The creators of the current coronavirus vaccine in use in the UK are ‘confident’ the jab works against mutant Covid.

But ‘further studies’ are needed to be completely sure, German pharmaceutical company BioNTech added.

Chief executive and co-founder of the company, Ugur Sahin said this morning: ‘We don’t know at the moment if our vaccine is also able to provide protection against this new variant’.

But he said because the proteins on the variant are 99% the same as the prevailing strains, BioNTech has ‘scientific confidence’ in the vaccine.

Professor Sahin said BioNTech is currently conducting further studies and hopes to have certainty within the coming weeks.

‘The likelihood that our vaccine works… is relatively high,’ he added.

The vaccine, developed alongside US pharmaceutical company Pfizer, is now authorised for use in more than 45 countries including the UK, the US and the European Union.

There were fears already invented vaccines would not work against the new strain of coronavirus, which is thought to be 70% more contagious and behind a huge spike in cases in the South East of England.

This is a breaking story. More to follow.

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