The Delta variant of COVID-19, the version first detected in India in October last year, can infect people even after they have received both jabs of the Covaxin or Covishield vaccines, new studies done separately by AIIMS (Delhi) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) revealed.

As per the AIIMS study, which has not been peer-reviewed so far, the Delta variant is the reason behind the overwhelming cases in India, IBNS reported. 

According to British health authorities, this variant is between 40 and 50 per cent more infectious than the Alpha version first reported from the UK.

The AIIMS-IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology) study was based on an analysis of 63 symptomatic patients who reported to the hospital's emergency ward complaining of high fever persisting for five to seven days.

Of these 63 people, 53 had been administered at least one dose of Covaxin and the rest at least one dose of Covishield. Thirty-six of them had received both doses of one of these vaccines.

76.9 per cent of infections by the Delta variant were recorded in people who had received a single dose, and 60 per cent in people who had received both doses.

Meanwhile, data from the NCDC-IGIB study indicated that breakthrough infections due to the Delta variant of Covid seemed to affect people who took Covishield.

This study revealed Delta breakthrough infections in 27 patients who had taken Covishiled, with the infection rate at 70.3 per cent.

In fact, data from both studies indicated the Alpha variant is also proving resistant to Covishield and Covaxin, but not as significant as the version first reported from India.(SAM)