Britain’s health minister has said that a fast-spreading coronavirus variant first identified in India is likely to become the dominant strain of the virus in the UK, AP reports

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new strain, formally known as B.1.617.2, is more transmissible than the UK’s dominant strain. He told the BBC: “It is likely it will become the dominant variant.”

Hancock said scientists had a “high degree of confidence” that current vaccines work against the new variant, and there is no evidence it causes more a severe disease.