Indian COVID-19 Variant May Be ‘50 Percent More Transmissible’ Than UK Strain

Health workers and relatives carry the body of a COVID-19 victim for cremation in Jammu, India, on April 26, 2021. Channi Anand/AP Photo

A CCP virus variant first detected in India is likely to be 50 percent more transmissible than the COVID-19 strain that is currently dominant in the UK, British medical experts have warned.

The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), a panel of experts who advise the UK government, said it is “highly likely” that the Indian variant of concern, known as B.1.617.2, is more transmissible than the UK variant, which was first detected in Kent and is now dominant in the UK.