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Cover Photo: Unsplash

A new variant has emerged once again. Here's everything you need to know

This week, India declared that they had discovered a new Covid-19 variant called Delta Plus which was found in nearly two dozen cases in three of their states.

Related: Covid-19: Everything You Need to Know About The B1617 Virus Mutation

This comes months after they detected the B1617 virus mutation which was highly infectious and caused a massive outbreak in India as well as a spike in community cases in Singapore. 

The variant has since been deemed a "variant of concern" by the Indian government after it was found that it is possibly more transmissible. 

Here is everything you need to know about the latest Covid-19 variant:

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What is the Delta Plus variant? 

Over the last one and a half years, Covid-19 has continued to mutate multiple times which has given rise to several variants of it. The Delta variant, which was first identified in India, mutated to form the Delta Plus variant. 

Where was it first detected?

The mutation of the Delta variant was first discovered in Europe in March this year. However, it was brought to public notice only on June 13.

Related: Comirnaty: What You Need To Know About Singapore’s New Covid-19 Vaccine

What do we know about it so far?

Currently, there is no clear evidence that the new variant is more infectious although it is strongly suspected to be the case by experts who are studying the ways in which past variants have mutated and spread. It does have all the features of the Delta variant, which could make it very transmissible.

That said, it is being looked at as a rising concern in many regions and monitored very closely. 

Will the Covid-19 vaccines be effective against the Delta Plus variant?

Right now, it is too early to predict how our bodies will react to the variant which is why there is no clear idea as to how the vaccine will interact with it. As of now, two Delta Plus variant cases were found in the UK; the affected patients had already received their second dose of the vaccine. 

Watch this space for more updates on the new variant.

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