The current COVID-19 vaccines will work against the mutant strains of coronavirus found in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

The Health Ministry on Tuesday said there is no evidence that the current vaccines will fail to protect against new variants of COVID-19 reported from the United Kingdom or South Africa. Addressing the media, the Health Ministry also said that there is no evidence that the new virus variant increases severity of the disease.

The government also warned against a possible deadlier mutation of the new virus strain, saying that the country needed to be careful against it.

“The major population is still susceptible to COVID-19 infection in this cold weather. UK variant has travelled to several other countries and also to India. This variant may have its own run and we’ve to be very careful. One can’t be careless,” said Dr V K Paul, Member (Health), Niti Aayog

The health ministry has also established the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) for laboratory and epidemiological surveillance. The aim is to expand the whole genome sequencing of the coronavirus in the country, aiding in the understanding of how the virus spreads and evolves.