The Indian variant has been used to justify the Government U-turning on ending mask-wearing in the classroom, with areas where the strain is more dominant having been told to keep to the mask mandate in place.
The Government is considering extending lockdown beyond June 21st to protect those who refuse the vaccine from the Indian variant. According to one minister, some unvaccinated "idiots" risk ruining it for everyone else.
A new study from India claims that the AstraZeneca vaccine offers 97% protection against Covid infection. But it's just a press release, there's no control group, and the figures don't make sense.
Professor Robert Dingwall, a member of NERVTAG, appeared on BBC Radio 5 this morning to talk about the Indian variant, vaccines, models, masks and lockdowns. This is about as sceptical as you will get on the BBC.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock says there is a "high degree of confidence" that vaccines work against the Indian Covid variant, but that it can "spread like wildfire" among those who are unvaccinated.
SAGE's claim that the Indian variant could mean 10,000 hospital admissions a day in mid-July assumes that between 30% and 60% of the U.K. population could become infected with the new variant in a single week. Yeah, right.
Scotland's Supreme Leader, Nic Sturge-On, has announced that the lockdown rules will remain in force in Glasgow and Moray after Monday while restrictions are eased in the rest of Scotland.
Boris Johnson confirmed today that "nothing" is ruled out in responding to the Indian variant including new lockdowns. But does the data show that the variant is anything for us to worry about?
