Thread by @DrEricDing

India has classified a new variant #DeltaPlus as a "variant of concern". 🇮🇳 health ministry says studies show #DeltaPlus—aka AY.1–spreads more easily, binds more easily to lung cells & more resistant to some monoclonal antibody therapy. Unclear risks.🧵
bbc.com/news/world-asi…

2) “The variant is related to the Delta, an existing variant of concern, which was first identified in India last year and is thought to have driven the deadly second wave of infections this summer in India.

3) “The health ministry says the Delta plus variant, first found in India in April, has been detected in around 40 samples from six districts in three states - Maharashtra, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh.

4) “#DeltaPlus has also been found in nine other countries - USA, UK, Portugal, Switzerland, Japan, Poland, Nepal, Russia and China - compared to the original highly contagious Delta strain, which has now spread to 80 countries.”

5) “A mutation is elevated to a "variant of concern" (VOC) when it shows evidence of fulfilling at least one of several criteria, including easy transmission, more severe illness, reduced neutralisation by antibodies or reduced effectiveness of treatment and vaccines.

6) “But leading virologists have questioned the labelling of Delta plus as a variant of concern, saying there was no data yet to prove that the variant was more infectious or led to more severe disease compared to other variants.

7) "There is no data yet to support the variant of concern claim," said Dr Gagandeep Kang, a virologist and the first Indian woman to be elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London.

8) here is #DeltaPlus assessment from @PHE_uk. They have not elevated it to VOC yet. They are just monitoring.