Coronavirus scientists haven t seen any hint that existing variants can fully evade vaccines, one of No10 s top advisers claimed today.
Professor Sharon Peacock, head of the Covid Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK), warned the coronavirus could mutate over time to become better at beating jab-triggered immunity.
But she claimed no variant of major concern has yet emerged, despite fears mutant strains from South Africa, Brazil and India could make the current crop of vaccines weaker. She said more work is needed to determine the risks the strains pose.
Professor Peacock, a University of Cambridge microbiologist, also told Times Radio that the coronavirus could eventually become as harmless as the common cold but said that process could take decades.
Indian Covid variants are on the rise in parts of England and now make up one in 10 cases in London, figures suggest.
Data from the Sanger Institute, which analyses positive swabs for different variants, suggest the mutant strains spread widely during April.
Nationally the three different variants which are all genetically similar account for 2.4 per cent of all infections in the most recent week, ending April 17, up 12-fold from just 0.2 per cent at the end of March.
But the same figures suggest one in 10 cases in London were caused by the B.1.617 variants.
Data also showed the proportion ranged as high as 46 per cent in Lambeth and 36 per cent in Harrow – but the figures are based on tiny numbers of cases so clusters or super-spreading events have an amplified effect that may fade quickly.
EXCLUSIVE: Public Health England data show the number of Indian variant cases in the UK surged from 77 two weeks ago to 400, as chiefs noticed there are variations in the samples.
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COVID-19 Vaccine s Single Dose Can Cut Household Transmission By 50%, Says UK Study
Singe shot of COVID-19 vaccine can reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus by nearly 50%, said a study by Public Health England (PHE) on April 28.
Image credits: PTI/Pixabay
Singe shot of COVID-19 vaccine can reduce transmission of the novel coronavirus by nearly 50%, said a study by Public Health England on April 28. The findings by the PHE published on Wednesday are the latest hope for the world that the surge in COVID-19 cases can be stemmed as it concluded that vaccinated people are far less likely to pass the infection onto others.
The UK has reported another 55 cases of the ‘double mutant’ Covid-19 variant, first detected in India, while Belgium tracked down its first cases of the strain that scientists fear could be more resistant to vaccines.