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Updated May 31st, 2021 at 23:36 IST

WHO labels COVID variant rampaging through India as 'Delta'; UK-linked strain 'Alpha'

As per the nomenclature, the Coronavirus strain identified in India i.e. B.1.617.2 will be known as the 'Delta' while the one identified last year as 'Kappa'

Reported by: Jitesh Vachhatani
WHO
Image Credits: AP | Image:self
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In a bid to do away with the association of COVID mutations to their respective country of origin, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday announced a nomenclature based on Greek alphabets to avoid stigmatization of countries basis of Coronavirus' mutant strains. As per the nomenclature, the Coronavirus strain identified in India i.e. the B.1.617.2 strain will be known as the 'Delta' whereas the strain identified back in October 2020 i.e. B.1.617.1 will be known as 'Kappa'. The welcome step comes at a time when there has been ample criticism against using the term 'Indian variant' to identify the mutant strain of the Coronavirus, which has been objected by the WHO itself earlier. 

"The labels don’t replace existing scientific names, which convey important scientific information and will continue to be used in research. No country should be stigmatized for detecting and reporting COVID variants," Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, Technical lead COVID-19 at WHO has said. 

While the variants identified in India will be known as Delta and Kappa, the WHO has labelled the B.1.1.7 strain identified first in the United Kingdom as Alpha whereas the B.1.351 strain - first identified in South Africa - as Beta. The P.1 strain said to have originated in Brazil back in November 2020 will be called Gamma and strains identified in the USA have been termed as Epsilon and Iota. 

Vietnam Detects Hybrid Of COVID Variants 

Just a couple of days ago, Vietnam detected a new Coronavirus strain, found to be a hybrid of the strains first found in India and United Kingdom. Vietnamese lab tests have suggested that the hybrid variant it spreads more easily than any other COVID variants. This comes at a time when the mutant strain first found in India is said to have been the cause behind the lethal second wave of the virus infections, however, there has been no scientific report to substantiate the same. Viruses often develop minute genetic changes as they multiply thus, plenty of coronavirus variants have emerged since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic last year. The World Health Organisation enlisted four global "variants of concerns"- first found in the UK, India plus ones detected in South Africa and Brazil. 

Vietnamese Minister of Health, Nguyen Thanh Long stated that scientists have examined the genetic composition of the Vietnam COVID variant virus which had infected few patients which resulted in the newest version of the novel coronavirus. The variant has been reported to be highly contagious that spreads quickly by air. 

Nguyen Thanh Long announced, "After running gene sequencing on newly detected patients, we have discovered a new variant that is a mix of India and UK ones. More specifically, it is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the UK variant." 

Laboratory studies of the newly discovered Vietnam COVID variant to be more transmissible than the previously known types revealed that the virus replicated in a jiffy which explains the sudden surge in COVID cases that appeared in distinct locations in a very short span, Long elaborated. He informed that the virus has spread to 30 of the country's 63 municipalities and provinces. Vietnam had previously reported seven virus variants: B.1.222, B.1.619, D614G, B.1.1.7 (the UK variant), B.1.351, A.23.1 and B.1.617.2 (the Indian variant).

India's vaccination update

Till May 30, India has nearly administered 21 crore of COVID-19 vaccine doses. As per data issued by the government, 21,18,39,768 vaccine doses had been administered in India. This includes 98,61,648 healthcare workers who have had their first dose and 67,71,436 who have got their second dose as well. As many as 1,55,53,395 frontline workers have had their first dose while 84,87,493 have got their second dose too.

In the 45-59-year age group, 6,53,51,847 people have got their first dose and another  1,05,17,121 have had their second dose as well. In the 60+ category,5,84,18,226 people have been administered their first dose while 1,86,43,720 have had their second dose as well. In the newly added category of 18-44 year age group,1,82,25,509 beneficiaries received their first dose while 9,373 have their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine across 32 states and Union Territories.

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Published May 31st, 2021 at 23:36 IST

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