CCMB to focus more on the new variant in COVID

The new variant of COVID -19, which is increasing in UK is scaring the people in different corners of the world.

International flights are also now cancelled from UK to every country in the world. Keeping the current fear in mind again, Indian geneticists and researchers are set to take up widespread genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 to check whether the new mutation of the virus has already reached us and whether any other new mutations have occurred in India.

The top geneticist from CCMB pointed out that India already has a heavy burden of Covid-19 infections, when compared to countries like the UK. “After the United States, we have the largest number of Covid-19 infections. There is a possibility that there could be many more mutations of the SARS-CoV-2 within India itself. So, there is indeed a need for constant sequencing of the virus genomes and we plan to do that,” Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) Director Dr RK Mishra said.