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A recent study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has revealed that the Delta variant of SARS-COV-2 (Coronavirus) has been responsible for a vast majority of clinical cases of breakthrough infection.
As per PTI, 86.09 percent of the breakthrough infections studied by ICMR were caused by the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) in different regions of India except for the northern region where the Alpha variant predominated.
A total of 677 clinical samples of individuals who had received two doses and one dose of vaccines and had tested positive for COVID-19 were collected from 17 states for this study.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ICMR STUDY
The study further reveals:
67 cases (9.8 percent) required hospitalisation
Three (0.4 percent) fatalities were reported
71 percent cases were symptomatic with one or more symptoms
29 percent cases were asymptomatic
604 patients had received Covishield vaccine
71 patients had received Covaxin
Two patitents had received Sinopharm vaccine
85 of the 677 patients analysed acquired COVID-19 infection after taking the first dose of the vaccine
592 of the 677 patients analysed acquired COVID, after receiving both doses of the vaccine
Break through infections predominantly occurred through Delta variants, indicating its high community transmission during the period between March and June, followed by Alpha and Kappa variants
Southern, western, eastern and north-western regions of India predominantly reported breakthrough infections from mainly Delta, followed by Kappa
Further, the ICMR study was quoted by PTI as saying that two new COVID variants Delta AY.1 and AY.2 were also identified in the study samples.
“This indicates improved virus fitness to evade immune responses and survive against the vaccines,” the study further added.
WHERE WERE THE SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM?
The samples were coerced from 17 states and union territories:
Maharashtra
Kerala
Gujarat
Uttarakhand
Karnataka
Manipur
Assam
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
Chandigarh
Rajasthan
Madhya Pradesh
Punjab
Puducherry
New Delhi
West Bengal
Tamil Nadu
Jharkhand
(With inputs from PTI)
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