UK health officials concerned about an Indian variant of COVID-19: Report

According to a report leaked by the BBC, health authorities in England are more concerned about the B.1.617.2 strain of the coronavirus out of the three Indian variants they have been tracking. Public Health England (PHE) has recommended that the variant be classified as Variant of Concern (VOC) as it appears to spread more quickly than the other two identified Indian variants.

Hence the variant, along with B.1.617 and B.1.617.3, has been classified as Variant Under Investigation (VUI). Experts believe the B.1.617.2 variant to be as transmissible as the Kent variant, which caused the second wave in the UK earlier this year. However, there is no evidence that the variants are resistant to vaccines as of now.

The PHE has not commented on the leaked data.