KEEPING track of the ups and downs of the pandemic can be tiring, with new information and changes on a regular basis.

In case you missed anything along the way, we’ve put together the Covid-19 headlines (good and bad!) in Basingstoke this week to help you get caught up:

Coronavirus vaccines could reduce chances of hospitalisation by as much as 94 per cent just four weeks after the first dose, new studies suggested on Monday.

Experts have analysed Covid-19 hospital admissions in Scotland among people who have had their first jab compared to those who had not yet received a vaccine.

Scientists from the Universities of Edinburgh, Strathclyde, Aberdeen, Glasgow and St Andrews and Public Health Scotland (PHS) looked at data on people who had received either the Pfizer/BioNTech jab or the one developed by scientists at the University of Oxford with AstraZeneca.

Four weeks after receiving the initial dose, the Oxford jab appeared to reduce a person’s risk of hospital admission by 94%.

The county council confirmed on Monday that there have been no further cases of the South African coronavirus variant identified in the county ‘at the current time’ following surge testing in Bramley last week.

Earlier this month, one positive case of the South African variant of Covid-19 was detected in the Bramley area, north of Basingstoke.

Last week, all residents were offered door-to-door testing in order to help alleviate the chances of spread of the strain.

On Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the government’s lockdown exit strategy for England.

The ‘road map’ compiles four stages, with a potential lifting of all restrictions by June 21.

From Wednesday, four large-scale vaccination hubs across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are offering walk-in Covid vaccinations for eligible people - including one in Basingstoke.

For a trial period of seven days, walk-in appointments will be offered seven days a week, between 12.30pm and 3.30pm, at the following Solent NHS Trust run centres: Basingstoke Fire Station, St James’s Hospital in Portsmouth, The Riverside Centre in Newport on the Isle of Wight and Oakley Road in Millbrook, Southampton.

The number of patients catching Covid in Basingstoke hospital has decreased, new figures showed on Wednesday.

A total of 84 people caught the virus in one of Hampshire Hospitals Foundation Trust’s hospitals – Basingstoke, Andover, or Winchester - during January, compared to 144 in December.

Hundreds of adults with learning disabilities on GP registers in north Hampshire will be prioritised for a coronavirus vaccine following new advice from Government advisers on Wednesday.

Some adults with severe learning disabilities have already received their first jab or were due to be invited for theirs in the next stage of the rollout in England, but disability campaigners and charities had warned this left many with less severe conditions at risk from the virus.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said that all adults on the GP learning disability register should be invited for a jab alongside others in priority group six – people aged 16-64 with underlying health conditions.