Coronavirus vaccines protect against Indian variant, study says

Coronavirus vaccines being given in the UK offer strong protection against the Indian variant of the virus, scientists have found.

The study said that both Pfizer and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccines are "highly effective" against the variant after two doses of the vaccine have been given.

Public Health England, which ran the study, said the vaccines are likely to be even more effective at reducing the number of people needing to go to hospital when ill with the virus.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the findings made him "increasingly confident" that the government was on track for the final stage of easing restrictions in England on 21 June.

There are a few "India" variants, but one called B.1.617.2 has been spoken about a lot in recent weeks. It seemed to be spreading more quickly than other variants in the UK.

Sources say it has been seen in lots of places - including London, Bolton, Tyneside and Nottingham.

More testing and better contact tracing is being carried out in some locations to try to identify these infections, but it may not be stopping the spread.

As well as the India variant, there have been other mutated versions of coronavirus - including the Kent, South Africa and Brazil variants, all named after the countries the mutation is thought that have come from.

They have all been highlighted as being "of concern" by UK public health bodies, at different stages of the pandemic.

The study looked at data from all age groups from 5 April, to cover the period since the Indian variant emerged.

Both vaccines were found to be less effective against the Indian variant after just one dose, but effectiveness increased dramatically after two doses of the vaccine have been given.

The Pfizer vaccine was found to be 88% effective at stopping people from showing symptoms connected to the Indian variant two weeks after the second dose.

The AstraZeneca jab was 60% effective against the Indian variant.

Public Health England (PHE) said the difference in effectiveness between the vaccines after two doses might be explained by the fact that rollout of second doses of AstraZeneca was later than for the Pfizer vaccine.

It also said that other data shows it takes longer to reach maximum effectiveness with the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Mr Hancock said the data showed getting both doses of the vaccine was "absolutely vital".

BBC Health Correspondent Nick Triggle, said: "The fact that the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines offer such a high degree of protection against the Indian variant after the second dose is very reassuring given experts expect it to become dominant."

More than 50 million coronavirus vaccine doses have now been given in England, with more than 31 million people having had their first jab, and over 18m having had their second.

Public Health England say around 13,000 deaths and 39,100 hospitalisations have been prevented in the UK due to the vaccination programme up to 9 May.