At a glance: Europe's coronavirus curfews and lockdowns PARIS (AP) — Across Europe and beyond, countries have a patchwork of curfews and lockdowns of varying strictness to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Here, at a glance, are the measures in... AP NEWS

PARIS (AP) — Across Europe and beyond, countries have a patchwork of curfews and lockdowns of varying strictness to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Here, at a glance, are the measures in place in the European Union’s 27 member nations and some neighboring countries:

NATURE

A mutation undercuts the immune response to the COVID virus 

A handful of mutations to SARS-CoV-2 can help it to escape the immune response mounted by a subset of infected people.

Researchers have identified thousands of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 samples, but the vast majority are unlikely to have much effect on the virus’s biology. To identify potentially important mutations, Jesse Bloom at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington, and his colleagues studied antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 isolated from the blood serum of people who had recovered from COVID-19 (A. J. Greaney et al. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/ghr85d; 2021).

The team tested the antibodies’ response to samples of the virus’s spike protein. Each sample protein carried different versions of a region called the receptor binding domain (RBD), which recognizes host cells and is a major target for antibodies.

17 states sue EPA for declining to tighten air pollution standards A coalition of 17 states and New York City are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision not to tighten major air pollution standards. Rachel Frazin TheHill

A coalition of 17 states and New York City are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over its decision not to tighten major air pollution standards. 

In the third in a series of conflicting announcements about a Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Brazilian researchers reported today that the results of their efficacy trial were less impressive than they claimed last week. When analyzed by stricter criteria than used earlier, the vaccine’s efficacy against all forms of COVID-19, including mild cases, dropped from about 78% to 50%.

The vaccine still appeared to give nearly 100% protection against disease severe enough to require hospitalization, although the trial amassed too few of those cases for that result to reach statistical significance.

Commenting at the press conference today, microbiologist Natália Pasternak Taschner, president of the Question of Science Institute, a Brazilian nonprofit that aims to support public policy based on scientific evidence, said it was a “clear and clean study” and stressed that she wants th vaccine for herself and her parents. “We do not need to say this is the best vaccine in the world,” said Pasternak, who was not involved with the trial. “We have to say that this is our vaccine and it is a good vaccine to start the process of pandemic control.”