'Kent' Covid-19 variant will sweep the world, says UK genetic surveillance chief

The Kent variant has "swept the country" and "it's going to sweep the world, in all probability," Sharon Peacock, director of the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium said.

The coronavirus variant first found in the British region of Kent is likely to sweep around the world and the battle with the virus is going to go on for at least a decade, the head of the UK's genetic surveillance programme said.

FILE PHOTO: People queue to receive the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine outside a closed down Debenhams store that is being used as a vaccination centre in Folkestone, Kent, Britain January 28, (REUTERS)

The Kent variant has "swept the country" and "it's going to sweep the world, in all probability," Sharon Peacock, director of the Covid-19 Genomics UK consortium, told the BBC.

"Once we get on top of [the virus] or it mutates itself out of being virulent - causing disease - then we can stop worrying about it. But I think, looking in the future, we're going to be doing this for years. We're still going to be doing this 10 years down the line, in my view."