HomeNewsIndiaNo Delta plus variant of COVID-19 found in 376 samples tested in Mumbai: BMC

No Delta plus variant of COVID-19 found in 376 samples tested in Mumbai: BMC

Additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) Suresh Kakani said the samples were examined at a genome sequencing facility inaugurated in the city last month.

September 17, 2021 / 07:42 IST
Story continues below Advertisement

No Delta plus variant of COVID-19, considered highly contagious, was found among 376 samples tested in the second round of genome sequencing in Mumbai, a senior civic official said.

Additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) Suresh Kakani said the samples were examined at a genome sequencing facility inaugurated in the city last month.

Story continues below Advertisement

In a statement issued by the BMC, Kakani said, “The genome sequencing facility at civic-run Kasturba Hospital has tested 376 samples so far (in second round). Not a single sample was found with the Delta plus variant of COVID-19.”

“However, 304 samples had the Delta variant, while two samples had 19A lineage and four 20A lineage. The other 66 samples have prevalence of earlier strain of COVID-19. The Delta plus variant, which is known for its higher transmissibility, was not found in these samples,” he said.

COVID-19 Vaccine
Frequently Asked Questions

View more

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.
View more
+ Show