Insta
Omicron COVID-19 Strain Successfully Isolated, Grown By Indian Institute, To Help In Assessing Efficacy Of Vaccines: Report
A hospital laboratory (Image used for representational purpose)
In a major development, India has succeeded in isolating and growing the Omicron strain of SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 causing virus, in a laboratory environment.
The lab-grown Omicron will help the Indian scientists know the behaviour of the Omicron strain in the local population as well as ascertain its infectiousness and assess the efficacy of existing vaccines.
The Omicron variant has reportedly been isolated and cultured by the experts at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), an autonomous institute under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), in its laboratory, people in the know was quoted in a Economic Times report as saying.
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) director general Balram Bhargava has said that both ICMR and DBT had some success in culturing the virus.
"Both ICMR and DBT have been working continuously to culture the virus. Initially, we had some difficulty in culturing and growing the virus now we had some success in culturing the virus both at ICMR and DBT," he said.
"We have the sera of Omicron infected individuals, those infected with Delta and the original strain and we are testing the efficacy of the vaccines on these variants," Bhargava added.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
