India is amongst the latest nations to be hit by the second wave of the pandemic is suffering more than the first lockdown ever imposed! A new double mutation COVID-19 variant is thought to be behind a sudden surge in cases in India that has overwhelmed hospitals. The variant was only confirmed on 25 March by the Indian government so the data are still not 100% clear on its effects when compared to existing forms of the virus.
Its official name is B.1.617, but is being called the Indian variant, Viruses regularly mutate but most are insignificant, however, some mutations can make the virus more infectious, deadly, or resistant to vaccines. The Indian virus is one of those - especially because two mutations have come together to help infect cells and evade the immune system, evolved independently but the same mutations as the Californian variant and nearly the same as the South African and Brazilian ones.
why more deadly?
In lab tests, the South African variant (B.1.351) and Brazil variant (P.1) both have a key mutation, E484K, which can help the virus evade antibodies produced by vaccines or by having had COVID-19. It is also more transmissible, There were more than 280,000 new infections on Sunday, nearly triple the previous high seen in September. Deaths have also been rising to more than 1,000 every day since 13 April.
More :https://news.sky.com/story/is-the-indian-covid-variant-more-infectious-and-should-the-uk-be-concerned-12280387/
Stay Curious, Stay safe.. Stay you.
