The new Delta Plus variant of the coronavirus is extremely transmissible, and even walking next to a Covid-19 patient who is a carrier of this variant without a mask may lead to the spread of infection, AIIMs director Randeep Guleria said.
Guleria said though following Covid-appropriate behavior will help to a great extent against the new variant, the government is concerned about the immune escape mechanism of the Delta Plus variant and its resistance to monoclonal antibodies.
"This is being studied by INSACOG, a network of labs undertaking genomic sequencing in India and we will know if vaccines are effective against this variant or not," India Today cited Guleria as saying.
Outside India, the Delta Plus variant has been seen in nine countries.
