Coronavirus: what the new Covid-19 strain means for the UK’s vaccination plan

Emergence of mutated virus may mean inoculation is more vital than ever

Boris Johnson with a vial of the AstraZeneca/Oxford University Covid-19 candidate
(Image credit: Paul Ellis/WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The new strain of Covid-19 spreading rapidly across London and the Southeast may mean that vaccination is now the only way to stop infections spiralling out of control.

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Joe Evans is the world news editor at TheWeek.co.uk. He joined the team in 2019 and held roles including deputy news editor and acting news editor before moving into his current position in early 2021. He is a regular panellist on The Week Unwrapped podcast, discussing politics and foreign affairs. 

Before joining The Week, he worked as a freelance journalist covering the UK and Ireland for German newspapers and magazines. A series of features on Brexit and the Irish border got him nominated for the Hostwriter Prize in 2019. Prior to settling down in London, he lived and worked in Cambodia, where he ran communications for a non-governmental organisation and worked as a journalist covering Southeast Asia. He has a master’s degree in journalism from City, University of London, and before that studied English Literature at the University of Manchester.