A deadly 2nd wave of #coronavirus infections is devastating India, leaving millions of people infected & putting stress on the country’s already overtaxed health care system. What is behind the explosion of new #COVID19 cases that is overwhelming India?
But after the early restrictions were lifted, many Indians stopped taking precautions. Large gatherings, including political rallies and religious festivals, resumed and drew millions of people.
Beginning this spring, the country recorded an exponential jump in cases and deaths.
By April, some vaccinated individuals, including 37 doctors at one New Delhi hospital, were found to have contracted the virus, leaving many to wonder if a more contagious variant was behind the second wave. Many in India already assume that the variant, B.1.617, is responsible for the severity of the second wave. The variant is sometimes called “the double mutant,” though the name is a misnomer because it has many more mutations than two. It garnered the name because one version contains two genetic mutations found in other difficult-to-control variants. Researchers outside of India say the limited data so far suggests instead that the variant called B.1.1.7, which has affected Britain and the United States, is more likely to blame.
