Sharon Peacock: Last News

A top scientist has said mutant strains of coronavirus are "very unlikely" to stop the UK having a normal summer.

A top scientist says the UK is "well-equipped" to stay ahead of Covid variants amid hopes for a better summer.

strain was first found in Kent before it "swept the country," and now it is likely to take over the world "in all probability," says Professor Sharon Peacock.Prof Peacock's comments were made while speaking on the BBC's Newscast podcast.It comes as the Kent variant has been detected in more than 50 countries since being reported in September 2020.The mutant strain was first reported in south-east England and was known to be faster-spreading than the original variant.Since its emergence, the UK has been placed into a third lockdown in a bid to prevent the rapid spread of coronavirus.Prof Peacock, director of the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium, said: "What's really affected us at the moment is transmissibility."She added: "Once we get on

In the government's daily press briefing on Wednesday, the UK's chief medical officer warned of a 'global bottleneck' in coronavirus testing.

The public will be able to conduct "game-changer" coronavirus antibody tests at home within a matter of days, MPs has been told.

People will soon be able to find out whether or not they have coronavirus with the launch of new antibody tests which can be done at home.