Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov.27: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 10.30 a.m. today, will convene a critical meeting on COVID-19 and the country’s immunisation situation, which will be attended by top government officials.
The meeting comes as experts have raised concerns about the B.1.1.529 coronavirus strain, which has been identified as having an unacceptably high number of mutations that could make the virus more resistant to immunizations, enhance transmissibility, and cause more severe symptoms.
The B.1.1.529 variant, which was discovered last week in South Africa and has subsequently been found in Botswana, Hong Kong, Israel, and Belgium, includes 50 mutations, including more than 30 in the spike protein and 10 in the receptor binding domain.
Most existing COVID-19 vaccines are designed to target the spike protein, which the virus utilises to gain entry to our cells. Researchers are still unsure if this makes it more transmissible or fatal than previous variations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called the B.1.1.529 strain Omicron after classifying it as a “variant of concern.” With the worldwide dominant Delta and its lesser rivals Alpha, Beta, and Gamma, it is classified as a ‘variant of concern,’ putting it in the high-alert category.