MUMBAI: None of the 21 Covid patients infected with the new Delta-plus variant in Maharashtra were possibly vaccinated.
Dr Pradeep Awate, who heads the epidemiology cell of the state government’s public health department, said they were still gathering information of patients, who are spread across the state, but preliminary information indicates most were not vaccinated.
Three patients were under 18, and not eligible for vaccination.
The state government has decided to step up vaccination in these five districts in the coming days.
N Ramaswami, commissioner of state National Health Mission, said areas where the Delta-plus variant was found were being monitored closely.
“We have increased Covid-19 tests and vaccination in these areas,’’ he said.
Delta-Plus or AY.1 variant was detected in nine Covid-positive samples from Ratnagiri, seven from Jalgaon, two from Mumbai and one each from Thane, Palghar and Sindhudurg districts.
On Friday, the state declared that one of the patients from Ratnagiri, an 80-year-old woman with severe anxiety disorder, died at Ratnagiri Civil Hospital on June 13.
She was admitted to a Covid-19 care centre on June 1, but doctors transferred her to the civil hospital as she needed specialised psychiatric drugs and care.
“She was aggressive and difficult to manage even though we started her on psychiatric drugs,”’ said Ratnagiri civil surgeon Dr Sanghamitra Phule.
Her son, also Covid-19 positive, was kept nearby in the hospital, but she was difficult to manage.
The state is awaiting results of other samples sent to Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology in Delhi for genetic sequencing.
The health department is trying to understand how these 21 could have got infected with the Delta-plus virus.
“Most of those affected in Ratnagiri are from a farming background with no international travel.
They have not even travelled outside the district,’’ said Dr Phule.
The central health ministry said there are 48 cases of Delta-plus variant and results of more samples sent for gene sequencing are awaited.
Experts said it can escape antibodies and has high transmissibility, making it a variant of concern.
It emerged from the Delta variant that was first isolated in Vidarbha region and considered to be one of the causes for the second wave.