UK Cases Of India-Dominant Variant More Than Double In Week

Scientists at Public Health England say there is currently no evidence to suggest vaccines will be less effective in protecting people against severe illness from the India-dominantvariant.

The number of U.K. cases of a worrying India-dominant coronavirus variant more than doubled for a second week as authorities also monitor a new mutation of the virus, adding fresh doubt to U.K. plans to fully unlock the economy. We have updated the number of confirmed cases of #COVID19#variants identified in UK.More: https://t.co/NxiBAaLVssCases of VOC-21APR-02 have risen by 2,111 since last week. These are still predominantly affecting the North West of England – particularly Bolton – and London. pic.twitter.com/gADvCktEev Health officials have now detected 3,424 cases of the B1.617.2 India-dominant variant, Public Health England said Thursday in a statement. That's up from 1,313 last week, and 520 a week earlier. They're also investigating a separate variant with an "unusual mutation profile", with 49 cases logged so far -- mainly in Yorkshire, northeast England. Scientists at PHE say there is currently no evidence to suggest vaccines will be less effective in protecting people against severe illness from the India-dominant variant, but believe it could be more transmissible than the fast-spreading Kent variant that led to the country's third lockdown in January. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that he was "anxious" about the India-dominant variant, also known as VOC-21APR-02, and warned that it could affect the country's plans to reopen the remaining bits of the economy from lockdown on June 21.