Covaxin and Covishield are effective against the Delta variant of coronavirus, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday. Any variant is categorised as ‘variant of interest’ or ‘variant of concern’ on the basis of its transmissibility and virulence, he added.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Rajesh Bhushan said the Delta variant has been found in 80 countries, including in India. The Health Secretary went on to say that the Delta Plus variant has been found in nine countries – USA, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, China, Russia and India.
“A total of 22 cases of the Delta Plus variant have been reported in India to date. The variant has been categorised as a variant of interest for now. It is not a variant of concern yet,” said Rajesh Bhushan.
Maharashtra’s Jalgaon and Ratnagiri districts account for 16 of the 22 cases of the Delta Plus variant reported in India, the Health Secretary told reporters on Tuesday. He also said that the remaining cases of this ‘variant of interest’ have come to light from Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.
The Health ministry has written to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala, asking them to closely monitor the Delta Plus variant cases of infection, he added.
Rajesh Bhushan also said that there are 28 labs now part of the INSACOG consortium. Genome sequencing of a total of 45,000 samples has been conducted at these labs.
Genome sequencing is correlated with clinical data and the results are shared with the health ministry which, in turn, alerts states about variants and steps to control their spread, the Health Secretary told reporters.