GENEVA: A Covid-19 variant spreading in India is more contagious and may be dodging vaccine protections, contributing to the country’s explosive outbreak, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist said Saturday. Swaminathan, an Indian pediatrician and clinical scientist, said the B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, which was first detected in India last October, was clearly a contributing factor to the catastrophe unfolding in her homeland. But even as many in India felt the crisis was over, dropping mask-wearing and other protection measures, the virus was quietly spreading. “The more the virus is replicating and spreading and transmitting, the more chances are that… mutations will develop and adapt,” Swaminathan said. “Variants which accumulate a lot of mutations may ultimately become resistant to the current vaccines that we have,” she warned.

Source: Manila Times May 08, 2021 21:00 UTC