Tag: COVIDVARIANT

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-Top News COVID-19 USA

US CDC classifies delta variant as a concern

The Delta variant, which was dubbed a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 10, accounts for around 9.9% of all Covid-19 cases in the United States…reports Asian Lite News

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has classified the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), first identified in India, as a “variant of concern.”

Previously, the Delta Covid-19 strain was only considered a “variant of interest” by the CDC, but its status was changed to a “variant of concern” after assessing the Delta variant’s high transmissibility, among other factors.

Along with the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) of Covid-19, a few other variants circulating in the United States have also been classified as ‘variants of concern’, a CDC statement published on Tuesday read. These include the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.427 (Epsilon), and B.1.429 (Epsilon) Covid-19 variants.

The CDC said the Delta variant shows increased transmissibility, potential reduction in neutralisation by some monoclonal antibody treatments under emergency authorisation, and potential reduction in neutralization from sera after vaccination in lab tests.

Covid 19: Washington: A woman with mask walks through Bryant Park in New York, the United States, May 14, 2021. (Xinhua/Wang Ying/IANS)

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A particular Covid-19 variant is only dubbed ‘variant of concern’ when scientists believe that coronavirus strain is shows increased transmissibility and a chance to cause more severe disease. Vaccines, treatments, and tests that detect the virus may also be less effective against a variant of concern.

The Delta variant, which was dubbed a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 10, accounts for around 9.9% of all Covid-19 cases in the United States, the CDC estimates. However, to date, no variants of high consequence have been identified in the country, the public health body explained in its statement.

President Joe Biden and his Chief Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci last week have warned that the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus is highly infectious, which is now the dominant strain in the United Kingdom, spreading rapidly among young people between 12 and 20 years old.

ALSO READ: Covid-19 is airborne, CDC confirms

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-Top News COVID-19 India News

‘Delta Plus ‘variant of interest’ for now’

New delhi COVID 19

“It has not yet been classified as a variant of concern, in which there is adverse consequence to humanity,” said V.K. Paul…reports Asian Lite News

The new Delta Plus mutation of coronavirus is “a variant of interest”, not “a variant of concern”, the government said on Tuesday.

“Delta variant played a major role in the second wave. An additional mutation of this variant, known as Delta Plus, has been detected and submitted to the global data system.

It has been seen in Europe since March and was brought into the public domain two days ago on June 13,” NITI Aayog’s Member Health, Dr V.K. Paul, said at a Health Ministry press meet.

“Delta Plus is a variant of interest, but not a variant of concern. It has not yet been classified as a variant of concern, in which there is adverse consequence to humanity. As per data available in the public domain, this variant nullifies the use of monoclonal antibody. We will scientifically study and learn more about this variant.

“The new variant was found outside India and we have to found out its presence, spread and way of spread in the country. INSACOG (Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia) will keep a constant watch on the new variant and find out its harmful effects,” he added.

Paul emphasised that it is important to continue to follow Covid appropriate behaviour.

“We are dealing with a highly transmissible variant this year than we were in 2020, hence we exercise greater caution and strictly abide by Covid appropriate behaviour,” he said.

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-Top News COVID-19 UK News

UK Minister warns against ‘Delta’ variant

Health Secretary Matt Hancock holds a COVID-19 press conference alongside Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England and Dr Nikki Kanani, Medical Director of Primary Care for NHS England in the Briefing Room in 9 Downing Street. Picture by Tim Hammond/ No 10 Downing Street

“The latest scientific advice is that the Delta variant, first detected in India, is 40 per cent more transmissible than the Kent strain,” said UK Health Minister….reports Asian Lite News

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock on Sunday said that the ‘Delta’ variant of Covid-19, first reported in India, is 40 per cent more transmissible than the ‘Alpha’ strain, detected in the UK itself.

“We were previously told by the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) that there would be problems if a variant was 40 per cent to 50 per cent more transmissible,” Hancock was quoted as saying by the BBC.

“The latest scientific advice is that the Delta variant, first detected in India, is 40 per cent more transmissible than the Kent strain,” he said.

While hospitalisations currently remain broadly flat, majorly because of the vaccination programme, the rapid spread of Delta would likely “lead to a substantial resurgence of hospitalisations” and put pressure on the NHS, Hancock said.

– A man wearing a face mask walks past a shop in London, Britain, on Oct. 13, 2020. The coronavirus-related deaths in Britain rose by 143 to 43,018, marking the highest daily figure since June, according to official figures released Tuesday. Another 17,234 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 634,920, the latest data showed. (Xinhua/Han Yan/IANS)


Hancock also said he “wouldn’t rule out” the continued wearing of face masks and working from home measures and noted that the UK government is “open” to delaying June 21 unlocking if needed, the report said.

According to Public Health England (PHE), the Delta variant, the variant of coronavirus first identified in India, is now the dominant strain in the UK.

ALSO READ: UK records highest daily Covid cases since March

aThe number of cases of the Delta variant has arisen by more than 5,000 since last week to 12,431, according to the data from PHE released on Thursday.

An analysis of 38,805 sequenced cases in England revealed that the Delta variant was associated with a 2.61 times higher risk of hospitalisation within 14 days of specimen date than the Alpha variant, the Guardian reported.

CORONA VIRUS

Data from Scotland supported the findings, also pointing to a more than twofold higher risk of hospitalisation for those infected with the Delta variant compared with the Alpha variant, it added.

“Although only a small number of cases end up in hospital, the proportion is about twice as high for Delta cases than Alpha cases in both England and Scotland,” Professor Adam Finn of the University of Bristol, was quoted as saying to the Guardian.

“The number of cases is still small, but if this trend continues and case numbers continue to rise quickly, that would point to a larger number of people being seriously affected as this variant continues to replace the alpha variant over coming weeks,” Finn added.

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-Top News COVID-19 World News

B1617 variant dominates world at ‘frightening speed’

Kerala

The B1617 strain is becoming increasingly dominant worldwide and this will not be the last time that the virus mutates…reports Asian Lite News

The B1617 Covid-19 variant is spreading worldwide at ‘frightening speed’ and could aggravate the pandemic — particularly in countries with low vaccination rates, according to the latest assessment of the virus by experts here.

The B1617 strain is becoming increasingly dominant worldwide and this will not be the last time that the virus mutates, the Strait Times reported on Sunday.

“What is frightening is the speed at which this variant is able to spread and circulate widely within the community, often surpassing the capability of contact-tracing units to track and isolate exposed contacts to break the transmission chains,a Professor Teo Yik Ying, dean of the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, was quoted as saying.

“It has the potential to unleash a bigger pandemic storm than the world has previously seen,” Ying added.

People line up to enter a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the United Center in Chicago. (Photo by Joel Lerner_Xinhua)

B1617 has mutated to spread more easily from person to person, and may dampen the protection conferred by vaccines as well as natural infection, though only slightly, experts say.

The variant, which was first detected in India in October 2020, is now present in more than 50 countries and is surpassing other strains causing infections, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Earlier this month, the global health body declared it as a “variant of global concern”.

The strain is 1.5 times to two times more transmissible than the strain that first appeared in Wuhan 18 months ago. There are three versions of B1617 — B16171, B16172 and B16173. The second version is the most relevant as it has appeared to overtake B16171 in local cases as well as those reported globally. The third version, B16173, is rare, the report said.

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While it remains unclear if B1617 causes more serious illness or deaths, the best weapon remains widespread vaccination. Vaccinated individuals have a reduced chance of being infected, and a much lower likelihood of developing severe symptoms even if they are infected, Teo said.

Various researches have shown that the Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines are effective against B1617.

However, most countries, unfortunately, are lagging far behind in vaccinating their people as global inequity in vaccine supplies and distribution persists.

This means a higher chance of B1617 creeping into countries previously minimally affected by Covid-19, Professor Dale Fisher, chair of the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, was quoted as saying.

“These countries, such as Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, are more vulnerable due to the low vaccination rates, leaving them more susceptible to severe disease,” Fisher said.

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