Covid-19: What is Delmicron?

This is not a new variant of Coronavirus

As India is ascertaining the threat from the latest “more infectious” Omicron variant of Covid-19, reports of something called “Delmicron” have emerged in the past few days.

Reports quoted Dr Shashank Joshi, a member of the Maharashtra Covid-19 task force, as saying that Delmicron has led to a surge in cases across the US and Europe. This is not a new variant of the Coronavirus. It is a combination of the Delta and Omicron strains.

"Delmicron, the twin spikes of Delta and Omicron, in Europe and US has led to a mini tsunami of cases," Joshi was quoted as saying.

First identified in Botswana and South Africa, Omicron, the new iteration of the Coronavirus, had prompted concern among scientists and public health officials because of an unusually high number of mutations that have the potential to make the virus more transmissible and less susceptible to existing vaccines.

Also Read | India's Omicron tally rises to 358

Omicron has become the dominant strain in the US and accounts for nearly three-fourth of the new cases.

India has recorded 358 cases of Omicron so far, 114 of which have recovered or migrated, according to Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.

Studies are ongoing to determine if vaccines are effective against Omicron, and if the new variant spreads faster than Delta.

AstraZeneca has cited an Oxford University lab study saying that a three-dose course of its Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield in India, is effective against the Omicron Coronavirus variant.

Another study said a booster dose of either Pfizer-BioNTech's or Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine offers a "significant increase" in protection against the Omicron variant in elderly people.

Check out DH's latest videos