Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy noticeHopes are rising in government that the Indian variant may not completely ruin the end of England's lockdown on June 21. The number of UK cases of the more transmissible B.1.617.2 strain is set to surge past 3,000 today, more than doubling each week. But last night England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer said the variant may not be as transmissible as the 50% experts had first feared. “We’ll aim to update next week.”It comes despite officials boosting the vaccine rollout in Bedford, Burnley, Hounslow and Kirklees to protect the most vulnerable from the Indian variant of the virus. Mr Johnson also told PMQs scientists have “increasing confidence” coronavirus vaccines are effective against the Indian variant.

Source: Daily Mirror May 20, 2021 08:25 UTC