British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the new variant of COVID-19 first identified in England may be associated with a higher level of mortality although he said evidence showed both vaccines being used in the country are effective against it.
Johnson said the effect of the new variant, which is already known to be more transmissible, was putting the health service under “intense pressure”.
“We’ve been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant – the variant that was first discovered in London and the southeast (of England) – may be associated with a higher degree of mortality,” he told a news briefing.