Only One Strain Of Covid Variant Found In India Is Now "Of Concern": WHO

The B.1.617 variant of the virus has been dubbed a triple mutant variant since it is split into three lineages.

The WHO said Tuesday that only one strain of the Covid-19 Delta variant first detected in India was now considered "of concern", while two other strains had been downgraded. The B.1.617 variant of the virus, which has in part been blamed for explosive outbreak in the country, has been dubbed a triple mutant variant since it is split into three lineages. The UN health agency last month declared the entire strain a "variant of concern", or VOC, but on Tuesday, it said only one of the sub-lineages deserved that label. "It has become evident that greater public health risks are currently associated with B.1.617.2, while lower rates of transmission of other lineages have been observed," the World Health Organization said in its weekly epidemiological update on the pandemic.