B.1.617.2 May Be 50% More Contagious than Variant First Seen in UK, is Key Component of Covid Surge

In a 40-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Prof. Gagandeep Kang, who is Professor of Virology at the Christian Medical College in Vellore and a member of the government’s advisory Covid Working Group, said “it does appear” that B.1.617.2 is the fastest spreading strain of the virus in India. She added: “It’s a key component of the present surge” but also said, “it’s not necessarily the key driver”. She said many other factors could be counted as key drivers, including the failure of the population to wear masks and maintain social distancing.