UK 'increasingly confident' that vaccines work against variant from India

PM Johnson cites review of latest data on B.1.617.2; experts say spread of variants out of hotspots is key

Britain is increasingly confident that vaccines work against the coronavirus variant first found in India, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday, with a leading epidemiologist saying it may be spreading less quickly than at first feared.
 

Johnson has warned that the emergence of the B.1.617.2 variant might derail his plans to lift England's lockdown fully on June 21, but on Wednesday he said the latest data had been encouraging.
 

"We have increasing confidence vaccines are effective against all variants, including the Indian variant," he told parliament.

Johnson last week said the extent to which the variant could disrupt the planned