Delta variant is now dominant across Britain

LONDON/PARIS: The Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus that was first identified in India is now dominant in Britain and might have an increased risk of hospitalisation compared to the Alpha variant, Public Health England (PHE) disclosed on Thursday.

There were 5,472 new cases of the Delta variant reported in latest weekly figures, taking the total confirmed cases of the variant to 12,431, the PHE said, adding that it has overtaken Alpha, the variant first identified in England’s Kent, as Britain’s dominant variant.

More than two billion Covid-19 vaccines have been given across the world, according to an AFP tally. The important milestone comes six months after the first vaccination campaigns against Covid-19 began. At least 2,109,696,022 shots were given in 215 countries and territories, according to the AFP count.

US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci has said it is possible the world will never find out the precise origin of the pandemic. He told MSNBC that while he feels it is “more likely” that the virus jumped from animals to humans, “we still don’t know what the origin is”.

China plans Covid jabs for its nationals in India

China aims to launch its global Covid-19 vaccination campaign “Spring Sprout” to inoculate its nationals in India, state media reported, even as the number of doses it has administered domestically crossed the 700mn mark on June 2.

The EU has decided to push WTO members to phase out export restrictions for Covid vaccines, but will stop short of supporting a US-backed proposal to suspend IP rights meant to boost the supply of Covid-19 shots, at a June 8-9 meeting.