With81% of the latest 401 samples sent by the state for genome sequencing turningup positive for the new UK Covid variant, Punjab Chief Minister CaptainAmarinder Singh on Tuesday appealed to the people to get themselves vaccinated,even as he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to widen the vaccination ambit tocover those younger than 60 since this mutant has been found to be infectingyoung people more.
Expressingconcern over the emerging situation, the Chief Minister stressed the need forthe central government to urgently open up the vaccination for a bigger sectionof the populace. The process needs to be expedited, he said, pointing to thefact that experts had found the existing Covishield vaccine to be equallyeffective against the UK variant - B.1.1.7. It was essential to vaccinate moreand more people to break the chain of transmission, he added.
CaptainAmarinder also urged the people to strictly adhere to all Covid safetyprotocols, including wearing of masks and maintaining social distancing. Thestate government, which has already announced fresh restrictions, would beforced to impose more curbs if the people do not follow the Covid appropriatebehaviour, he warned.
Theappeal from the Chief Minister came after the state’s Covid expert committeehead, Dr K.K. Talwar, apprised him of the developments on the new variant inthe state, which has been witnessing a surge in the number of COVID-19 positivecases during the last few weeks. Thestate health department had sent 478 COVID positive samples to NIB, IGIB, andNCDC for genome sequencing, of which results of 90 samples were received andthose showed only two samples for N440K variant.
Subsequently,a team from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India,visited the state to review the increase in positivity. The team was informedabout the pending results of genome sequencing. Thereafter, 401 more samples, collected between 1.1.2021 to 10.3.2021,were sent to NCDC for genome sequencing. The result of these samples was worryingas it showed presence of B.1.1.7 variant in 326 COVID samples, said Dr K.K. Talwar.
TheChief Minister said he had been informed by Dr Talwar that though this UKvariant B.1.1.7 is more infectious yet not more virulent. Further, the Oxford (Covishield) vaccine isequally effective against this new UK variant.
Itis noteworthy that the B.1.1.7 variant is now spreading rapidly in many partsof the world, representing 98% of the new cases in UK and 90% in Spain. UKauthorities have suggested it is up to 70% more transmissible than the originalvirus.