In the United Kingdom, a new Covid-19 sub-variant has sparked concern. According to an Economic Times story, the new variation ‘Eris’ has been discovered in India. So far, however, there has been no “clustering” or increase in the number of instances. In response to a surge in Covid-19 infections in the UK caused by the new variety (Eris), also known as EG.5.1, the pan-Indian network of laboratories that has been established up to monitor genomic changes of the virus organized a review conference.
According to data supplied by an Insacog member, there have been Eris cases in India, but they are not worrisome. The XBB sub-variant is still the most common in the country, accounting for 90-92 percent of cases so far. EG.5.1 is a descendant of the rapidly growing Omnicron, which was discovered in the United Kingdom last month and is already spreading throughout the country.
According to the health ministry, 54 new coronavirus infections have occurred in the country in the last 24 hours, with 1,574 current cases. Anurag Agrawal, former chairman of Insacog and chair of the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, believes that as immunity decreases and more immune-escape mutations, there would be periodic surges in incidence.
Health experts believe that the fourth dose is no longer necessary because covid incidences in India have decreased dramatically. Since March 2020, the lowest daily infection count has been 23 cases in July of this year.
Source:FE