A new Covid-19 sub-variant has raised concern in the United Kingdom. According to a report by the Economic TImes, the new variant ‘Eris’ has been detected in India. However, there has been no “clustering” or increase in the cases so far. The pan-Indian network of laboratories that has been set up to monitor genomic variations of the virus organised a review conference in response to an increase in Covid-19 infections in the UK caused by the new variant, which is also known as EG.5.1.
A member of Insacog cited data and said that there have been cases of Eris in India but it is not concerning. The XBB sub-variant remains the most common variety in the country which accounts for 90-92 per cent of cases so far. EG.5.1 is the descendant of the quickly spreading Omnicron which was first identified in the UK last month and is now spreading throughout the country.
According to information from the health ministry, the number of new coronavirus infections in the country is 54 in the last 24 hours and 1,574 active cases. The former head of Insacog and chair of the World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution, Anurag Agrawal, believes that as immunity weakens and more immune-escape mutations emerge, there would be periodic surges in incidence.
Health experts do not find the fourth dose necessary as of now since the covid cases in India have declined significantly. Since March 2020, the lowest daily infection count has been recorded with only 23 cases in July this year.
