As India faces 1 million new COVID-19 infections every three days, we look at how more infectious variants have been linked to a spread in cases. The so-called India variant has now been detected in at least 19 countries. “This virus behaves differently now, in that it’s much more infectious,” says Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, an infectious disease physician at the Mayo Clinic.
India did very, very well with the first wave last year, compared to many other countries. And cases peaked and then came down fairly quickly, and then there’s been a plateau. So, cases have been occurring at a low level for several months. And the coronavirus has done what all viruses do. These viruses tend to mutate over time. And if they have, they accumulate enough mutations, they then behave differently, giving rise to what’s called a variant.
So, the India variant is now widely reported as being present in many parts of the country. And the other variant that’s also circulating in India is the U.K. variant. And between them, these two variants probably make up the majority of the virus that’s circulating. This virus behaves differently now, in that it
— source democracynow.org | Apr 29, 2021