Variant of Concern

A special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) kicked off here on Monday amid growing concerns over the latest Omicron coronavirus variant, where the participants aim to negotiate a new "pandemic treaty."

The Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, as two major entry ports of the country, have introduced 72-hour isolation requirements.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2, which was first reported from South Africa, as a "Variant of Concern" (VOC), and asked countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing efforts.

India's top health research bodies, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Institute of Virology (NIV), are set to conduct a study to examine the efficacy of the Indian vaccines against the Delta Plus variant of the COVID-19.

The Delta Plus strain, which has been initially tagged as a Variant of Interest, was later declared as Variant of Concern (VOC) by the government

Health authorities in England are believed to be especially concerned about one strain out of three Indian variants they have been tracking since last month.