Quiz of The Week: 23 - 29 January

Vaccinations have dominated the news agenda this week, as the UK continued to push ahead with its coronavirus jabs rollout while the EU descended into blows with one of the world’s leading drug-makers.

Tory and Labour strategists have started whispering about a bounce in popularity for Boris Johnson ahead of May’s local elections, as the campaign to inoculate the UK population against Covid-19 continues apace.

The campaign looks set to get a further boost after large-scale UK clinical trials found the Novavax jab to be 89.3% effective. The UK has already secured tens of millions of doses of the vaccine, which if now approved by regulators could be rolled out later this year.

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If Johnson wants to win over even more voters, reopening pubs could be a good move. But with infection rates remaining stubbornly high, and the UK Covid death toll surpassing 100,000 this week, both bars and restaurants will have to wait a while longer before reopening their doors.

To find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest developments in the pandemic, and other global events, put your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week:

Need a reminder of some of the other headlines over the past seven days?

While vaccine developments have been delivering some much-needed good headlines for Johnson, the EU would probably rather the issue were moved out of the spotlight.

The bloc is facing increasing pressure from member states to speed up its jabs procurement scheme. Anger is mounting after AstraZeneca warned that delivery deadlines agreed in a “three-digit million-euro” deal with the EU for 300 million vaccine doses could not be met.

And subsequent reports in German media that the vaccine has an efficacy rate of just 8% among people aged over 65 triggered further worry. However, these claims fell apart following the publication of documents released by the German Health Ministry amid denials from the Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company and Oxford University.

Further afield, Joe Biden continued to overturn Donald Trump’s legacy as the Democrat settles into the White House.

In more underreported news, meanwhile, protests by farmers in India over three controversial agricultural bills turned violent, with hundreds of people injured during clashes with police in New Delhi.