Hinting at the transmission of the new strains of Coronavirus from California, he said that sudden increase in Coronavirus cases has also been reported in many other countries including Brazil, France and the United Kingdom.The state of Maharashtra is facing an acute crisis with a massive hike in double mutated strain of Coronavirus L452R and E484Q and close attention needed to be paid to the evolving situation, Director General of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Dr Shekhar Mande said, the Indian Express reported.
Dr Mande also said that the exact role of the mutated strain and its role in the present jump in Coronavirus cases in Maharashtra will be known more clearly once data specific to Maharashtra is released soon. Dr Mande who is also associated with the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics, INSACOG which was established by the Union Health Ministry to conduct genome sequencing of Coronavirus cases found in different states/UTs of the country. With more than 10000 positive samples submitted by states/UTs from the country, the body has zeroed in on 700 variants of Coronavirus.
According to an Indian Express report, the analysis of samples which were collected from Maharashtra has shown increased presence of E484Q and L452R mutations of Coronavirus which lend greater infectivity and ability to escape human immunity to the virus. Looking at the increasing number of cases even in smaller towns of the state of Maharashtra, Dr Mande said that people even in tier 2 and tier 3 cities should exercise maximum caution and help in breaking the chain of transmission of the virus. Hinting at the transmission of the new strains of Coronavirus from California, he said that sudden increase in Coronavirus cases has also been reported in many other countries including Brazil, France and the United Kingdom.
On the vaccines front, Dr Mande said that there is conclusive evidence that Coronavirus vaccines are able to protect against extreme severities of the disease. Maintaining that studies are underway to analyse the effectiveness of the available vaccines against the newer strains of Coronavirus, the vaccines would definitely help in reducing the intensity of the disease.
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