Covid-19: Indian variant challenges vaccines

Covid vaccines are less effective against the variant of the virus identified in India, research has shown.

But they would still prevent very seriously illness, University of Cambridge microbiologist Prof Ravindra Gupta said.

He told BBC World News: "The virus can potentially infect people who have already been vaccinated, albeit with reduced severity - so they will be protected from the severe effect but could still be infected, feel ill and pass it on to others."

And research had shown the same was true of the variant identified in South Africa.