WHO: Coronavirus variant 1st detected in India is of global concern

Ambulances and paramedics in India.
(Image credit: Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images)

The World Health Organization on Monday announced that B.1.617, the coronavirus variant first identified in India, is of global concern.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of WHO's coronavirus response, said that there is "some available information to suggest some increased transmissibility of B.1.617," and more research is needed to determine whether COVID-19 vaccines are as effective against this variant. There are three other variants of global concern: the strains first detected in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.