As the second wave of COVID-19 seems to be ebbing across India, a new variant sparked fears again on 9 July when the Uttar Pradesh government reported two cases of the Kappa variant of the virus in the state.

While we know about the Delta variant of the virus, which was believed to be responsible for the deadly second wave, the Kappa variant has not received as much public attention.

But while Kappa has been the talk in health circles for a while, a new variant named Lambda by the World Health Organization (WHO), first detected in Peru, is drawing attention from across the world.

While no cases of this variant have been reported in India, the limited knowledge and studies done on this variant and with its capabilities unknown, it has kept health authorities across the world on their toes.

In today’s episode, we will discuss how concerning are these two variants of COVID, how effective are vaccines against them and what strategies can India adopt to prevent the next surge.

Host and Producer: Himmat Shaligram

Guest: Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, epidemiologist and a public systems expert.

Editor: Shelly Walia

Music: Big Bang Fuzz

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