Tag: Delta Variant

The Omicron variant is five times more transmissible than the Delta variant and has spread its tentacles around 70 countries. This information was shared by Odisha’s Public Health director Niranjan Mishra.

Initially, a total of 22 students of the institute were found infected with the virus. It is being suspected that the recently-held annual function UTKARASH-2021 had led to the Covid-19 spread in VIMSAR.

"It is not yet clear whether Omicron is more transmissible (e.g., more easily spread from person to person) compared to other variants, including Delta," the WHO said in a statement.

First identified in South Africa this week, the strain has spread to nearby countries, including Botswana. Israel has identified a case of a Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations "in a person who returned from Malawi".

Meanwhile, the INSACOG in its last bulletin had said that Delta strain continues to be the main variant of concern (VOC) in India.

The Delta Plus variant caused the greatest decrease. Antibodies from half of the Janssen-vaccinated individuals completely lost the ability to neutralise one or more variants in the laboratory assay.

On the other hand, amid the rising cases of Covid-19 cases in China and European countries, despite massive vaccinations, the Director of Family Welfare and nodal officer of Covid vaccination, Dr Bijay Panigrahi appealed to the people to get the second vaccine as soon as possible.

Of 99 samples sent to Lok Nayak Hospital, 74 were detected with the delta variant. Alpha variants were detected in only 966 samples.

After second wave of Covid-19 wrecked havoc across the globe, the threat of the third wave still persists. To prevent such an eventuality, China locked down its Lanzhou city on Tuesday.

"Delta SARS-CoV-2 efficiently outcompeted the Alpha variant in human lung epithelial cells and primary human airway tissues," wrote researchers from the University of Texas and others in the abstract.

While Delta variant has the potential to infect both the vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, however, the progression of illness seems to be prevented by vaccination

Molnupiravir "interferes with a part of the virus that is conserved across different variants -- specifically, the enzyme that it uses to copy its genetic material for replication", said Dr Conrad Chan, laboratory director at the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute from DSO.

The delta variant is causing havoc in parts of the globe, including in India where the strain is dominant across states.

World Health Organization has warned that the Delta strain is likely to spread to more countries and that it is likely to become the dominant form of Covid-19 "in the coming months.

The Delta variant is leaps and bounds faster than any other variant known to date. It represents a clear and present danger to the world. This Delta variant surge will not end well for low vaccination areas.