India says COVID-19 Delta Plus `Variant of Concern` |
India on 22nd June identified Covid-19 Delta-plus as a “variant of concern”, raising an alarm and pushing for immediate containment measures and maintaining Covid-appropriate behavior. The decision came as the new variant has been detected in 22 samples from Maharashtra`s Ratnagiri and Jalgaon districts, Kerala`s Palakkad and Pathanamthitta, and MP`s Bhopal and Shivpuri districts. The government suggested immediate containment measures, including preventing crowds and intermingling of people, widespread testing, prompt contact tracing as well as vaccine coverage on a priority basis in these districts. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said “Broadly speaking, both Covishield and Covaxin are effective against the Delta variant. We will shortly share to what extent and the proportion of antibody titters they produce,”. States were also advised to ensure adequate samples of positive persons are promptly sent to the designated laboratories so that clinical epidemiological correlations, linking the variant to transmission, can be made for further guidance to be provided to states. The Delta-plus variant was detected in India during genome sequencing of samples. So far, 45,000 samples have been sequenced. Meanwhile in the US, White House Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus is the "greatest threat" to America`s attempt to eradicate the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at a White House briefing on Covid-19, Fauci said the variant, which was first identified in India, now makes up more than 20 percent of all new cases in the US, a significant increase from nearly 10 percent, two weeks ago.
|
|
|
|