New Covid-19 Strain: Today’s meeting comes amid rising global concern about the B.1.1.529 strain of the coronavirus, which experts say has over 50 mutations
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is chairing a meeting, attended by top government officials, on the COVID-19 and vaccination situation in the country.
The meeting comes amid rising global concern about the B.1.1.529 strain of the coronavirus, which has been red flagged by scientists over an alarmingly high number of mutations that might make the virus more resistant to vaccines, increase transmissibility and lead to more severe symptoms.
The B.1.1.529 variant – first detected in South Africa this week, and since in Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel, and Belgium – is believed to have 50 mutations, including over 30 on the spike protein and 10 on the receptor binding domain.
The spike protein is the target of most current COVID-19 vaccines and is what the virus uses to unlock access to our body’s cells. Researchers are still trying to confirm whether this makes it more transmissible or lethal than earlier variants, and if existing vaccines can protect against the strain.
The B.1.1.529 strain has been labelled a ‘variant of concern’ by the World Health Organization (WHO), which has renamed it Omicron. The ‘variant of concern’ tag puts it in the high-alert category, with the globally-dominant Delta, plus its weaker rivals Alpha, Beta and Gamma.
The B.1.1.529 variant could be even more infectious than the Delta variant that swept India (File)
Last night the government said scheduled international passenger flights to and from India could return to normal, but only for countries not deemed ‘at risk’ by the Health Ministry.
South Africa, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong are on the ‘at risk’ list as of Thursday night, meaning only 75 per cent of scheduled passenger flights will be allowed till further notice.
On Thursday India called for rigorous screening of passengers from South Africa, Botswana, and Hong Kong, and the Health Ministry said: “This variant… has serious public health implications in view of recently relaxed visa restrictions and opening of international travel.”