Image source, Getty Images

One of the main areas Nicola Sturgeon was talking about in her briefing today was vaccination.

The first minister said 46% of over-80s in the community have now received the first of their two vaccines.

And as of this morning, 415,402 in Scotland have been vaccinated, with 95% of care home residents having received a jab. In addition, 95% of health workers have now been vaccinated.

Ministers have faced criticism over the pace of the immunisation programme, But the Scottish Government says it is on track for over-80s to have received their first dose by the end of the first week in February.

From today, Scots aged between 70 and 79 will receive letters inviting them for their inoculation.

"Today therefore marks a further important milestone in a vaccination programme," Sturgeon said. "We remain on track to vaccinate everyone over the age of 70 by the middle of February."

BBC Radio 5 Live

BBC Radio 5 Live's Your Call programme has been speaking to parents who are concerned that not being in school is affecting their children's mental health.

Dave in Bolton has a six-year-old daughter who is being home-schooled.

He said most of the other children in his daughter's class were still going into school and she burst into tears when she saw her classmates on the video lesson.

"It’s affected her emotionally a lot,” he said.

"We’re trying our best to teach her and help her learn but the social interaction she’s missing with her friends is definitely affecting her....

"There’s such a large majority in the school, it feels like there’s a small handful being kept at home that are really going to miss out.

“There’s only so much we can do. She needs contact with people her age."

Listen back on the free BBC Sounds app.

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, China Media Analyst

Image source, PA Media

China’s capital city has announced that only a single person has tested positive in a two-day drive to test some two million residents.

A mass-testing drive for residents of the Dongcheng and Xicheng districts of Beijing began on Friday.

According to the official People’s Daily, 668,346 people were tested in Dongcheng, and 1.13 million were tested in Xicheng. All residents in Dongcheng tested negative, but one person in Xicheng tested positive., external

No information has been released on this latest patient, and in fact, the Global Times newspaper notes that the city has begun “only mentioning the location” of new patients, and not their personal details, to protect their privacy. , external

The national Global Times newspaper says the testing drive may be a “possible prelude for city-wide screenings, external”, given there have been growing fears of a citywide outbreak.

Beijing has a permanent resident population of 21 million people. The capital has confirmed three new symptomatic cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours. All of these are in the southern Daxing district, a part of the city that went into full lockdown on Thursday after reporting a dozen cases.

Image source, Reuters

Moderna's Covid vaccine appears to work against new, more infectious variants of the virus found in the UK and South Africa, according to scientists from the pharmaceutical company.

Early laboratory tests , externalsuggest antibodies triggered by the vaccine can recognise and fight the new variants.

More studies are needed to confirm this is true for people that have been vaccinated with the Moderna jab.

The new variants have been spreading fast in a number of nations over recent weeks.

Read more here.

Image source, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG

Two newlyweds, aged 90 and 86, are urging everyone to take up their offer of the coronavirus vaccine.

Geoff Holland, 90, and his wife Jenny, married in August after meeting at an independent living centre in Mansfield.

They both received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday at a new vaccination site, which used to be a DIY store.

Mrs Holland praised staff at the vaccination site for the care she and her new husband received.

"We've been well looked after while we've been here," she said.

"People have worked long and hard to get this vaccine so I think people ought to have it."

Read more here.

If you're just joining us, here is a round-up of the main coronavirus news from the UK and across the world:

• Boris Johnson has said the government will tell teachers and parents when schools in England can reopen "as soon as we can" - but he could not give a guarantee that they would reopen before Easter
• The prime minister has also said the government is "actively working on" requiring some travellers arriving into the UK to quarantine in hotels
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is self-isolating for the third time, after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for coronavirus
• Students in Northern Ireland are calling to be released from rent contracts early after their courses switched to online teaching
• It is not yet clear if a pledge to vaccinate 70% of over-80s and those in care homes in Wales has been reached
• In the Netherlands, its Prime Minister Mark Rutte has condemned weekend riots against newly imposed coronavirus restrictions
• The Flaming Lips have staged a unique pair of gigs in the US with both the band and their audience inside individual inflatable balls
• A third national lockdown will probably soon be needed in France, the country's top medical adviser has said
• Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has announced he has tested positive for Covid-19

Michelle Roberts
Health editor, BBC News online

Image source, Reuters

Merck is ending development of its two Covid-19 vaccines.

There are more than a hundred Covid vaccines being investigated. Only some of them, like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, will prove successful and be offered to the wider public.

Merck was relatively late to the game with its two candidates. News that it is now abandoning the exercise due to disappointing trial results doesn’t mean the science was bad, or that similar vaccines will not necessarily work.

Merck were investigating a shot based on an existing, successful measles vaccine, modified to prime the body to fight coronavirus instead. The other it was testing used a technology that has already been shown to work for fighting Ebola.

Experts say it is important to pursue a range of Covid vaccines that work in slightly different ways to find out what approach is best. It’s likely that at least a few different ones will be needed to protect the world.

In the meantime, Merck is focusing its efforts on drugs that might help Covid patients recover from the virus.

Coronavirus vaccinations are not going to be made compulsory in Wales, the health minister says.

"We won't be changing the law to try to make vaccinations compulsory, that isn't a step we are going to take," Vaughan Gething told a press briefing.

But he said "other services" may make having the vaccine a requirement.

"You've got to understand that some employers may want to know if people have been vaccinated, especially if they're going to have close contact with others. And the travel industry may want to introduce a different standard for vaccination and travel as well.

"Those are questions for the future that individual business, employers and other sectors may want to have but not matters for the government," he says.

Image source, EPA

Brazil began its national vaccination programme a week ago, but there are already reports of serious problems in the roll-out.

Scientists say the country is close to running out of vaccine, syringes and other vital equipment, and they blame Jair Bolsonaro's government for the shortcomings.

With a population of 212 million and sprawling geography including some extremely remote communities, Brazil has a mammoth task ahead.

Critics say the government is failing in the vaccine roll-out - the vice-president of the Brazilian Society for Immunology Isabella Ballalai blamed the "incompetency" of the health ministry.

There are also complaints of people being vaccinated out of turn.

Brazil currently has about six million doses of Chinese vaccine SinoVac, as well as two million of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab.

More than 215,000 people have died in Brazil from Covid-19, with about 1,000 fatalities a day during this current wave of infection.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon says there are "cautious grounds for optimism" that coronavirus-related hospital admissions in Scotland are tailing off slightly.

There are now 2,016 people in hospital with the virus - six more than on Sunday. Of those, 151 are in intensive care, which is six fewer than Sunday.

The first minister said 95% of elderly care home residents had received a first dose of a vaccine so far. Letters inviting people over 70 to be vaccinated are being sent out from today.

Here's what else the first minister said in her daily briefing:

• There are no target dates for the return of schools, but a key requirement is to get community transmission down
• People should stick to the coronavirus guidance once they've had their first vaccine
• Applications for support for those working in the wedding industry will open on Thursday this week and the size of the support fund is being increased by £10m to £25m
• Uptake of the vaccine is high, with some health boards reporting that some GP practices had "100% uptake of the vaccinations that had been offered amongst the over-80s population"

• Residents should celebrate Burns Night virtually later today

Read more from the briefing here.

Philippa Roxby
Health reporter, BBC News

Image source, Getty Images

Earlier we told you how a professor has defended the policy being adopted in the UK for a leaving a gap of up to 12 weeks between the first and second doses of the Covid vaccines.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the government’s committee on vaccine strategy, has said this is based on “rock-solid evidence”.

Speaking in a personal capacity to the BBC Today programme, he said doubling the number of people who are being protected in the short term, by giving them a first dose, would save more lives.

Prof Finn also said he expected to see the impact of the current dosing strategy in the numbers admitted to hospital by the end of this week.

At the weekend, the union representing doctors, the BMA, said the gap between doses for the Pfizer jab should be shortened to six weeks.

But Prof Finn said based on knowledge of how other vaccines work, there is likely to be better protection after the second dose when it’s delayed.

The UK may be an outlier in the way it’s organised the vaccine rollout, with the World Health Organization saying it would recommend a six-week gap between doses in extreme circumstances only, but it is possible other countries could follow suit if the data backs up the current strategy.

The Welsh Government does not yet know whether its target of vaccinating 70% of people aged over 80 was reached this weekend, the health minister says.

Vaughan Gething says he hopes to have the data by Wednesday - but he does know a target of having 70% of care home workers vaccinated has been met.

“We have vaccinated 8.7% of the population in just seven weeks," he added at a coronavirus briefing.

A total of 270,833 people have now received their first dose of coronavirus vaccine in Wales, with the number who have received two doses standing at 543.

Meanwhile, Public Health Wales say they have recorded another 872 Covid cases, taking the total number in Wales to 188,583.

Image source, Reuters

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has become the latest world leader to test positive for Covid-19.

The 67-year-old said he has mild symptoms and that he is working from home.

He has been accused of not taking the pandemic seriously enough and failing to wear a mask, as the country battles another surge in infections.

Almost 150,000 people have died from coronavirus in Mexico - the fourth highest death toll in the world.

On Monday Mr López Obrador is expected to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin about buying a Russian-made vaccine. The government is trying to source vaccines for its 128 million people after delivery delays from Pfizer-BioNTech.

The president joins a growing list of leaders who've contracted Covid-19, including Britain's Boris Johnson, President Donald Trump in the US, Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.

Read more here.

Image source, Getty Images

Less than 60% of people advised to isolate because of Covid-19 are doing so, according to the head of NHS Test and Trace.

Baroness Dido Harding says people tend not to follow the rules because of practical, financial and mental health concerns.

But she adds all surveys on isolation data are "imperfect" because they rely on people reporting on their own behaviour.

Speaking on a Confederation of British Industry webinar, Baroness Harding says: "Of course everyone's definition of what following the advice is is slightly different - and it is really hard to stay inside and not have contact with anybody for 10 days.”

She says one person’s interpretation of isolating might be that they’ve had no contact within two metres with anyone – but went outside for some fresh air late at night, or to get a prescription.

Baroness Harding says practical reasons for breaking the rules include needing to get food or medicine, but local councils have services to support people to isolate.

She also says businesses should provide financial support so staff can afford to take days off work.

The Baroness says another reason people do not isolate is mental health, with people "really struggling with the consequences of having to stay at home".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will lead a Downing Street coronavirus press conference later today, Number 10 has said.

Ministers will decide "shortly" whether to extend the £20-a-week increase in universal credit, the work and pensions secretary has said.

Therese Coffey told BBC Breakfast the government is working to “provide the best support to people throughout the pandemic”.

Labour, the SNP, other opposition parties, and some Tory MPs have been urging the government to extend the weekly increase, due to end in March.

Bethany Bell
BBC News, Vienna

Image source, AFP

In Austria people must now wear air-filtering FFP2 masks in shops and on public transport.

The high-grade masks are also required in workplaces where social distancing can’t be maintained, and for visits to doctors or to government offices.

The move comes amid concerns about the spread of more infectious strains of coronavirus. Unlike fabric and surgical masks, which chiefly protect other people from droplets, FFP2 masks also provide more protection for the wearer.

Initially, a number of supermarkets are handing them out for free. Over the long term, the masks will be sold at cost, with plans to price them at about 59 cents.

People who fail to wear an FFP2 mask face a €25 (£22) fine. Those who are unable to wear them for medical reasons will have to carry a doctor’s note. The masks have been obligatory in ski lifts since 24 December.

It comes as the required social distance in Austria has been doubled from one metre to two.

When Boris Johnson announced another lockdown in England at the beginning of the year he urged the country to "pull together and follow the rules".

Since then, there have been some concerns about how people are observing those rules and whether everyone understands them.

The BBC's Greg Dawson got some volunteers to show us how they're coping.

Global coronavirus cases are nearing 100 million and this graph shows how new infections have been rising rapidly in recent months.

The global death toll from coronavirus is more than two million.

You can read more here.

We told you earlier that Boris Johnson has been questioned over when all pupils will return to schools in England.

During a visit to a vaccination site at Barnet Football Club in north London, the prime minister declined to be give a date when schools would be fully open again - but said there are daily checks “trying to work out when we are going to be able to lift restrictions”.

Here's a clip of what he said.