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By Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton
LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said on Monday he was looking at toughening border
quarantine rules because of the risk of "vaccine-busting" new
coronavirus variants.
New variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are opening
up the prospect of a much longer battle against the pathogen
than previously thought. Scientists fear the new variants may be
more deadly, and that vaccines may be less effective against
them.
"We have to realise there is at least the theoretical risk
of a new variant that is a vaccine-busting variant coming in -
we've got to be able to keep that under control," Johnson told
reporters at a vaccination centre.
"We want to make sure that we protect our population,
protect this country against reinfection from abroad," Johnson
said. "We need a solution."
The new variant identified in South Africa can evade the
antibodies that attack it in treatments using blood plasma from
previously recovered patients, and may reduce the efficacy of
the current line of vaccines, scientists said.
Besides the South African variant, others have been
identified in Britain and Brazil.
British scientists and politicians have expressed concern
that vaccines being deployed or in development could be less
effective against the variant.
Johnson said the British government was looking at the
option of quarantine hotels - where inbound travellers pay to be
isolated at a hotel on arrival. In Australia, arrivals have to
quarantine for a minimum of 14 days at a hotel.
"That idea of looking at hotels is certainly one thing that
we are actively now working on," he said.
Johnson said the United Kingdom was on target to reach its
vaccination targets for vulnerable groups by Feb. 15.
"We are on target to hit our ambition," he said.
(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
