#15,950
On Friday, following the announcement of a rapid rise in detections of the B.1.617.2 SARS-CoV-2 lineage in the UK, the UK PHE announced the `Indian' Variant B.1.617.2 Reclassified As a Variant of Concern (VOC)'.
On Wednesday of last week the CDC added 5 VOI's (Variants of Interest), including 4 (B.1.617, B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, B.1.617.3) belonging to the Indian lineage.
While much of what we know about the B.1.617.x lineage is fragmented, and often anecdotal, there are increasing concerns that it may be a major driver of India's recent COVID crisis, and may be even more transmissible than the `Kent' variant (B.1.1.7) which right now dominates the United States and much of the world.
About an hour ago, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove - Infectious Disease Epidemiologist & COVID-19 Technical Lead at the WHO - confirmed at a press briefing that the B.1.617 variant has been upgraded to a global variant of concern. You'll find her remarks at the 13:35 minute mark of the linked video.
The WHO will publish a more detailed statement in their next COVID SITREP, but the CDC's initial assessment (published last week) suggests potential reduction in neutralization by some EUA monoclonal antibody treatments and Slightly reduced neutralization by post-vaccination sera.
