India Coronavirus Dispatch: Variant B.1.617.2 is spreading fast in India

Over 348,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 348,421 fresh coronavirus infections on Wednesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 23.3 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 4,205 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 254,197. This is the highest single-day surge in fatalities so far. The active caseload is at 3.7 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 19.3 million. As many as 175 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.4 million were given on Tuesday. Read more

Covid variant in India can cause breakthrough infections, but unlikely to cause severe disease: Study

Preliminary research shared by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), a forum of scientific advisers set up by the Central government, shows that the Covid-19 variant known as B.1.617 which was first identified in India may evade antibodies induced by the Pfizer mRNA and Covishield vaccines, a report in ThePrint said. Researchers said while the B.1.617 does cause breakthrough infections (infections in fully vaccinated people), it does not lead to severe or life-threatening versions of the disease. The WHO has classified B.1.617 as a variant of concern at the global level. Read more

Variant B.1.617.2 is spreading fast in India: genome data

Genome sequencing data shows that the B.1.617.2 lineage of the novel coronavirus is now gaining prevalence across India, a report in ThePrint said. While the WHO has classified B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus as a ‘variant of concern‘, it appears that this lineage consists of at least 3 sub-lineages — B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. As many as 12,179 genome sequences of the novel coronavirus have been uploaded on the GISAID website—a global repository of genomic data—as of Tuesday. Read more

Farmer agitation: Unions get Covid battle-ready at protest sites

Farm union leaders overseeing the protests against the new agriculture laws at Tikri and Singhu morchas have now started preparations to tackle Covid emergencies at the protest sites to help contain the spread of the virus, a report in The Indian Express said. Oxygen cylinders and concentrators are being kept handy at the sites and advisories are being issued to protesters to adopt pandemic-appropriate behaviour. “They are asking us to drink hot water, keep our throat wet all the time, avoid fasting, and use herbs like cardamom, ginger, ajwain etc. while making tea,” a farmer leader said. Read more

Several states to float global tenders to procure Covid jabs

Several states have decided to float global tenders to procure Covid vaccines to ramp up the inoculation drive amid an acute shortage of shots across the country, a report in The Indian Express said. Many states were forced to shut vaccination centres amid the shortage even as the third phase of the immunization programme is underway. So far, the states that have announced plans to float global tenders to procure Covid vaccines are Delhi, Karnataka, Maharashtra, UP, Telangana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh. Read more