The outbreak of the third wave of the notorious virus is expected and predicted by the health experts to hit the country by August-September. Although, the cases of the new Delta Plus variant have been concentrated in Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh and the Centre declared the Delta Plus as a ‘variant of concern’. The Centre has asked the state governments where cases of Delta Plus variant of coronavirus have surfaced, to redouble containment and testing efforts, and carry out surge vaccinations. The Union health ministry said on Wednesday that there are 40 confirmed infections with the Delta Plus variant, up from 22 a day before. India has so far reported 21 cases of the Delta Plus in Maharashtra, 2 in Karnataka, 2 in Kerala and 5 cases in Madhya Pradesh. The Delta variant, or B.1.617.2, which was first identified in India in October 2020, has now become the dominant strain in the UK, currently accounting for more than 90% of cases there.
In the US, the number of Delta variant cases are rapidly rising, up from 10% of the total Covid-19 cases last week to 20% this week. According to Financial Times analysis, the delta variant accounts for more than a third of new cases each day in the US.
Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s health emergencies program, said during a news conference, “Delta, first identified in India, has the potential to be more lethal because it’s more efficient in the way it transmits between humans and it will eventually find those vulnerable individuals who will become severely ill, have to be hospitalized and potentially die.”
The WHO said Friday that delta is becoming the dominant variant of the disease worldwide.
The agency declared delta a “variant of concern” last month. A variant can be labeled as “of concern” if it has been shown to be more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to current vaccines and treatments, according to the health organization.
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said in a recent interview, “Delta is now replacing alpha, the highly contagious variant that swept across Europe and later the U.S. earlier this year He stressed over the matter and said, “We need to vaccinate now. Get everyone vaccinated now.” WHO officials have said there were reports that the delta variant also causes more severe symptoms, but that more research is needed to confirm those conclusions. Still, there are signs the delta strain could provoke different symptoms than other variants.
Scientists from ICMR are working to isolate and culture the Delta Plus variant (AY.1), the new mutation of the dominant Delta variant, at its facilities in NIV Pune to test if the newfound strain can be neutralised with Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin. The Union Health Ministry has said that the vaccines work against the Delta variant. Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, “In India, the two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, are effective against the Delta variant. We will be sharing soon the effects of the various vaccines on the Delta variant, antibody titer.”
On the other hand, health experts and virologists have hinted that the Delta Plus variant could vanquish both the vaccines and infection immunity. Experts suggest that the monoclonal antibody treatment being used as a method to fight Covid-19 may not work against the Delta Plus variant. Dr Rommel Tickoo, director of internal medicine, Max Healthcare, quoted, “As per the data available in public domain, monoclonal antibodies might not be effective against the Delta Plus variant. But we need more scientific data to back this claim.”
Explaining about the perturbing situation, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove of the WHO said, “The Delta variant is of great concern to us because it’s spreading across the world. We know that there are 92 countries where the Delta variant is circulating, 80 countries have the B1.617.2 and an additional 12 countries have B.167 but they haven’t further sub-typed it. We don’t know the sub-lineage that is circulating there. This lineage has increased transmissibility more than the Alpha variant (B117).” “In terms of vaccine effectiveness, we know that for all the variants of concerns, including the Delta variant, the vaccines remain effective against severe disease and death, which is a very good sign. But we need two doses to be administered to have the full level of protection. We do see reduced efficacy with one dose,” she said.
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