India Coronavirus Dispatch: B.1.617.2 variant to be now called 'Delta'

No response to UP's global tender for 40 mn vaccines, even a simple surgical mask can prevent Covid spread, and more-news relevant to India's fight against the pandemic

Over 127,000 fresh cases reported

India reported 127,510 fresh coronavirus infections on Tuesday, taking the cumulative caseload to 28.1 million, according to central health ministry data. The country saw 2,795 deaths due to the pandemic, taking the death toll to 331,895. The active caseload is at 1.9 million, while the total recoveries have surged to 25.9 million. As many as 216 million shots have been administered since the nationwide inoculation programme kicked off on January 16. Of these, 2.8 million were given on Monday. Read more

Variant first detected in India to be called ‘Delta’, says WHO

A new naming system for Covid variants has been announced by the World Health Organization, a report in the Scroll said. The new system is aimed at helping public discussion of various “variants of interest/variants of concern” and will not replace the scientific names. The new system will use Greek letters to refer to variants first found in countries like the United Kingdom, South Africa and India. The strain (B.1.1.7) first detected in Britain will be called the Alpha variant, the South African one (B.1.351) will be referred to as the Beta variant. The strain found first in Brazil (P.1) will be called the Gamma variants and the Indian strain, or B.1.617.2, will be known as the Delta variant, the report said. Read more

India’s vaccine export ban has impacted 91 countries: WHO chief scientist

The central government's move to ban vaccine exports has had a severe impact on 91 countries dependent on Serum Institute's vaccines, including Covishield and the upcoming Novavax, WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan told NDTV. These countries are vulnerable to new, more transmissible variants of Covid, including B.1.617.2, Swaminathan said. "Not just B.1.617.2, but other variants will emerge in other countries and spread around the world...We know that these variants spread very quickly. Even before they can be recognised, they are already spreading around the world. The same thing happened with the 117 [variant], now dominant," she said. Read more

Even a simple surgical mask can prevent the spread of Covid: Study

A new study has found that the transmission of Covid can be reduced effectively by using a simple surgical mask, a report in ThePrint said. The study, published in the journal Science, used observational data and model calculations to understand which masks work under what circumstances. The researchers, however, found that in environments with potentially high airborne virus concentrations such as medical settings and densely occupied indoor spaces, masks with higher filtration efficiency, such as the N95 masks, should be used and combined with other protective measures such as intensive ventilation. Read more

No response to UP's global tender for 40 million vaccines

Failing to get a response from international Covid vaccine manufacturers to its global tender floated to purchase 40 million vaccines in the next six months, the Uttar Pradesh government was forced to extend the last date for the opening of technical bids to 10 June, for the second time, a report in ThePrint said citing sources. Read here