WHO hasn’t associated term ‘Indian Variant’ with B.1.617 Covid strain, health ministry says

The health ministry dismissed 'unfounded' media reports that termed B.1.617 Covid variant as an 'Indian variant' — a strain that WHO recently said was 'of global concern'.

A health worker conducts rapid antigen tests in Delhi | Representational image | PTI

New Delhi: Taking umbrage against the B.1.617 mutant of the novel coronavirus being termed an “Indian Variant”, the Union Health Ministry on Wednesday said the WHO has not used the word “Indian” for this strain in its document.

The ministry dismissed as “without any basis and unfounded” media reports that have used the term “Indian variant” for the B.1.617 mutant strain, which the WHO recently said was a “variant of global concern”.

“Several media reports have covered the news of World Health Organisation (WHO) classifying B.1.617 as variant of global concern. Some of these reports have termed the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus as an ‘Indian Variant’,” the ministry said in a statement.

“These media reports are without any basis, and unfounded,” it said.

This is to clarify that the WHO has not associated the term “Indian Variant” with the B.1.617 strain of the coronavirus in its 32 page document, it said.

In fact, the word “Indian” has not been used in its report on the matter, the ministry added.