Indian SARS-CoV-2 variant spreads to all regions of the world

What is different and worrying compared to previous waves of Covid-19 is that the poorest countries in the world are becoming the epicenters of the pandemic, making this tragedy much more severe and painful.

The World Health Organization this week listed the B.1.617 variant ofSARS CoV-2 virusin India, to the list of global concerns. The variant is thought to spread more quickly and may be resistant to protection from vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. But even if current vaccines don’t work as well against the B.1.617 variant as they did against the original strains, more vaccinations could help reduce the spread of the disease and make cases milder.

As of May 11, more than 4,500 genome sequencing samples have been published on the Global Influenza Information Sharing Platform (GISAID) related to B.1.617, according to the WHO. Of these, the B.1.617 variant has appeared in 44 countries in all six WHO geographic regions. In its weekly epidemiological update on the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO also said that five more countries have reported the appearance of this dangerous variant.
The B.1.617 variant was first detected in India in October 2020, and has been classified by the WHO as "of global concern". Preliminary studies suggest that this variant is more likely to spread easily in the community.
The emergence of the B.1.617 variant is believed to be one of the causes of the current outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in India. On the morning of May 12, India recorded more than 348,000 new positive cases and 4,205 deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. The country is still the second largest epidemic area in the world with more than 23.4 million infected people.

World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan encouraged countries to continue with vaccination campaigns.

“What we know now is that the vaccines still work, the diagnostics still work. So there’s really no need to change anything and in fact people should continue to get whatever vaccine is available and appropriate for their health conditions.”

The world has spent more than a year living with Covid-19, with the race to death taking place from the epicenter of Europe to the US. However, the Covid-19 tragedy has never been as painful as it is now, when the latest wave hits countries with the highest poverty rates in the world. Oxygen tanks and other medical supplies are running out, many families of patients are waiting for help, with the death toll skyrocketing... these are the images that India and South Asian countries - one of the two regions with the highest poverty rates in the world - have faced recently.

“Some countries are now experiencing such a rapid rate of infection that their health systems are under severe strain,” said Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Emergencies Programme. “We have seen the tragedy in India and there are many countries that are likely to face a similar scenario. We need to act. The pandemic is evolving differently in each country and countries need to assess their own risks and take steps to control the situation.”

While Europe and the US are gradually reopening with widespread vaccination, the World Health Organization once again called on developed countries to join hands to support poorer countries in dealing with the epidemic.

The US is facing growing international pressure, including from India, to share its huge surplus of vaccines. US President Joe Biden said yesterday that nearly half of the world's leaders have contacted him to ask for US support in purchasing vaccines. The World Health Organization also affirmed that cooperation and "fair and non-politically motivated" vaccine sharing are the only way to help the world end the current pandemic./.