New Covid variants spreading across the globe: what are the risk?

Amid the surge in the new and recombinant variants, scientists across the world are now watching out for variants which could turn into variants of concern soon

As the coronavirus cases see a significant drop across the country, concerns are being raised over the presence of new and recombinant variants of Omicron. XBB and BF.7 are spreading in several countries.

According to a report in the Indian Express, World Health Organization, in its latest report, said the BA.5 sub-variant of Omicron continues to be the dominant one across the globe, accounting for 76.2 per cent of the cases. However, in India, BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants never became the dominant variants, but the BA.2.75 variant continues to cause most infections.

Amid the surge in the new and recombinant variants, scientists worldwide are now watching out for variants which could soon turn into variants of concern. While in the US, BQ.1, BQ.1.1, and BF.7 are being monitored closely, in the UK, the BQ.X variant and BF.7 are being watched closely. In India, however, XBB is under the scanner, which is also spreading in Singapore.

According to the report, a scientist who is part of the country’s Sars-CoV-2 sequencing consortium said BA.2.75 was the dominant variant in India and accounted for almost 98 per cent of the cases until last week. However, XBB is on the rise now, causing 20 to 30 per cent of infections in states like Maharashtra. The scientist added that there are three big labs in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and West Bengal that have been sequencing more samples compared to the other parts of the country, which has led to the identification of newer variants.

Although the new variants are causing a larger share of infections, they do not lead to more hospital admissions and deaths. 

Dr Sudhanshu Vrati, director of the Regional Centre of Biotechnology, Haryana, in an interview with the Indian Express, said that winter is likely to see a big surge because of people gathering in crowded places during the festive season.