Britain has said it might bring forward second vaccine doses to help curb the spread of the Indian variant of the Covid-19 virus.
Public Health England said cases in the United Kingdom had more than doubled to 1 313, up from 520 cases recorded up to 5 May, according to the BBC.
Professor Paul Hunter, who sits on a number of Covid advisory committees for the World Health Organization, said on BBC radio that the current figures were around two weeks out of date and would now be higher. He said the Indian variant was now in most regions of the UK.
Minister Nadhim Zahawi said steps could also include vaccinating younger people in multi-generational households.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care said there was ‘no firm evidence yet to show this variant has any greater impact on severity of disease or evades the vaccine’, though experts believe it may be more transmissible.