UK pledges £29m more to fast-track vaccines against Covid variants

The UK government is pledging extra money to fast-track vaccines in an effort to stay “one step ahead” of coronavirus variants. The multimillion-pound investment in testing facilities at Porton Down in Wiltshire would help to “future-proof” the country, said the health secretary, Matt Hancock. The government is pledging an additional £29.3m, on top of £19.7m already promised. Scientists at the Porton Down research laboratory test blood samples to monitor the effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines. Current testing capacity is 700 tests a week, but it is increasing to 1,500 by January 2022.