A COVID-19 variant that seems to be predominantly spreading in India amid a virulent second wave of the pandemic has now been red-flagged by World Health Organization too.
The B.1.617 variant appears to be much more contagious and has been classified as being “of concern” by the WHO.
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“There is some available information to suggest increased transmissibility and also possibly some increased resistance to vaccine protections,” said WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead Maria Van Kerkove.
“As such, we are classifying this as a variant of concern at the global level,” she added.
The Indian variant has been detected in at least 17 countries last month.
