Boris ‘anxious’ about spread of Indian variant

LONDON/BEIJING: UK Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday his government was worried about the transmission of an Indian variant of the coronavirus as scientific advisers met to discuss its spread.

“It is a variant of concern, we are anxious about it,” Johnson said, as figures from Public Health England were expected to show a rise in cases of the strain. “We want to make sure we take all the prudential, cautious steps now that we could take,” he said.

Meanwhile, Russia has recorded its first infections of the Covid-19 variant first detected in India, Kommersant newspaper reported on Thursday.

China on IPR waiver

China supports talks on waiving intellectual property rights protections (IPR) on Covid-19 vaccines, Beijing’s commerce ministry said. “China supports the WTO’s proposal on intellectual property exemptions, for antiepidemic materials such as Covid-19 vaccines, to enter the text consultation stage,” commerce ministry spokesman Gao Feng has said. Beijing believes the WTO can play an “active role” in improving vaccine availability globally, he said.

Delaying 2nd doses can reduce deaths: Study

Giving a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine but delaying a second dose among people younger than 65 could lead to fewer people dying of the disease, but only if certain conditions are met, a predictive modelling study said.

Ohio starts $1mn lottery prizes to boost jabs

In the US, Ohio’s governor Mike DeWine is offering big lottery incentives - including a $1 million prize - in an effort to get people vaccinated before the state’s mask mandate and most other Covid-related orders end June 2.