Asia Times: India’s double viral mutation cause for global concern
India's B.1.617 variant contains two mutations linked to increased transmissibility and ability to evade our immune system
With more than 300,000 new Covid cases a day and hospitals and crematoria facing collapse, Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called the situation in India “beyond heartbreaking.”
India’s government has blamed the people for not following Covid-safe public health directives, but recent data shows mask use has only fallen by 10 percentage points, from a high of 71% in August 2020 to a low of 61% by the end of February.
And the mobility index increased by about 20 percentage points, although most sectors of the economy and activity had opened up. These are modest changes and do not adequately explain the huge increase in cases.
A more likely explanation is the impact of variants that are more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 virus.
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More News On India's Covid-19 Variant Raising Global Concerns
Indian scientists flag virus mutations that could 'evade immune response' -- Reuters
Indian scientists' warnings about coronavirus went ignored amid surge: report -- The Hill
Indian Virologists Discover COVID Mutations That 'Could Evade Immune Responses -- Sputnik
What we know about the Indian B.1.617 variant of coronavirus -- ABC News (Australia)
