Imphal West has highest count of Delta cases
Cases detected mostly in unvaccinated people expert terms as 'variant factories'
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 04 2021: As the state has reported 87 cases of Delta variants, which has been declared as Variant of Concern (VoC) by World Health Organisation (WHO), more than half of the Delta variant cases in the state have been found in Imphal West district.

According to an IDSP source, 69 samples were sent for Whole Genome Sequencing to NIBMG Kalyani, West Bengal on June 8 as a part of the IDSP routine genomic surveillance for Variants of Concern (VOC) for COVID-19 .

Presence of Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) of SARSCOV2 has been detected in all the 69 samples.

With an earlier detection of 18 cases, the total count of Delta variant cases has reached 87 in the state.

Though the source could not provide district-wise information of the earlier 18 cases, the 69 new cases have been confirmed to be from Imphal West (47), Imphal East (12), Thoubal (4), Bishnupur (3), Kakching (1), Kamjong (1), and Tamenglong (1) .

The source further said that most of the 87 cases are from among the unvaccinated group of people while some are from among the vaccinated individuals.

Meanwhile, according to Dr William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, unvaccinated individuals do not merely risk their own health but are potential 'factories' of coronavirus variants.

While all viruses mutate and some mutations even weaken the virus, mutations like the variants of concern, including the Delta variant, could disrupt the pandemic response.

"When it does, it mutates, and it could throw off a variant mutation that is even more serious down the road," Schaffner was quoted by CNN as saying.

The Delta variant has already been reported from nearly 100 countries and the UN health agency on Friday warned that the world is in a "very dangerous period" of this pandemic.

WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a recent press briefing, said that the Delta variant is continuing to evolve and mutate, thereby necessitating constant evaluation and careful adjustment of the public health response.

On the other hand, a new study claims that neutralising antibodies against the Delta variant (B1.617.2) of Covid-19 were not found in 16.1 per cent samples from those who had been administered both doses of the Co-vishield vaccine.

Further, neutralising antibodies were not observed in 58.1 per cent of serum samples from those who had been given only one shot of Covishield.

The finding suggests that Covishield vaccine is effective in providing protection against Delta Variants by around 42 per cent after first dose and 84 per cent after second dose.

These findings suggest that some people in India may require an additional booster shot of Covishield.

On the other hand, those who have had Covid-19 may require just one shot to develop an adequate immune response, Dr T Jacob John, former head of the department of microbiology at Christian Medical College in Vellore was quoted in the Hindustan Times.

Considering the detection of Delta Variants in the state and findings of latest studies, speeding up the vaccination drive is urgently required.

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