Coronavirus vaccine: UK scientists now hopeful of groundbreaking virus jab THIS summer

BRITISH experts have said they are on track to produce a coronavirus vaccine this summer, it was revealed yesterday. The team hopes to produce one million doses of the vaccine by September. The Cambridge-based drugs giant has said it could scale up to 100 million by the end of the year. Express

More evidence vitamin D can help against coronavirus: Study finds patients with a severe deficiency are TWICE as likely to die from COVID-19

• Patients with severe deficiency were twice as likely to experience complications
• This, the US researchers claim, includes a higher risk of dying from COVID-19
• Builds on research which linked low levels of vitamin D to a higher mortality rate.
• DailyMail

New 'test, track and trace' app CAN stop second winter coronavirus peak, claims Sir Patrick Vallance

A second peak of coronavirus cases can be avoided with the help of the NHS's new contact-tracing app. The 'test, track and trace' app works via Bluetooth and will alert people if they have been in close contact with someone who later fell ill with COVID-19. 

The Government is preparing to partially lift social distancing rules as part of an exit strategy to the lockdown which will be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday. 

The app is a key part of the strategy. Sir Patrick said: 'If we do test, track and trace well and we keep the social distancing measures at the right level we should be able to avoid a second wave, so I'm at the more optimistic side.' 

However, the Government conceded that a series of problems had been found by the app's developers which needed to be fixed.  

TECH, TRACK AND TRACE NHS app launched that will ‘put easing coronavirus lockdown in hands of the public’

The app — called NHS Covid-19 — uses Bluetooth to log when another user’s smartphone has been nearby.

If a person develops symptoms, they tell the app and it helps immediately organise a test.

An anonymous alert is automatically sent to those the person has been near, urging users to self-isolate if necessary.

Brits on the Isle of Wight will be the first to get the new app to track the virus.

Antibody that prevents the COVID-19 virus from infecting living cells is identified by scientists - in a major step towards developing an effective treatment

•  Antibody found to block infection by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in cells
• The '47D11' antibody targets the 'spike protein' of the destructive coronavirus 
•  It could alter the 'course of infection' or protect an uninfected person exposed.
• DailyMail

Urgent probe into obesity link to Covid-19 deaths: Matt Hancock orders health officials to find why certain groups including the overweight, men and ethnic minorities are more likely to die

• Matt Hancock has ordered health officials to trawl through victim records
• He said it was too early to suggest weight was a factor but data suggests link
• Researchers warned that obesity increased the risk of dying by 37 per cent
• DailyMail

People with low levels of Vitamin D may be more likely to catch coronavirus and die from COVID-19 infection, study suggests

• Study compared average vitamin D levels in a country with coronavirus mortality
• Found a link showing low vitamin D levels are associated with a higher death rate
• Researchers 'believe they can advise vitamin D supplementation' to protect against the coronavirus 
• The research compared average levels of vitamin D across 20 European countries with COVID-19 infection rate and mortality. It revealed a convincing correlation where countries with low vitamin D levels were also the countries with highest mortality and COVID-19 infection rates.
• DailyMail