Six people have been hospitalised with coronavirus symptoms after contracting the Indian variant of the disease - despite having had a vaccine.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said five people who have had a single jab have been hospitalised with the Indian variant in Bolton, and one who had received both.
He told The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC: “We think that there are five people who have ended up in hospital having had one jab.”
Asked about people who have received two jabs, he said: “We think there’s one person, but that person was frail.
“A small number have had one jab and then there’s one case where they’ve had two jabs and they’ve ended up in hospital and they were frail.”
Asked if anyone had died with the Indian variant after receiving two jabs, Mr Hancock said: “Not that we’re aware of.”
Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol and a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said “one piece of reassuring news is that we’ve seen consistently good protection against severe disease with different vaccines and different viruses so far”.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “And so I think we all are cautiously optimistic that that will continue to be the case also with this version of the virus.”
He said there is less certainty over how well the vaccines will be able to impact on milder disease, and in particular impact on transmission of the infection in the population.
“That remains to be found out, but I think people should feel reasonably confident that if they’re fully vaccinated their risks of serious illness will be much reduced also against this version of the virus.”
Mr Hancock said the Indian variant is “relatively widespread” but in low numbers currently in most of the country.
He told The Andrew Marr Show on the BBC: “We do think it is relatively widespread in small numbers.”
Matt Hancock said it is “quite likely” the Indian variant of Covid-19 will become the dominant variant in the UK.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I think it’s quite likely this will become the dominant variant. We don’t know exactly how much more transmissible it is but I think it is likely it will become the dominant variant here.
“What that reinforces is the importance of people coming forward for testing and being careful because this isn’t over yet.
“But the good news is because we have increasing confidence that the vaccine works against the variant, the strategy is on track – it’s just the virus has just gained a bit of pace and we’ve therefore all got to be that bit much more careful and cautious.”
