Delta Variant

The incubation period for a virus helps public health experts and the government to determine isolation period and other factors.

COVID-19 | All you need to know about the Deltacron variant

Deltacron, the new variant of coronavirus is a hybrid of Delta and Omicron i.e. it contains the elements of both variants.

Dr Angelique Coetzee who first spotted Omicron: We’re not going to get out of this easily

The South African doctor talks to Moneycontrol about how she detected Omicron, new variants and using commonsense, and not Facebook or Twitter in times of a pandemic

Immune response induced by Omicron effectively neutralise Delta variant: ICMR study

The study was conducted on 39 individuals, of which 25 had taken both the doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, eight people had taken double dose of Pfizer jab, while six were unvaccinated.

Lions at South African zoo caught COVID-19 from their keepers, suggests study

COVID-19: Three lions at a private zoo in Johannesburg had fallen ill last year with breathing difficulties, runny noses and a dry cough. An investigation was launch into the cause of their illness.

Covaxin booster dose capable of neutralising Omicron, Delta variants of SARS-CoV-2, says Bharat Biotech

A booster dose of Covaxin generated robust neutralisation of the Delta variant and more than 90 percent of serum samples showed neutralisation of the Omicron variant.

South African hospital sees less serious disease, coming end of Omicron surge

Looking at 9-unit strings of molecules called nucleotides - the building blocks of genes - they found that except for Beta, which did not circulate widely outside of South Africa, each new variant has had more unique strings than the variant that immediately preceded it.

Omicron will soon replace Delta as dominant global variant: Experts

While Delta is still the most common variant in all continents except Africa, Omicron is spreading very quickly, said Dr Sebastian Maurer-Stroh, executive director of the state-owned Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Bioinformatics Institute.

Omicron at least three times more contagious than Delta variant: Centre warns states

"The decision making at the State/UT and district level must be very prompt and focused and take containment measures and restrictions even before these thresholds are reached," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

ICMR plays down Omicron threat; says Delta still the dominant corona strain in India

Delhi’s virus number goes up near year end; ICMR's Dr Samiran Panda says that pockets of infection need to be controlled.

UK may be forced into Omicron circuit breaker lockdown: Reports

.The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in London has climbed to 1,534, up 28.6 per cent compared to last week.

Omicron more likely to reinfect than Delta, no milder: Study

The protection afforded by past infection against reinfection with Omicron may be as low as 19%, Imperial College (ICL) said in a statement, noting that the study had not yet been peer reviewed.

Omicron infects 70 times faster but may cause less severe disease: Study

The yet-to-be peer-reviewed study provides the first information on how the novel variant of concern infects human respiratory tract.

South African doctors see signs omicron is milder than delta

All doctors caution that it will take many more weeks to collect enough data to be sure, their observations and the early evidence offer some clues.

Booster shot of Pfizer COVID vaccine can cut mortality from Delta variant by 90%: Study

The research, published in The New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday, included data from participants 50 years of age or older who had received two doses of Pfizer vaccine at least five months earlier.

‘The virus is always searching for its next move’: Why science is alert to new variants

The question of whether a more deadly vaccine-resistant strain could replace the dominant Delta variant is one that is keeping scientists and health officials on their toes

Two doses of Covaxin 50% effective against Delta strain of COVID-19: Scientists

One possible reason for this drop in the Covaxin efficacy rate is also the infection period when the Delta variant was the most prominent. The original 77 percent figure is for the Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2.

China faces biggest Delta outbreak as infections grow in northeastern city

A total of 1,308 domestically transmitted infections with confirmed symptoms were reported in the mainland between Oct. 17 and Nov. 14, surpassing the 1,280 local cases from a summer Delta outbreak, Reuters calculations based on official data showed.

ICMR chief Balram Bhargava: "The pandemic created an urgent need for expedited approaches worldwide"

ICMR Director General Balram Bhargava writes about Covaxin Covid vaccine in his book: 'Going Viral - Making of Covaxin: The Inside Story'. An excerpt:

Delta remains main COVID variant of concern, others now negligible in sequencing data: INSACOG

Delta, which was first detected in India in October last year, led to the devastating second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, which was at its peak in April and May.

Safe, for now from new Delta variant of COVID19: Only 20 cases of AY.4.2 in India

No real threat for now, but information on the new mutant is relatively scarce

Delta AY.4.2 mutation now Variant Under Investigation in UK due to high growth rate

AY.4.2, dubbed "Delta Plus" and now named VUI-21OCT-01 by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has been under closer scrutiny in recent days after evidence indicated that it spread more quickly than the dominant Delta variant.

2021 COVID-19 outbreak in Delhi shows herd immunity against Delta variant difficult: Study

The study, published in the journal Science on Thursday, also found that the Delta variant was between 30-70 percent more transmissible than previous SARS-CoV-2 lineages in Delhi.

Vaccines prevent severe COVID, even from Delta variant: Study

The research published on Monday -- focusing on prevention of severe Covid and death, not infection -- looked at 22 million people over 50 and found those who had received jabs were 90 percent less likely to be hospitalised or die.