A day after the WHO said the existing Covid-19 vaccines are showing reduced signs of efficacy against the Delta variant of coronavirus, the Government on Tuesday alerted that the Delta plus variant is prevalent in Maharashtra, Kerala and MP in India and 8 other countries.
However, it asserted that both Covishield and Covaxin are effective against the new mutation. It said it would shortly come out with the extent of their effectiveness.
As a precautionary measure, the Union Health Ministry has issued an advisory to the three State Governments to keep a vigil on the new mutated virus which is said to be more virulent. Delta plus, also known as AY.1 variant or B.1.617.2.1, is considered to be the most dangerous variant of Covid-19.
Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a Press briefing here that India is among the nine countries where the Delta plus mutation of the cornavirus has been found so far. However, he underlined that it is currently a “variant of interest” and has not yet been classified as a “variant of concern”.
Of the 22 cases of Delta plus variant of the coronavirus detected in India, 16 have been detected in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri and Jalgaon while others are from parts of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
Besides India, the Delta plus variant has been found in the US, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China and Russia. The Delta variant has been detected in 80 countries, he said. According to INSACOG, the Delta plus also shows stronger binding to receptors of lung cells and potentially reduced monoclonal antibody response.
It may also show resistance to existing treatment protocol for Covid. There are concerns over whether current vaccines will be effective against the Delta plus.
“Any variant’s transmissibility and virulence decides whether it is a variant of concern or interest. Delta variant is found in 80 countries around the world, including India and it is a variant of concern.
“Delta plus variant has been detected in nine countries including India. In India, 22 cases of Delta plus variant have been found and it is in the category of variant of interest, (and) yet not a variant of concern,” Bhushan said.
He said the Ministry has released an advisory on the kind of public health response that Maharashtra, MP and Kerala should initiate to address this issue which “presently looks fairly small in terms of number but we would not want this to assume significant proportions”.
He further said INSACOG has 28 laboratories and they have sequenced 45,000 samples, of which 22 cases of delta plus variant have been found.
“The labs of INSACOG bring this information to the notice of the Health Ministry which then in a timely and prompt manner indicates to the concerned states what are the activities that have to be initiated to curb the spread. The public health response is standardised for the variants,” he said.
INSACOG, or Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics, was set up to conduct genome sequencing of the coronavirus. Bhushan said, “Broadly speaking, both the Indian vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin -- are effective against Delta variant but to what extent and what is the proportion of antibody titers they produce, that information we would very shortly share.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday raised alarm on the fast-spreading highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 saying some signs of reduced efficacy of Covid vaccine can be seen against the variant. A WHO scientist said, “Seeing some reduced efficacy of vaccines against delta coronavirus variants but they are still effective at preventing severe disease and death.”