A “double mutant” variant is a virus strain that carries two mutations. It is not yet clear how many infections have been linked to this double mutant variant or whether the strain is more dangerous, but the ministry said that “such mutations confer immune escape and increased infectivity.”
According to the ministry, the number of known cases related to the double mutation was not high enough to explain the current increase in infections at the national level,
India recorded 53,476 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday – the largest one-day increase in five months. The last time the daily number was so high was October 23, according to a number of CNN figures from the Ministry of Health.
But in early March, it became clear that cases were slowly rising again – and exploding in recent weeks.
India has now reported a total of more than 11.7 million cases and 160,000 associated deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“I would say it is the beginning of a second wave,” Randeep Guleria, director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, said on Wednesday. “It is something that has already been seen in many European countries; it seems we are following them ”.
There are a number of factors – one being Covid fatigue and the possibility that people may be less cautious due to the winter decline of infections. “You see that in the community, when you go out, wearing a mask has become less and less,” Guleria said. “We see crowds going on, parties, a lot of wedding ceremonies are taking place in India.”
Another factor could be the increase in “variants that will come to India from other parts of the world,” he said, pointing to the strain first detected in Britain, which has since spread to many Indian states …
Variants and mutations
All viruses evolve over time and sometimes make changes when they reproduce, causing mutations. Some mutations have a reduced effect – but others could make the variant more easily transmissible or cause infections with more severe symptoms.
Of the approximately 10,787 samples analyzed by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium for Genomics in 18 states, 771 cases of concern were detected, most of which were from the UK strain, according to the Ministry of Health. Thirty-four were the first identified in South Africa, and one was P.1 in Brazil.
Although the ministry said they were not correlated with the recent increase in cases, the variants were detected mostly in states of “serious concern” that record the largest number, including Punjab and Maharashtra. And now double mutations have been reported.
So far this year in Maharashtra, “there has been an increase in the fraction of samples with E484Q and L452R mutations,” the ministry said in a press release. They were found in 15-20% of the samples and do not match any of the previously listed concerns, the ministry said, adding that “such mutations confer immune escape and increased infectivity.”
It is not uncommon to see multiple mutations in a single variant. “All these viruses (variants) we are dealing with are already mutants,” said virologist T Jacob John. The strain that has become globally predominant has already been different from the first strain originating in Wuhan, China, he added.
How dangerous a mutation is depends on where the virus occurs. For example, the South African variant has mutations that alter the structure of the spike protein, which appear to affect the receptor binding domain – the most important part of the spike protein for cell attachment and infection. Researchers are now investigating whether the virus could help partially get rid of the effects of vaccines.
Guleria warned that a double mutation is not necessarily a cause for alarm, as researchers are still investigating the effect of the mutations.
“They are not clear about the significance of this,” he said. “Does it have clinical significance or is it just an observation? And that has to do with epidemiological data, which is done.”
One question is what variants – and what mutations – could escape the effects of our existing vaccines.
“If someone was infected with coronavirus six months ago, that person is immune to the unchanged coronavirus,” John said. “But is the person still immune to the variants? (That must be) studied ”.
India’s vaccination drive
Meanwhile, the Indian authorities are working to control the peak by implementing new restrictions and stepping up the country’s vaccination program.
India administers two vaccines domestically. One is Covishield, a vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca and produced by the Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturer. The other is the first local coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin, jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and the government-run Indian Medical Research Council.
The Serum Institute of India not only produces most of the vaccines for India – it is also responsible for many of the vaccines distributed in the rest of the world. In September last year, SII committed to producing and delivering 200 million doses for COVAX – a WHO vaccine alliance set up to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines.
But SII has had to stop or delay its exports several times in recent months as global and domestic demand have grown.
On January 4, India restricted the export of AstraZeneca vaccine produced by IBS until at least March. “We have been granted a restricted license only to grant it and provide it to the government of India, because they will first give priority to the most vulnerable and needy segments,” said then SII CEO Adar Poonawalla. “The only condition is that we can only supply it to the government of India, we cannot sell it on the private market and we cannot export it.”
On Thursday, Reuters reported that India is likely to delay deliveries of AstraZeneca vaccines to COVAX, citing UNICEF. India has seized all major exports of AstraZeneca photos made by SII to meet domestic demand, according to Reuters.
CNN contacted SII, UNICEF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comments, but has not yet received a response.
The Interior Ministry also introduced new infection control guidelines on Tuesday, which will be in place by the end of April. Some of the measures include the rapid isolation of positive cases and the follow-up of their contacts within 72 hours.
Several cities and states, including Mumbai, Delhi and Odisha, banned rallies during Holi, the upcoming color festival, on March 28.