Claim
A message circulated on WhatsApp recording various inputs related to the COVID-19 boom in India. They claim that it is a press release issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). The message contains information regarding a number of new virus strains from abroad related to ‘immune escape’ and may re-infect people previously diagnosed or vaccinated with COVID-19.
It is further alleged that the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG) detected 771 variants of concern in a total of 10787 positive samples followed, of which 736 came from the United Kingdom, 34 from South Africa and 1 from Brazil. According to the message, the variants were reported in the southern states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
It says that “All the mutated strains circulating in India are now making the virus much more dangerous. The mutations, in addition to the significant increase in transmissibility, help the virus to escape our immune system, which means that many previously infected or vaccinated can become infected again. ‘
Did new virus strains infect the Indian population?
The allegations made in the message regarding the mutated COVID-19 strains spreading in India are: completely false as the Ministry of Health has not issued any press release in this regard. A PIB fact system explained that the message on WhatsApp is indeed false, making citizens aware of such misleading information about the virus.
Last month, the Union Ministry of Health said the new “double mutant” variant of SARS-CoV-2 had been detected in Delhi, Maharashtra and some other places, in addition to the three “variants of concern” – which for the first time in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil – found in at least 18 states and trade union territories. The director general of the ICMR, Balram Bhargava, also said that of 11,064 genome samples that were followed in the country, the British variant of the virus was detected in 807, the South African variant in 47 and the Brazilian variant in one. found.
“Both the vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin – are effective against the United Kingdom and the Brazillian variants, and work against the South African variant is being continued at various laboratories,” he said. Bhargava further said that mutations are sporadic and that no single mutations are prevalent in any particular area in India.