AIIMS Chief: New Covid-19 strains found in India probably more dangerous

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Dr Randeep Guleria, All India Institute of Medical Sciences chief in an interview with NDTV mentioned that the novel strain of Covid-19 that has evolved in India are supposedly going to be more infectious and dangerous than the already existing Covid-19 strain. Dr Guleria emphasized that the prevalence of herd immunity in India is merely a ‘myth’.

With the increase in Covid-19 cases in the states of Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, there is rising concern about the possibility of the novel strain, which supposedly could be more dangerous.

A member of the Covid force task from Maharashtra, Dr Shashank Joshi revealed to NDTV about the surge in cases in Maharashtra, which has invoked the imposition of lockdown in the three districts of Maharashtra and the entire country is having a more stringent approach towards the restrictions due to the prominence of a number of strains. Joshi further added that the news outlet that as many as 240 novel strains of Covid-19 have been prevalent in India.

Dr Guleria has appealed for having more caution with the new strains, despite they appear to be more deadly or not. He mentioned about the reason for the increased infection rate was affected to the ability to push away the antibodies, particularly termed as ‘immune escape mechanism’.

This gives a clear implication that though an individual may be administered the vaccine, there is still a lot of chances that the person could be infected by Covid-19 variants. The AIIMS chief reaffirmed about the vaccines to be efficacious against the Covid-19, however, he emphasized on taking the necessary precautions.