Indian variant will become dominant in the UK, top medic says

The B.1.617.2 variant first found in India will over time surpass the so-called “Kent” variant and become dominant in the United Kingdom, Britain’s top medic said on Friday.

“This is more transmissible than the B.1.1.7 (Kent variant), and we expect over time this variant will overtake and come to dominate in the UK, in the way that B.1.1.7 took over,” England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty told a news conference.

WHAT IS THE INDIAN VARIANT?

The B.1.617 variant contains two key mutations to the outer “spike” portion of the virus that attaches to human cells, said senior Indian virologist Shahid Jameel.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said the predominant lineage of B.1.617 was first identified in India last December, although an earlier version was spotted in October 2020.

The WHO has described it as a “variant of interest”, suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more transmissible, cause more severe disease or evade vaccine immunity.

Other strains with known risks, such as those first detected in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa, have been categorised as “variants of concern,” a higher threat level.