There’s now another dimension to the race to get people vaccinated. The coronavirus is mutating, potentially making current vaccines less effective against it. This isn’t a catastrophe – the vaccines still work. But preliminary data suggests their ability to protect against certain variants of the virus is now weaker. Anything that undermines control efforts needs responding to, and vaccine manufacturers have duly stepped up. Professor Andrew Pollard, a senior researcher involved in the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, has said a booster that can handle the new variants should be ready by the autumn. Pfizer and Moderna have also said they are looking to develop such boosters. GSK and CureVac are also working on a new vaccine that can handle the many variants now emerging.