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Covid: Indian variant could disrupt 21 June easing, PM says | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Surge testing is taking place in 15 areas across England, including in Bolton | Surge testing is taking place in 15 areas across England, including in Bolton |
The Indian variant could pose "serious disruption" to lockdown easing in England on 21 June, Boris Johnson says. | |
The PM said if it was found to be "significantly" more transmissible "we are likely to face some hard choices". | |
The wait between jabs will be cut from 12 weeks to eight for the over-50s and clinically vulnerable because of concern over the variant, he said. | |
Cases of the Indian Covid variant have more than doubled in the past week, Public Health England figures show. | |
Surge testing is already taking place in 15 areas across England, including Bolton, Blackburn, London, Sefton and Nottingham. | Surge testing is already taking place in 15 areas across England, including Bolton, Blackburn, London, Sefton and Nottingham. |
Why is the India variant causing concern in the UK? | |
What is the India Covid variant? | |
Speaking at the Downing Street briefing alongside the UK's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty, Mr Johnson said first Covid vaccine doses will also be prioritised "for anyone eligible who has not yet come forward", including the over-40s. | |
The prime minister said he did not believe that the "present evidence" showed a need to delay the next stage in the easing of lockdown in England on Monday. | |
But Mr Johnson warned: "I have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step four in June." | |
He said there was "no evidence to suggest that our vaccines will be less effective in protecting people against severe illness and hospitalisation". | |
The Army would be deployed on the streets of Blackburn and Bolton to give out tests to help the surge testing efforts, the prime minister said. | |
There will be an acceleration of the vaccine rollout there, he said, including longer opening hours at vaccination centres. |