Centre: WHO did not identify B.1.617 Covid strain as 'Indian variant'
"The words Indian variant has not been used in the World Health Organisation report on the Covid-19 variants," the Union Health Ministry said in a statement.
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FollowThe Union Health Ministry has clarified that the World Health Organization has never identified the B.1.617 strain of Coronavirus as the 'Indian variant'.
Terming media reports as baseless, the Union ministry has said that the WHO did not use the words 'Indian variant' anywhere in its 32-page report.
"The word Indian has not been used in its report on the matter," the ministry said in a statement.
Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO's Technical Lead on Covid-19, had said a few days ago that the B.1.617 variant is currently listed as a variant of interest but is being evaluated as a potential variant of concern.
According to the WHO findings, the B.1.167 now has three sub-lineages. B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2 have a substantially higher growth rate than other circulating variants in India, suggesting potential increased transmissibility compared.
The WHO report also states that too few sequences of B.1.617.3 have been detected to date to assess its relative transmissibility.
The possible impacts of B.1.617 and its sub-lineages on the efficacy of vaccines, therapeutics or reinfection risks remain uncertain, the international health agency states.
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