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Breakthrough Covid infections expected in India; reproduction rate drops below 1

By | Written by Poulomi Ghosh
Aug 20, 2021 05:00 PM IST

No new variant of Coronavirus is responsible for breakthrough infections and Delta remains the main factor, the INSACOG has said.

The reproduction rate of Covid infection in India has dropped below 1 implying that 100 infected people are spreading the infection to less than 100 people, to 89 people as the R-value at present stands at 0.89. The Covid-19 situation in the country is improving with the active cases declined to around 3.6 lakh, the lowest in 150 days.

Students flout social distancing as they wait for entry at Doranda College in Ranchi.(PTI)
Students flout social distancing as they wait for entry at Doranda College in Ranchi.(PTI)

However, the country is witnessing a considerable number of breakthrough infections and a very high proportion of the Delta variant is responsible for breakthrough infection after either one of two doses of vaccination, the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said. But the present vaccination drive continues to be effective in reducing severe disease and death, the INSACOG said.

Also Read: India has administered at least 571 million Covid vaccine doses till now

"Delta variant is the major VOC in India at this time. Continuing outbreaks across India are attributable to Delta, a susceptible population, reduced vaccine effectiveness in blocking transmission, and opportunities for transmission," the INSACOG said.

Kerala, which is still a cause for concern with over 20,000 cases, reported thousands of breakthrough infections. This triggered apprehension whether any new variant is active in the state. While investigations for any new variant is on, the experts have said that so far it is Delta that is still driving the Covid cases in India. Delta Plus resulted in a few deaths in Maharashtra but the strain is not worrying as there are around 61 sampled detected with Delta Plus since the time the variant was detected in the country.

Citing the examples of the United Kingdom, which witnessed 1.2 lakh breakthrough cases since April, the expert group said that vaccination breakthroughs are expected in India as well as they are common during Delta outbreaks.

(With PTI Inputs)


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