Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that Britain is set to speed up its COVID-19 vaccination program in order to curb a fast-spreading variant first detected in India that could possibly delay a re-opening of the economy. 

The United Kingdom has had one of the fastest vaccination campaigns globally, administering a first vaccine dose to nearly 70% of adults and a second dose to around 36%. However, the emergence of the B.1.617.2 variant in some areas of northern England and London has urged experts to call for delay in the reopening. The Prime Minister said that the government would speed up administration of the remaining second doses to those above 50 and the clinically vulnerable to 8 weeks after the first dose, and first doses will be prioritized for those eligible who have not been vaccinated yet… (Reuters, May 15, 2021)