first? ., ~' vaccinating everyone in this country first? ., ~ ,., , vaccinating everyone in this country first? ., ~ , ., first? no, i think both things have beuun at first? no, i think both things have begun at the _ first? no, i think both things have begun at the same _ first? no, i think both things have begun at the same time _ first? no, i think both things have begun at the same time and - first? no, i think both things have begun at the same time and we i first? no, i think both things have i begun at the same time and we have already opted into the covax facility, the facility further distributing it vaccines to other countries in the world, it clearly is a problem that needs to be dealt with globally, it cannotjust be done country by country. i think there will be a need to distribute vaccines beyond the uk from our suppliers. at the same time as immunising our own population. otherwise we don't solve our own interests ideally, as well as failing on the moral and ethical obligation to deal with this inequity across the world. that we

have ordered many more doses of vaccines than we actually need, so that should be possible.— vaccines than we actually need, so that should be possible. lastly, let me 'ust that should be possible. lastly, let me just ask — that should be possible. lastly, let mejust ask you — that should be possible. lastly, let me just ask you about, _ that should be possible. lastly, let me just ask you about, some - that should be possible. lastly, let l me just ask you about, some slightly worrying news about the south african variant and the initial research from south africa which says it may be the oxford vaccine is not that efficacious in terms of mild version of the disease that, but are we going to see the vaccine being positively tweaked against these various viruses that are around now and may emerge in the future? i around now and may emerge in the future? ~ ., , , _, future? i think that is becoming the stron: future? i think that is becoming the strong expectation _ future? i think that is becoming the strong expectation that _ future? i think that is becoming the strong expectation that these - strong expectation that these vaccines are going to have to be modified as we go along. the critical decision will be when exactly to do that and how to modify them. i think people are busy gathering information on that right now, but yes, like the flu, as you heard from sara gilbertjust now, this is a vaccine that will need to be changed as we go along under different circumstances, but there is a ray of hope so far that the

vaccines seem to be consistent in their ability to prevent severe disease, select�*s hope they continue to do that and so for the time being we will not have to change them too soon. . ~' we will not have to change them too soon. ., ~ i. we will not have to change them too soon. ., ~ ,, y we will not have to change them too soon. ., ~ i. , . we will not have to change them too soon-_ thank i soon. thank you very much. thank ou. tens of thousands of people in myanmar have demonstrated for a second day against the recent military coup and in support of the ousted leader, aung san suu kyi. in the main city of yangon, protesters chanted slogans against military dictatorship. in the south of the country, on the border with thailand, there are reports that shots were fired as police broke up an anti—coup protest. from bangkok, our correspondent jonathan head reports. once more they poured in along the main road from the north of yangon. more younger people this time, wearing the red colour of the national league for democracy, the party whose government was overthrown by the coup. others carrying pictures of aung san suu kyi,

the woman who for so many years symbolised resistance to military rule and who is once again under military detention. the crowd slowed down the sunday traffic, but drivers used their horns to show their support. some also showing the nld flag. three fingers, the new symbol of popular defiance borrowed from neighbouring thailand and from the hunger games. many of them are students, mindful of the role played by previous generations of students in protesting against the military, but hopeful that many more burmese willjoin this movement. translation: this is really unfair. despite the landslide win in the election, the military staged a coup with false accusations. we thank the people for coming out on the streets. we have to fight together with respect for all. most internet services have

been blocked in myanmar, but they are still finding ways to get these images out. and to show that the coup will not go unopposed. myanmar is a very different country from when people last came out to protest like this. this generation has experienced ten years of relative freedom, which they are not ready to give up. but on everyone's minds is one question. will the military resort to the terrible violence and repression of the past to enforce its will? underneath this show of courage there are good reasons to fear. jonathan head, bbc news, bangkok. in the last few hours, internet services have been restored in myanmar and we've been hearing directly from pro—democracy protestors.

two brothers from the city of yangon told me why this movement is so important to them. we want our democracy back that was unlawfully taken by our military. we want our liberty back, because it is really unacceptable that they took down our elected government that we have been voting for for so many years. do you think you can win? do you think that coming out onto the street day after day will bring democracy back to myanmar? we only can win. we will surely need help from worldwide. we need to raise our voice so that everyone and everyone around the world can hear our voices. i really believe that they took our democracy.

can i ask, are you scared? are you frightened when you go on the streets to protest? we know that the military in your country in the past have been pretty brutal. are you frightened ? yes, we do, we are afraid. there are so many rumours that they will shoot us, or they would detain everyone who has been part of the protest, and we are afraid. but yet we need our democracy, because our country, the elected government and the democracy has been hijacked from us. that is why we have to fight back and take back our democracy. that is what we want. that is why we get out and we protest. do you think the military will use force? do you think they will crack down on you? that is what we are really scared of, because there will be many

undercover by military institutions which might provoke the crowd or the people to act in a violent way or perhaps they will lead in riot. that is what they are doing. we are never violent. people are peaceful protesters, we are never in a violent way. and aung san suu kyi, do you support her? do you want her released from detention? yes, we do. yes, we fully support her. she is our only hope for our democracy. you know, we have no hope if she died or something happened to her. what is our future without her? she is our true leader and we really need her back. two brothers are speaking to me a little earlier on after being out on the streets protesting all day in

myanmar. doctors in england are to be paid an extra £10 by the nhs for every person who's housebound that they vaccinate. it's part of the uk government's drive to protect everyone aged 70 and over, together with front line health workers, by february the 15th. meanwhile, 18 new mass vaccine centres open tomorrow. here's our science correspondent, pallab ghosh. gp george hobbs is headed out to give around 20 of his patients covid jabs at home. they're too ill or vulnerable to come in a for a vaccination. first up is diana garfitt... right, ok. ..who has heart problems and is also losing her sight. there still is a hope in the back of my mind, however old i am, i still have that hope that... ..something will work out. right, cheerio, bye—bye! it's great because i have been a gp for over 27 years and they know me, so i think when they see someone familiar coming it makes

a real difference to the experience. but quite a lot of them are quite nervous and then when they see someone they know, that is very reassuring. hello, i am calling - from ashtree surgery. ashtree surgery in carnforth in lancashire is on course to vaccinate its most vulnerable patients by the middle of this month, but that is not the case everywhere. so gps will receive an additional £10 on top of the standard fee for every housebound person they vaccinate. yes, this will be helpful. it does take significantly longer to go out and visit someone and to take the necessary time and precautions in each and every visit, that takes people away from a vaccination centre, where they can do more vaccinations in a similar amount of time. so we do need to recognise that and it is good that nhs england have done that and have provided this additional small amount of funding to enable practices to provide vaccinations to this particularly vulnerable group of people as quickly as possible. the latest data shows that more

than 11.4 million people have received their first dose. that is a rise ofjust over 494,000 on the previous 24—hour reporting period. at this rate of vaccination, the nhs would need to give jabs to an average ofjust under 393,000 people per day in order to meet the government's target of 15 million first doses by the 15th of february. and the scottish government has said that it has met its target to vaccinate the over 80s by the 5th of february. there are to be 18 more vaccination sites opening from next week, like the one at blackburn cathedral. the new sites mean the jabs are now available from more than 100 large—scale centres, 1000 local gp services, almost 200 pharmacies and over 250 hospitals. pallab ghosh, bbc news. at least three people have died and 150 are missing

after a crumbling glacier caused flash flooding in northern india. the floods washed away part of a dam in the uttarakhand region of the himalayas. most of those missing are believed to be construction workers. disaster relief forces have been sent to the area. our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan has this update. the officials are saying that this himalayan glacier that broke away, washed away parts of this dam. there have been a couple of construction projects going in that particular area of uttarakhand state, and basically for hydropower projects, and many of those are missing or believed to be working in these power projects and, as a we speak, hundreds of emergency services personnel have been deployed to the area, and so far they say they have recovered three bodies and dozens are still missing. and the government has already asked the army to be on standby and more people are being rushed to the area.

but there is a fear that people will maybe going along the riverside, along the banks of the alaknanda river, could be missing because many people take their cattle for grazing and they also go around collecting firewood. these people could be missing and this particular area is very, very ecologically sensitive and the government says that it is doing all it can to rescue as many people as possible. but it does look like the death toll could rise significantly? yes. one of the tunnels, according to officials, is completely blocked and dozens of the workers are still trapped inside, they are trying to reach out to these people, but they are not very hopeful because it is completely submerged in mud. this particular area also witnessed another flooding in 2013, when thousands of people were killed and environmentalists have been warning for a long time

against building roads and dams in these rivers. these are tributaries that finally go and join the mighty river ganges, and for the last four or five years people have been warning. there have been court cases about building a road in this particular sensitive area, very close to the himalayan mountains and also building dams. but now the officials will have to think twice because part of this dam has been washed away. they need to revisit this whole project again. heavy snow could bring significant disruption to the east and south—east of england in the next few hours. an amberwarning, meaning possible travel disruption and power cuts, is in force until monday morning. snow has already fallen elsewhere across the uk, and with the bitterly cold temperatures, people are being urged to check in on the elderly and the vulnerable. our correspondent simonjones sent this update from just outside dover in kent. it is absolutely freezing. the snow has been coming down

for several hours now. it has been blanketing the roads and pavements. it is pretty treacherous underfoot. it is turning pretty icy, but it is creating some lovely scenes here too. we have an amber weather warning in place for kent and large parts of the east of england. that is in place for all of today into tomorrow. in parts we could see up to 30 centimetres of snow and the whole of the east of the uk has a weather warning in place for snow and ice from today into wednesday, so this is going to last quite a period of time. it is notjust the snow, we also have storm darcy blowing through, bringing winds of up to 50 mph. and although on the thermometer it says it is around freezing, when you add in the wind chill, it is actually feeling more like —7. now the advice is do not go out unless you have too, really coinciding with the government's advice to stay at home because of coronavirus,

but i think the reality is when people see a bit of snow, a lot of them will want to come out and enjoy it. a very cold simonjones reporting. you are watching bbc news. rather different weather in australia. the australian open tennis tournament starts on monday. it's the most ambitious sporting event since the beginning of the covid—19 pandemic. this event is only happening because australia has been able to control the spread of the virus. shaimaa khalil reports from melbourne. it has been a bumpy ride for the australian open. but the stage is set now. with the most unusual of build—ups, it is finally ready to go. even before the grand slam begins, tennis fans have come for the warm—up events. with the ongoing travel ban most spectators this year are locals, and after melbourne going through one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world, they are very excited to be here. the safety is the main thing i think

everyone really wanted it to happen, but that it is able to go on like it has and, you know, like we are here, at melbourne park, it is pretty awesome. it's unreal, really. it feels like a new life. melbourne is a huge sporting capital of the world and people _ love this sport here, i it makes them happy. actually you feel maybe more connected with the tennis because you don't have the big crowd. you actually can watch and enjoy the show. literally because this is what it is, it is a big show! getting to this stage has been controversial and often dramatic. hundreds of players flew in from around the world, some under tighter quarantine rules than others because of covid—19 cases recorded on their planes. preparing as best they could. and then last week, another setback. more than 500 players and officials had to isolate and be tested after a coronavirus case at their hotel.

not everyone in melbourne supports the tennis going ahead. some have argued that holding a tournament of that size in the midst of a pandemic isn't worth the risk. melburnians sarah and jackson won't be at any of the matches. they are stuck in the uk because of limits on international arrivals. they say there's not enough quarantine places, but then when it comes to sporting events, suddenly they can find more spaces and they can lift those caps. it makes me feel abandoned. it makes me feel as if i don't matter as much as these athletes or celebrities, even though i am a citizen. for the next two weeks, everyone here hopes the focus will shift from coronavirus to the courts. but it will feel very different. crowds have been kept at half capacity and covid safety measures are everywhere. many will be watching this closely. notjust for the tennis, but also what it tells us about the future of holding major sporting events in this very

different and difficult time. shaimaa khalil, bbc news, melbourne. we were hearing about the snow a little earlier on. now it's time for a look at the weather with susan powell. we have a cold week ahead, particularly biting today, thanks to easterly winds, and we will also have those tomorrow. the threat for some today of heavy, disruptive snowfall. the met office have marked out an area across parts of east anglia and the south—east that could be at risk of up to 20 centimetres of snow falling. this is the tail end of storm darcy, bringing with it strong winds, so blizzard and drifting, an additional hazard. to the north, with a keen easterly wind, quite a few showers across northern england and into scotland as well. some areas will avoid them and see some decent sunshine, but even in the sunshine it will feel particularly raw. these are the temperatures you would read on the thermometer, but we have to factor in the chilling effect of that easterly wind and actually step outside and for many it will feel

closer to somewhere between —3 and —5. the easterly wind particularly strong as we head into monday as well, and those showers streaming further westwards. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines... the oxford—astrazeneca vaccine

offers limited protection