Windsor & Maidenhead will move 'quickly' if Indian Covid variant detected

As lockdown continues to ease across the country, the threat of the more transmissible coronavirus variant originally detected in India has been spreading rapidly in England.

The variant – B.1.617.2 – has been found in 127 local authorities. Forty of those areas have only recorded one case.

Cases have mainly spiked in Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen, Sefton, and recently in Bedford where surge testing and vaccinations in those areas have ramped up in order to suppress the virus.

According to Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, this variant is expected to become the dominant form of Covid, which casts a shadow of doubt over the Prime Minister’s lockdown roadmap.

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Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, councillor Stuart Carroll, lead member for health as well as being an epidemiologist and on the UK vaccine taskforce, said the Royal Borough will move ‘quickly and decisively’ to apply for surge testing and government support if the variant is detected or is on the risk register.

He said: “I think the key here is to move quickly, proactively, and decisively, and that is precisely what we would do as a Royal Borough.

“[We will] liaise and coordinate closely with the government, like all local authorities are, and certainly from my position as lead member, I will be relaying that message to all officers and NHS colleagues that we take the action we need to take and we lean on government to provide the necessary support in order to do that.”

Multiple Covid-19 vaccination syringes at the Penny Street vaccination centre in Blackburn as the spread of the Indian coronavirus variant could lead to the return of local lockdowns, ministers have acknowledged. Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen and

On the vaccines, Cllr Carroll said the evidence so far shows they are still effective against this new Covid strain – but that is still under review.

He said: “What we are seeing is that the vaccines against other variants have remained very highly effective.

“There is effectively a cross-protective effect from the vaccines to other variants and other strains of coronavirus and at this point, there’s no reason to think that won’t be the case with the Indian variant.

“It may be the case that the level of protection isn’t at the super high levels that the vaccines offering against the Wuhan strain, but the cross-protective effect is thought to be extremely high.

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“As we look ahead, the development of modified vaccines will be important to ensure that new variants do emerge and we seek to move through the pandemic that slightly tweaked or modified vaccines, which has the dominant variant in the vaccine, is made available – but that’s some way down the line.”

As the variant is more likely to infect people who haven’t had their Covid jab, Cllr Carroll has urged those who are eligible to get their vaccine in order to protect themselves as well as other people who cannot get the jab due to health reasons.