BBC News
By Doug Faulkner
image captionVaccination buses are being used in Bolton which is a hotspot for the Indian variant
The UK has increasing confidence that Covid-19 vaccines work against the Indian variant of the virus, the health secretary has said.
Scientists believe that the variant is more transmissible and cases of it nearly tripled to 1,313 in the past week in England.
But Matt Hancock said early lab data showed vaccines remained effective.
The health secretary said that the variant, known as B.1.617.2, was relatively widespread in small numbers in most of the country.
It comes as England is due to move to stage three of the government s roadmap for easing lockdown on Monday, with socialising in groups of six indoors as well as some international travel to be allowed.
It s an attractive prospect: a single pill, popped immediately after you test positive for Covid, to stop the virus in its tracks and prevent serious disease.
The idea was floated by the Prime Minister recently at a Downing Street press conference, generating much excitement.
There’s just one problem: no such pill exists.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently suggested at a Downing Street Covid-19 press conference that people testing positive for the disease could be given a pill to prevent them suffering major symptoms
Prof Adam Finn, pictured, of the University of Bristol is hoping to run a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of a nasal spray in reducing the severity of illness suffered by those infected by Covid-19
New Bristol covid vaccine trial in race against time to sign up younger people
It will be a way to get the jab early for those under 40
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Scientists in Bristol are in a race against time to find enough volunteers to trial a new, British coronavirus vaccine, before too many people have had one of the existing ones.