Sub-lineages of Delta variant - AY.1 (Delta Plus) and AY.2 – appear unlikely to be more transmissible than the parent strain, stated INSACOG, a consortium of government panel associated with genome sequencing of coronavirus.

The government panel also stated that these two sub-lineages are less than 1% in the genome samples that were sequenced across the country in June. INSACOG added that AY.3 has also been detected as a new sub-lineage of the Delta variant and is characterized by ORF1a: I3731V common AY.1 mutations, except for S: K417. INSACOG mentioned that it is possible that neither AY.1 nor AY.2 is more contagious than the Delta variant and added that there does not seem to be an increasing trend in the clusters from Ratnagiri, Jalgaon, Bhopal, and Chennai… (NDTV – PTI, July 15, 2021)