Positive News Today

Positive News Today
Water News

UK Coronavirus strain: New strain unlikely to affect India’s vaccine strategy: Experts

January 1, 2021014
Share0


(This story originally appeared inon Dec 22, 2020)NEW DELHI: The new variant of coronavirus circulating in the UK is unlikely to impact India’svaccine strategyas the shots being developed are expected to be effective against the new strain and re-infections, in case they happen, would be milder, experts said.

They added that vaccine candidates under regulatory evaluation in India included shots with various other components apart from spike protein — which is related to this particular strain — and this would help the vaccines maintain their efficacy.

Even as the new variant set off an alarm, epidemiologists in India maintained that mutations were common to viruses and people must continue wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing and hand hygiene. “There is no reason to worry as of now. Every virus changes its genetic structure.This virus has a very low rate of mutation,” said top epidemiologist Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, formerly head-scientist at ICMR.

According to the hypotheses presented by the UK consortium, unusual genetic divergence of lineage B.1.1.7 (one of the mutations) may have resulted, at least in part, from virus evolution with a chronically-infected person. “Although such infections are rare, and onward transmission from them presumably even rarer, they are not improbable given the ongoing large number of new infections,” the UK report said.

The mutation may well be present in India and tests were needed to check for it, experts said. According to Dr Suneela Garg, professor of excellence and president of Indian Asso ciation of Preventive and Social Medicine, the mutated virus is 1.7 times more infective. “It can affect even those who have been exposed to Covid already. But the symptoms are likely to be mild,” she said.

Dr Garg added the mutation may not affect the effectiveness of vaccines under development. While reports from the UK suggest the new strain is about 70% more infectious, experts here said it may not be more virulent. “Even if the transmissibility is higher, the strain doesn’t cause severe complications,” Dr Gangakhedkar said.

“The way forward is to carry out molecular sequencing of the virus, as was done for polio virus, to get more information on its epidemiology and spread. It is also crucial to pursue smart testing and tracing to track the spread and contain the variant at its place of origin so that it does not reach vulnerable communities,” N K Ganguly, former Director General of ICMR said.

However, some experts also feel the government needs to do retrospective contact tracing and identification apart from suspension of flights. “We need to assess evidence from retrospective contact tracing. Detecting missed cases, their contacts and related outbreaks is important,” says Giridhar R Babu, member of National Task Force for Covid-19 and epidemiologist at Public Health Foundation of India.

Source

Share0
previous post
New COVID-19 variant in Britain currently has no significant impact on vaccines, says WHO
next post
Catch Your First Fish of the Year

Related posts

Short wind turns with strong cooling effect: Why the ocean in the tropics is often colder than expected

TheEarthLabSeptember 23, 2020

Centre asks states to form committees for smooth COVID-19 vaccination drive

TheEarthLabNovember 6, 2020

The persistence of plastic: New report reveals for the first time the level of terrestrial synthetic microfiber emission on a global scale

TheEarthLabOctober 7, 2020
Click to comment

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recent Posts

  • Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Come to the Rescue of Texas Women’s Shelter After Winter Storm
  • Cardboard Artist Creates Mirror Surrounded By Black Legendary Heroes to Inspire Next Generation of Leaders
  • Aurobindo Pharma gets USFDA nod for generic Droxidopa capsules
  • Goldman Sachs inks pact for 1.5 lakh sq ft office space lease in Hyderabad’s Knowledge City
  • U.S. nets $46,000 on Trump’s California oil, gas drilling auction

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020

Subscrible

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

  • News
  • Projects
  • About
  • Contact
  • TV Pitch
FacebookTwitterInstagram
@2020 - thelab.earth. All Right Reserved.
theLAB.earth
  • Global
    • Global News
    • Global Media
    • Global Events
    • Global Projects
  • Energy
    • Energy News
    • Energy Media
    • Energy Events
    • Energy Projects
  • Water
    • Water News
    • Water Media
    • Water Events
    • Water Projects
  • Human Kindness
    • Human Kindness News
    • Human Kindness Media
    • Human Kindness Events
    • Human Kindness Projects
  • Projects
logo
  • Global
    • Global News
    • Global Media
    • Global Events
    • Global Projects
  • Energy
    • Energy News
    • Energy Media
    • Energy Events
    • Energy Projects
  • Water
    • Water News
    • Water Media
    • Water Events
    • Water Projects
  • Human Kindness
    • Human Kindness News
    • Human Kindness Media
    • Human Kindness Events
    • Human Kindness Projects
  • Projects
@2020 - thelab.earth. All Right Reserved.
FacebookTwitterInstagram