Omicron Covid variant DOES spread rapidly and can be transmitted between fully-vaccinated people, says UK government amid fears it makes jabs 40% less effective

• Boris Johnson said new super-mutant variant Omicron 'might reduce the effectiveness of vaccines over time'
• Prime Minister said he was planning new measures to combat the new strain, including mandatory PCR test
• Professor Chris Whitty said it is 'inevitable' Omicron variant will spread across the world over the next days
• Last night the World Health Organisation branded the so-called 'Omicron' mutation a 'variant of concern' 
• Countries including Britain and the US moved to shut their borders to six countries from southern Africa 
• The variant's sudden appearance this week sparked panic in Whitehall circles about its vaccine resistance 

The Omicron Covid-19 variant does spread rapidly and can be transmitted between full-vaccinated people, the UK government said at a press conference tonight. 

It comes amid fears the new super-mutant strain makes jabs 40 per cent less effective as Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the variant 'might in part reduce the effectiveness of vaccines over time'.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said it is not yet clear how effective the vaccine will be as protection against the variant - but said those who are vaccinated or receive the booster jab will be less likely to become seriously ill.

Mr Johnson urged people to come forward for their jab and said the booster campaign would get a 'boost' by reducing the gap between second doses and booster. 

Chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance told the Downing Street press conference vaccine makers are already looking at how they can make them more effective against emerging variants, and that a jab designed to specifically target the Omicron variant could be created in 'about 100 days'.

Meanwhile the prime minister announced new measures to combat the new strain be reviewed in three weeks, including mandatory PCR tests for all arriving international travellers and ramping up the use of face masks.

The Welsh Government has confirmed it will introduce the same measures on international travel as announced by the prime minister, saying it had warned the UK Government of the dangers of removing restrictions. 

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged people to 'act as if [Omicron] is already here' by wearing masks, washing their hands, getting vaccinated, and testing and said Holyrood would introduce new requirements for travellers. 

Professor Whitty warned the spread of the Omicron variant across the world over the next few days was 'inevitable' but added the majority of cases in the UK remain to be of the Delta variant.

He warned there is currently significant rates of transmission among young people but noted that rates among people aged over 60 and vulnerable groups are improving, meaning hospitalisations and deaths continue to decrease.   

Hours earlier, the health secretary confirmed that two people tested positive with the new variant in Essex and Nottingham, that the cases are linked and related to travel from southern Africa.      

Last night the World Health Organisation branded the so-called 'Omicron' mutation a 'variant of concern' as countries including Britain and the US moved to shut their borders to six countries from southern Africa, the area of suspected origin.  

All warning signs suggest it will become world-dominant in months but scientists have cautioned they have not confirmed any of the effects of the mutations in a laboratory.

South Africa’s population has very high levels of natural immunity and seems to be spreading with ease, which UK experts think may allow it to easily infect former Covid patients. But there is no rise in hospitalisations in the region, which raises hopes it could be a milder Covid iteration.

While the effectiveness of vaccines against Omicron is currently unclear, Mr Johnson said there are 'good reasons for believing they will provide at least some measure of protection'. 

Sir Patrick said vaccine makers are already looking at how they can make them more effective against emerging variants. 

AstraZeneca said it has 'developed, in close collaboration with Oxford University, a vaccine platform that enables us to respond quickly to new variants that may emerge' and is 'already conducting research in locations where the variant has been identified'. 

Pfizer and BioNTech said that in the event of a variant which could escape the effects of the vaccines, the firm expects 'to be able to develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days, subject to regulatory approval'. 

British vaccine could give strong protection against new super-mutant Covid strain: Tweaked version of AstraZeneca jab is in final trial stages and may be ready within weeks 

A British vaccine that could provide strong protection against the new super-mutant Covid strain is already in the final trial stages, it was revealed last night.

Test results on the formula, developed by the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, are due in the next few days. 

Should it prove effective, it could be ready for use within a matter of weeks.

The news was delivered by immunologist Professor Sir John Bell, a member of the government's vaccine task force, who also revealed it was too late to stop 'the monster' variant currently ripping through Southern Africa from reaching our shores. 

The latest AZ formula was originally created to fight the first South African variant of Covid, which threatened to spread widely last year before being overtaken by the Delta strain. 

If needed, it could be 'plugged in' to modify the currently-used AZ vaccine with relative ease and be administered through booster shots.

Sir John and his Oxford University colleagues have been closely monitoring the new variant, B11529, which has some 30 mutations, since its surge began a few days ago.

But a more detailed analysis will get under way early next week using samples of the virus flown to Britain from South Africa in secure canisters.

Scientists hope to learn more about it such as its ability to spread and its capacity to cause serious illness.

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Novavax said it has 'already initiated development of a new recombinant spike protein based on the known genetic sequence of B.1.1.529 and will have it ready to begin testing and manufacturing within the next few weeks'.

And Moderna said: 'Since early 2021, Moderna has advanced a comprehensive strategy to anticipate new variants of concern. This strategy includes three levels of response should the currently authorised 50 microgram booster dose of mRNA-1273 prove insufficient to boost waning immunity against the Omicron variant.'   

The Botswana Covid variant, described by experts as the worst strain ever, has all the worrying mutations from previous versions of the virus, plus many more that could make it the most infectious and vaccine-resistant one so far.

The super strain has acquired the mutations of Delta, which made that variant so transmissible that it became world-dominant in months.

And the new variant also includes the vaccine-resistant alterations seen on Beta — another strain of concern that emerged in South Africa and was thought to be best at escaping the immune system until now.

It also contains a drop-out mutation that helped the Alpha variant take off in the UK last winter. In total, the new super strain has 32 mutations on its spike protein, more than any variant before it and twice as many as Delta.

It contains two unique alterations on a specific part of the spike which help viruses open the door to human cells.  

Sir Patrick said the government would focus on boosters to increase antibody coverage; production of broader vaccines; and tweaking current jabs to tackle Omicron. 

He said: 'Those are the sort of three scenarios, clearly the one which is the one to really go for now is boost, because it is the case that as you keep boosting the vaccine, you get slightly broader coverage because the immune system knows it needs to get broader.

'Because the antibody levels are so high, it actually causes enough coverage of other variants to be effective.'    

Mr Johnson said 'we're going to boost the booster campaign' by asking the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to consider giving boosters to 'as wide a group as possible as well as reducing the gap' between second doses and the booster.

Professor Whitty said the JCVI will now need to decide whether to extend the booster vaccine down to adults age 18, and whether a second dose should be offered to children aged 12-15 who decided with their families to get the first dose of the vaccine. 

But Sage adviser and microbiologist Professor Calum Semple today urged calm, insisting that vaccines are 'still likely to protect you from severe disease'. 

He said: 'This is not a disaster, and the headlines from some of my colleagues saying "this is horrendous" I think are hugely overstating the situation. Immunity from the vaccination is still likely to protect you from severe disease. 

'You might get a snuffle or a headache or a filthy cold but your chance of coming into hospital or intensive care or sadly dying are greatly diminished by the vaccine and still will be going into the future.' 

Professor Whitty added at tonight's press conference that anti-viral pills for Covid-19, which were approved by the UK earlier this month, need a 'rethink' because of the new variant.

He said: 'On the anti-virals, we are going to have to do a bit of a rethink on the basis of this new variant just to be confident we've got the right indications from it.

'There's a variety of ways you could use it in different ways, and what we need to make sure is whatever stock we've got of these, what appear to be highly effective drugs, that we use in the most effective way and for the right people.

'Where you are in the pathway right from the very beginning... working out their place, we do need to think through and I think we probably need to do a rethink of it just to make sure with the new variant we're targeting in the right direction.'  

In an attempt to slow the spread, the Prime Minister announced 'temporary and precautionary' measures to be reviewed in three weeks, alongside a 'boost' to the booster campaign. 

Face coverings will become compulsory in shops and on public transport from 'next week', a statement from 10 Downing Street said. Boris Johnson said the exact rules on face coverings will be set out soon by Health Secretary Sajid Javid.      

Mr Johnson also said the government would introduce a new testing regime. Omicron contacts will have to self-isolate and new arrivals will have to quarantine until they test negative for coronavirus, after two cases of the concerning new Omicron variant were detected in the UK. 

Currently, all Britons and foreigners entering the UK are required to take a PCR test on day two after their arrival. The new rules add the requirement for isolation pending a negative result, significantly toughening the regime, in a bid to curb the spread of the new strain.   

'I very much hope that we will find that we continue to be in a strong position and we can lift these measures again,' Johnson said, promising a review in three weeks, before Christmas. 

Professor Whitty made a Christmas plea for the country to 'raise a glass' to the scientists who have produced the vaccines.

He said: 'If I can make one Christmas plea? It would be that when people raise their glasses this Christmas, they do so to the extraordinary scientists who produce the vaccines, the diagnostics, the drugs which will allow this Christmas, if possible, to be in a very different place to what it would have been without them.'  

Meanwhile four more countries – Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Angola – will be added to the no-fly list on Sunday. 

All flights from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Namibia were banned yesterday amid growing international panic about the 'variant of concern', which scientists believe is more transmissible and has an increased risk of reinfection. 

Mr Johnson admitted the latest restrictions on travel 'sound tough', but added: 'That's the way it's got to be.' 

The EU, US and Canada all followed Britain's move to impose travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa ahead of the WHO adding the strain, also known as B.1.1.529, to its highest category for concerning variants. 

What do we know about the Omicron variant? 

Scientists have said they are concerned about the B.1.1.529 variant, named by the World Health Organisation as Omicron, as it has around 30 different mutations - double the amount present in the Delta variant. The mutations contain features seen in all of the other variants but also traits that have not been seen before. 

UK scientists first became aware of the new strain on November 23 after samples were uploaded on to a coronavirus variant tracking website from South Africa, Hong Kong and then Botswana. 

On Friday, it was confirmed that cases had been identified in Israel and Belgium but currently there are no known cases in the UK.

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), told Good Morning Britain on Friday that sequencing is being carried out around the UK to determine if any cases have already been imported. 

Work is also under way to see whether the new variant may be causing new infection in people who have already had coronavirus or a vaccine, or whether waning immunity may be playing a role.  

Professor James Naismith, director of the Rosalind Franklin Institute in Oxford, has said the new variant will 'almost certainly' make vaccines less effective, though they would still offer protection.

Pfizer/BioNTech, which has produced a vaccine against Covid-19, is already studying the new variant's ability to evade vaccines. 

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The Welsh Government has confirmed it will introduce the same measures on international travel as announced by the prime minister, saying it had warned the UK Government of the dangers of removing restrictions.

A spokesperson said: 'We have repeatedly raised our concerns with the UK Government about its decision to relax international travel rules quickly, precisely because of the risk of introducing new variants into the UK. We also warned against the removal of PCR tests for returning travellers.

'We will be introducing the same measures on international travel as those announced this afternoon by the UK Government and the other devolved governments.

'The emergence of this new variant is a serious development in the ongoing pandemic and reinforces the need for everyone in Wales to get their vaccine or booster when offered, wear face coverings when necessary, and book a test if they develop symptoms.'

Welsh ministers will be meeting on Saturday night and will continue to monitor the situation over the weekend, the spokesperson added.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said 'we all have a part to play in beating' the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

She tweeted: 'There are no confirmed cases of Omicron in (Scotland) yet, but we MUST act as if it's already here. @scotgov is introducing new requirements for travellers, but we all have a part to play in beating this new threat. So wear (masks), wash hands, get vaccines & test before socialising.'

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said 'this is a real reminder that this pandemic is far from over'.

The detection of the cases came after Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, who helped create the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, expressed optimism that existing vaccines will be effective at protecting against serious disease caused by the Omicron variant.

He also said it is 'extremely unlikely' it will cause a 'reboot' of the pandemic in Britain, as he offered tentative hope that the current jabs will still confer some degree of protection against the variant.

Sir Andrew, who also chairs the Government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said a new vaccine could be developed 'very rapidly' if required because they now have a 'well-oiled' process.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that most of the mutations in Omicron are in similar regions seen in other variants, adding: 'At least from a speculative point of view we have some optimism that the vaccine should still work against a new variant for serious disease, but really we need to wait several weeks to have that confirmed.

'It's extremely unlikely that a reboot of a pandemic in a vaccinated population like we saw last year is going to happen.'

The first case was uploaded to international variant database GISAID by Hong Kong on November 23. The person carrying the new variant was travelling to the country from South Africa.

The UK was the first country to identify that the virus could be a threat and alerted other nations.     Experts believe the strain may have originated in Botswana, but continental Africa does not sequence many positive samples, so it may never be known where the variant first emerged.

Professor Francois Balloux, a geneticist at University College London, told MailOnline the virus likely emerged in a lingering infection in an immunocompromised patient, possibly someone with undiagnosed AIDS.

In patients with weakened immune systems infections can linger for months because the body is unable to fight it off. This gives the virus time to acquire mutations that allow it to get around the body's defences.