Delhi govt. begins study to find effect of double mutant strain

Decision was taken after an increase in cases of the new variant of COVID-19 in the Capital: official

The Delhi government has started calling up about 2,550 people, who had tested positive for COVID-19, to understand the impact of mutations and variants of concern of the virus on people and vaccines, especially the double mutant strain, a senior Delhi government official said. Of the about 2,550 people, around 1,600 were detected to be infected with mutations and variants of concern during genome sequencing. The rest had tested negative for any of the mutations and variations of concern. “The idea is to mainly understand the effect of the double mutant on people, whether it is more deadly, infectious, or causing more reinfections. By collecting information from both groups of people, ones who were affected by variants and mutations of concern and others, we will be able to have a better understanding of the effect of double mutant,” the official told The Hindu.