UK faces race between vaccine rollout and virus mutations, scientists say

Nurse Heather Ong (right) gives Frewyne Hadera the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (PA)

Scientists have said a Covid-19 variant resistant to the current crop of vaccines is likely to emerge at some point, but immunisations can also be adapted “within weeks”.

The vaccines which have so far been rolled out to over half a million people in the UK provide immunity against the new more transmissible variant, but its emergence has raised questions about whether future mutations could conquer immunisations.