London, Feb 11 Another 13,013 people in Britain have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 3,985,161, according to official figures released on Wednesday.
The country also reported another 1,001 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 114,851. These figures only include the deaths of people who died within 28 days of their first positive test, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Earlier on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it is very likely that people will get a coronavirus vaccine "booster" jab in the autumn to tackle the new variants.
"I think we're going to have to get used to the idea of vaccinating and then revaccinating in the autumn, as we come to face these new variants," he told lawmakers in the House of Commons, the Lower House of the British Parliament, during Prime Minister's Questions.
Johnson made the remarks amid rising concerns over the spread of coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa. A trial has found the Oxford vaccine had limited efficacy against mild disease from the variant.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said that evidence shows that the existing vaccines have some effect against new variants, particularly preventing serious illness and mortality, so the existing vaccine rollout is "mission critical" for tackling new variants.
According to Hancock, work is being done with the existing vaccine suppliers on potential booster jabs targeted specifically at the new variants to strengthen this protection further.
Britain is stepping up efforts to speed up vaccine roll-out to bring the pandemic under control.
More than 13 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.
England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the United States have been racing against time to roll out coronavirus vaccines.
( With inputs from IANS )
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