The UK will adapt its vaccine rollout to protect people more quickly in areas where a coronavirus variant first detected in India has emerged, the country's vaccine minister has said.
Public Health England (PHE) said the total number of confirmed cases of the B.1.617.2 variant had more than doubled in the past week to 1,313 across the United Kingdom.
Nadhim Zahawi said in areas where the new variant has emerged that the government would step up enhanced testing and flex the vaccine rollout by offering it to younger people if they live in multi-generational households. "We will flex the vaccine programme to where the clinicians thinks it's best utilised," he told BBC TV.