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

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.

November 11, 2021 / 16:18 IST
Story continues below Advertisement
Image: Shutterstock
Image: Shutterstock

Delta variant of COVID-19 continues to be the main variant of concern and other variants of interest or concern are now negligible in sequencing data from India, the Indian Sars-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said.

The INSACOG, in a bulletin, said there is no change in the global scenario.

Story continues below Advertisement

"Delta, including B.1.617.2 (AY) and AY.x sublineages, continues to be the main VOC globally. As per the latest WHO update, Delta has outcompeted other variants in most countries and there is now declining prevalence of other variants among SARS-CoV-2 sequences submitted to publicly available datasets or reported to WHO,” it said.

In India, it said, Delta (B.1.617.2 and AY.x) continues to be the main variant of concern (VOC).

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