The World Health Organization (WHO) representative to India on Tuesday said that the vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics continue to be effective against the coronavirus variant B.1.617, first identified in India, after the UN health agency classified it as a variant of global concern. "There has been an increasing rate of detection of this variant along with an increase and a surge of Covid-19 cases in parts of India. However, the relative contribution of this variant in the rapid increase of cases in the country remains unclear," said the WHO official. The B.1.617 variant is the fourth variant that has been classified as a variant of global concern. Dr Kerkhove stressed that the scientists need much more information about the B.1.617 variant and all of the sub-lineages.

Source: Hindustan Times May 11, 2021 12:44 UTC