Insacog to hold meet this week amid viral Covid wave in China

The Indian Sars-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (Insacog), a network of laboratories monitoring genomic variations of the Covid-19 virus, will hold a meeting this week to review data from China on the viral wave that's gripped the country.

Although India has recorded the presence of various Omicron sub-lineages, government officials say there is no need to panic.

Last week, a new sub-lineage of Omicron, XBB 1.5, was detected in the country. The BF.7 sub-variant - another sub-lineage of Omicron variant BA.5 which is driving the increase in cases in China - has also been found in India, but there is nothing to panic, an official said.

"These people have since recovered and, hence, there is no need to be concerned as long as a new variant does not emerge," the official said. The Insacog, which held a meeting last month, found that India has all the Omicron sub-lineages which are circulating in China, but in miniscule numbers and no local clustering of these has been seen anywhere in the country.

"This week, we will see how the sub-lineages are behaving, whether they are leading to any clustering, etc.," a person in the know told ET. India has been preparing for any potential upsurge in Covid-19 infections. A nationwide mock drill was held last month at all hospitals and healthcare centres, with health minister Mansukh Mandaviya visiting Delhi's Safdarjung Hospital to assess preparedness for another wave of Covid-19. The Centre has also directed hospitals and clinics to ensure that there is adequate supply of medical oxygen and beds.

In India, the dominant sub-lineage continues to be XBB, followed by BA.2.75, the official said. In India, the XBB variant is dominant, accounting for 70% of the cases, followed by B2.75, which is seen in 25-30% of the cases.

Variant BF.7 is scientifically the same as BA.5.2.1.7, which is a sub-variant of the Omicron sub-lineage BA.5. At a meeting on Friday, Insacog members also discussed the roadmap ahead. The consortium stressed on the need to accelerate genome sequencing of positive samples in the country.

Experts also believe that unless a drastically different lineage comes up, India will do alright due to its high level of hybrid immunity - high previous infections plus vaccination.