INDIA GRAPPLES WITH DELTA PLUS COVID VARIANT AS 22 CASES ARE FOUND

Indian health authorities said on Tuesday that 22 cases of the new Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus had been found in the country so far and were being closely monitored, Sunrita Sen reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant, first spotted in India, is held largely responsible for the country's devastating second wave of the pandemic. As India emerges on the other side of the surge, attention has begun to shift to Delta

Plus, a version that is closely related to the far more widespread Delta strain. Delta Plus has been found in eight other countries besides India, federal Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a weekly briefing, citing the World Health Organization (WHO).

Based on what is currently known about its transmissibility and virulence, Delta Plus is being seen by India as a variant of interest (VOI) and not the more serious variant of concern (VOC), like Delta.

"Presently the outbreaks look small in terms of numbers but we would not want it to assume more significance," Bhushan said.

Asked about some scientists' observations that the Delta Plus variant may be able to evade antibodies from vaccinations or previous infections, Bhushan said studies were currently taking place to correlate clinical data and the results would be shared soon.

Both vaccines being used in India - the AstraZeneca jab being manufactured under the Covishield name and the indigenously developed Covaxin – were effective against the Delta variants, Bhushan said.

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