WHO raises concerns over Indian COVID variant; says it is 'variant of concern'!

Geneva, May 11: Understanding the current COVID situation in India, World Health Organisation (WHO) has expressed concern over the Indian COVID variant known as B.1.617 variant, as it has appeared to be more contagious. The WHO has also classified the Indian variant as the 'Variant of concern'.

 

In its press conference, the UN Health agency on Monday said, B.1.617 variant of COVID-19 first found in India last October, seems to be transmitting more easily than the original version of the coronavirus. Maria Van Kerkove who is WHO's lead on COVID-19, "There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility of the B.1.617." She also pointed to early studies 'suggesting that there is some reduced neutralisation'.

 

 

 

 

 

Earlier, World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan also expressed the same concern over the Indian COVID variant. In her interview with the news agency, she said that the Indian variant was being classified as a variant of global concern, with some preliminary studies showing that it spreads more easily.

 

 

It should be worth to be noted that Bharat Biotech’s Covid-19 vaccine ‘Covaxin’ has efficacy against the Indian double mutant variant, B.1.617. According to the ICMR, COVAXIN has also demonstrated potential effectiveness against the Brazil variant of SARS-CoV-2, B.1.128.2.

 

 

Apart from ICMR, White House chief medical adviser and America's top pandemic expert Dr. Anthony Fauci has also confirmed that Covaxin neutralizes the 617 variant of the deadly virus. Covaxin has an efficacy of 78%.

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