Delta variant continues to be dominant lineage

New Delhi: The Delta variant of SARS-CoV2 continues to be the dominant lineage for new cases across the country, while the other Variants of Concern (VoC) are at a lower rate and declining, INSACOG, a consortium of government panels involved in the genome-sequencing of the coronavirus, has said.

There is currently no evidence of any new Delta sub-lineage that is of greater concern than Delta, it has said. "Delta continues to be the dominant lineage for new cases across all parts of India in recent samples and remains the most rapidly rising lineage globally that is responsible for multiple outbreaks, including across Southeast Asia, which shows the fastest growth in new cases globally," the INSACOG said.

Regions with high vaccination and strong public health measures, such as Singapore, continue to do well, it noted. The Delta variant was behind the deadly second wave of the corona virus in India that killed thousands and infected lakhs during March to May. The INSACOG said a study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has confirmed that most of the clinical cases in vaccine breakthrough were infected with the Delta variant but only 9.8 per cent cases required hospitalisation, while fatality was found to be restricted to 0.4 per cent.