PEOPLE over 50 and the clinically vulnerable will be offered their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine eight weeks after the first in a bid to dampen any impact from the Indian variant of coronavirus.

Boris Johnson told a Downing Street press conference that second doses - which give people maximum protection against Covid-19 - will be brought forward from the planned 12-week interval to eight weeks.

He said there was no evidence that a rise in cases of the Indian variant was translating into unmanageable pressures on the NHS in terms of hospital admissions.

As a result, he said he believed there was no need to delay the road map reopening set for Monday, which will see people able to socialise indoors.

“But I have to level with you that this new variant could pose serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step four in June,” he said.

“I must stress that we will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe.”

Mr Johnson said that if the variant turned out to be much more transmissible than other variants, the country could face “hard choices”.

The Prime Minister told the Downing Street press conference: "I'm told that if it is only marginally more transmissible we can continue more or less as planned but if the variant is significantly more transmissible we're likely to face some hard choices."

But he said there is "no evidence to suggest that our vaccines will be less effective in protecting people against severe illness and hospitalisation.

"If you're seeing loved ones, think really carefully about the risk to them, especially if they haven't had that second dose or if it hasn't yet had time to take full effect," he said.

He added: "I want us to trust people to be responsible, and to do the right thing. That's the way to live with this virus while protecting the NHS and restoring our freedoms.

"It's very clear now we're going to have to live with this new variant of the virus for some time so let's work together, and let's exercise caution and common sense."

The Prime Minister said that the UK's surveillance data is now so advanced, that it would see well ahead of time if the NHS was likely to come under unsustainable pressure.

"That gives us the confidence to continue moving forwards for now," he said.

Boris Johnson has urged people to "think twice" ahead of travelling to areas with higher incidences of the Indian variant and staying with family and friends within those areas.

Chief medical officer (CMO) Professor Chris Whitty described the number of people who are testing positive for Covid-19 in the UK as "on a steady downward path and is stable" in terms of the overall numbers.

There is also a "steady decrease" in the numbers of people who are in hospital.