New coronavirus variant, described as 'double mutant', reported in India | India | The Guardian

New coronavirus variant, described as 'double mutant', reported in India | India | The Guardian Health officials said the new variant had not been detected in large enough numbers to link it to the surge in cases in Maharashtra and other states including Kerala and Punjab. Epidemiologists said the term “double mutant” refers to a new variant that has the characteristics of two already identified variants. “Double mutant is not a scientific term. It is just another mutant which seems to be unique to India,” said Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy in New Delhi. Delhi reportedly halts AstraZeneca Covid vaccine exports as cases soar Read more “Is there a reason to be worried about this particular variant? Not as yet, because we have no evidence that these variants are more transmissible or more lethal than what we already have,” he added.