The Buyt Desk
s COVID19 over? Life around us is coming back to normalcy, markets are crowded, schools are gearing up to reopen and offices are rolling back the ‘work from home’ mandate. But only when you thought that it’s over there is a new variant that is lurking around the corner. AY 4.2 is a sub-lineage of SARS CoV 2’s delta variant. It is a slightly more infectious strain and many cases have been detected across the world, more in the UK.
A new mutation of the Delta variant, named AY.4.2 is being closely monitored by many research centres. The rise in the COVID-19 cases in the United Kingdom (UK) has made the world vigilant, as it might be an indication of another wave. In the UK, it is declared as a ‘variant under Investigation’ (VUI). No concrete report is out yet about the new AY 4.2 variant but scientists have said it is nearly 10% more transmissible than the Delta variant. Scientists say that it is not a variant of concern as there is no evidence yet to call it so. Studies say that the AY 4.2 variant has mainly affected children in the UK. In the last month, AY 4.2 variant had stable growth in volume and thus it accounts for about 63% of UK cases. A similar trend is also seen in a few European countries like Denmark, Germany and Ireland.
The genome sequencing has shown that the AY 4.2 variant is already present in around 7 Indian states. The National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, has stated that it is not a variant of concern (VoC) as of now. But the state governments have increased alertness in the people to break the chain. India was badly affected by the second wave of infection and the third wave could prove deadly for the Indian economy. Hence many precautionary measures are taken to prevent the surge in cases. As primary schools are reopening in various states, state governments are extra cautious and taking care to avoid cluster outbreaks.
The information revealed by scientists about AY.4.2 variant:
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As of now, there is no clarity if AY 4.2 is much more transmissible than the Delta variant.
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The UK scientists consider it as the variant under Investigation.
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AY.4.2, dubbed “Delta Plus” is now named VUI-21OCT-01.
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It is a potentially vaguely more contagious strain.
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It is from the same family of mutations that form the Delta variant (B.1.617.2).
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Not as hazardous as Alpha and Delta variants. Hence, it is not a variant of concern.
It is said that for a virus in a certain form to dominate, it need not be better than other variants but needs its presence in the right place at the right time. Though the genome of VUI-21OCT-01, the new VUI does not have many mutations compared to Delta, AY.4.2 is being closely monitored for a better understanding of its properties. Studies say that even a small change in a virus’s mutation “may be enough to cause a difference in the virus properties in some circumstances”. The spike in cases is not comparable to the coming out of Alpha and Delta variants, those were far more transmissible (50 per cent or more) than any strain at the time. Now, the concern is against a potentially small increase in transmissibility which will not cause a major impact on the pandemic.
The other point of view is that AY.4.2 has failed to take hold in spite of it being present in several European countries. It is enduring in Denmark but almost off the radar in Germany and Ireland. This behaviour suggests that its ability to get around immunity is not greater than that of the delta. Or it could be just that for it to take hold there wasn’t enough of AY.4.2 in those places. It is very early to establish if this is the start of the next dominant lineage which might have the ability to escape immunity. It still needs more experimental work to confirm its properties.
In India, as the new cases of AY.4.2 are being reported and the Diwali, festive season is here, many fear that the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will hit the nation soon. Considering this, the Centre and states are jumping into action to contain the fear.
