The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday said that current COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against Delta variant of coronavirus- first identified in India. However, it reduce the risk of death and prevent serious illness. The WHO expert further said that the "constellation of mutations" in coronavirus variants could lead to vaccines becoming ineffective.
Maria van Kerkhove, WHO's technical lead on COVID-19, said in a press conference, "There is a recent study that came out in The Lancet … that looked at the reduced titer neutralization from the alpha, beta, gamma, and delta variants showing a reduction in neutralization on the delta variant. Not as much as the beta variant, which is the variant that was first detected in South Africa … Having said that, these vaccines are still highly effective. They produce enough antibodies to protect against severe disease and death."
The Delta variant- first identified in India, is highly infectious and fast-spreading and was responsible for the second Covid-19 wave in India, according to a government study. According to the study of INSACOG and NCDC, the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant has 50% higher transmission rate than Alpha (B.1.17) and the risk of breakthrough infections post Covid-19 vaccination is also high. But the scientists found no evidence of the role of the Delta variant in more deaths or the severity of cases not proved.
Despite the coronavirus vaccination, the risk of infection with the B.1.617.2 variant remains high. As far as, the risk after vaccination from the alpha variant coronavirus is negligible. Because such a case has not been reported so far. In total 29,000 genome sequencing, more than 1000 cases of delta variant were reported. According to the Union Health Ministry, the cases of coronavirus infection in the country continue to decrease gradually. In the last 24 hours, 1,32,364 new cases reported and 2713 people have died.