Only One Strain Of COVID Variant Found In India Is ‘Of Concern’, Says WHO

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) said that one strain of the COVID-19 Delta variant first detected in India was now considered “of concern”, while the other two strains had been downgraded.

The COVID-19’s B.1.617 variant, which has been partly blamed for the explosive outbreak in India, has been dubbed a triple mutant variant since it is split into three lineages.

Last month, the UN health agency announced the entire strain a “variant of concern”, or VOC, but on Tuesday, it said only one of the sub-lineages deserved to be labelled that.

“It has become evident that greater public health risks are currently associated with B.1.617.2, while lower rates of transmission of other lineages have been observed,” the WHO was quoted as saying in its weekly epidemiological update on the pandemic by news agency AFP.

“We continue to observe significantly increased transmissibility and a growing number of countries reporting outbreaks associated with this variant,” the UN agency said.

“Further studies into the impact of this variant remain a high priority for WHO.”

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