What is the Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus and should we be worried?
On June 15, as news of Delta Plus, a new Covid-19 variant, began to spread, several Noida RWA decided to reimpose individual lockdowns and restrictions on their societies. "We know what happened with the last variant, why should we take a risk with this one," says Anupam Mishra, a 38-year-old IT company owner from the area. Mishra and his friends no longer receive deliveries or visitors inside their gated apartment complex--they are happy to walk out to the gate, to minimise the risk of getting Delta Plus. "Paranoia is better than death," says Mishra, who wears triple layered mask, goggles, gloves and a hairnet every time he steps out of his home. The average mutation rate of Covid-19 remains low, almost four times less than that of other RNA viruses such as influenza. Yet, any news of a new strain makes immediate headlines. Yet, that is also mutating," says Dr Rakesh Mishra, director of CCMB, one of the labs involved in India's INSACOG (set up for surveillance and genome sequencing Covid-19 strains in the country). The new Delta plus variant (B.1.617.2.1 or AY.1) has been formed due to a mutation in the Delta, or B.1.617.2, variant. Delta plus has a K417N mutation, alongside the earlier Delta mutation in N501Y. What has researchers concerned is that these two mutations could make the virus more transmissible as well as help it evade human-made antibodies such as Casirivimab and Imdevimab, which are the mark of monoclonal antibody cocktails currently under emergency use for Covid treatment in India. Currently, however, the Delta Plus is not a variant of concern in India. It is thought to have come up in late March in Europe. As of June 17, according to GISAID, an open science database, there were 63 cases of the variant worldwide; including six from India. "We are monitoring its presence and growth through INSACOG. We still don't know if it has an increased virulence or transmissibility, till we do, it is still not a variant of concern," says Dr V.K. Paul, chairman of the national covid-19 taskforce. This doesn't mean that the country should not keep an eye on it. The Delta variant, first reported in October last year, spread much faster than anticipated and, according to a recent study done at AIIMS, was the cause of the country's deadly second wave in 2021. It is 40 to 50 per cent more infectious than the previous early China strain in India and is currently the dominant virus in the country. "When errors happen in virus replication, the virus gets a new character. Not all these errors are significant; some of them could be--so we need to keep tracking and studying Covid's mutations," adds Dr Paul. There is no research on Delta Plus and its impact on the country's vaccination programme. Studies on how effective vaccines in India are in protecting against the Delta variant have differing conclusions. An AIIMS study indicated it might not protect people even after the second dose, while a research letter published in The Lancet said that Covishield was 79 per cent effective after both doses. "Delta is the most widespread variant in the country, we don't know if the new variant will overtake the parent. But we are keeping a watch on it to prevent another unprecedented surge," adds Dr Mishra. Read India Today magazine by downloading the latest issue: https://www.indiatoday.com/emag