Health experts have recommended at least one version of the Indian coronavirus strain be upgraded to a “variant of concern”.
Clusters of the variant have been observed in several localities throughout England and have been traced to a number of care homes, schools and places of worship.
The strain – B1617.2 – is one of three related variants first seen in India which have been detected in the UK and designated “under investigation” by Public Health England (PHE).
In one care home, 14 elderly residents who had all been vaccinated, were infected with the variant, according to reports by the BBC.
Data from the body shows 193 and five cases of sister variants B1617.1 and B1617.3 across the country, but B1617.2 has been recorded in more than 200 people.
Dr Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, told The Guardian that “at the current doubling rate (B1617.2) could easily become dominant in London by the end of May or early June”.
Health experts have said they “haven’t seen any hint” of a current Covid variant that can fully evade the effectiveness of vaccines.
All current vaccines are thought to offer some degree of protection against variants but can never completely stop all Covid infections, especially among vulnerable or elderly people.
The Kent, South Africa and Brazil strains have all been deemed "variants of concern" in the UK after breakouts in various areas.
They have all undergone changes to their spike protein - the part of the virus which attaches to human cells.
