New Delhi: Ever since Omicron cases of coronavirus are found in India, questions about its transmissibility, vaccine evasion properties and whether or not it can bring another deadly wave of COVID-19 in the country, are on the rise.
The Centre on Thursday (December 2) asked the citizens to not panic after two cases of the new Omicron variant were found in Karnataka. The government also answered other concerns related to the variant. Here is what the Health Ministry said on Omicron.
Is the Omicron variant more deadly than Delta?
"Given the fast pace of vaccination in India and high exposure to Delta variant as evidenced by high seropositivity, the severity of the disease is anticipated to be low. However, scientific evidence is still evolving," said the Health Ministry on Friday.
The ministry further added that the scale and magnitude of rising in cases and most importantly the severity of disease that will be caused is still not clear.
Can the existing vaccines stop Omicron?
About the existing vaccine efficacy against this variant, the health ministry said that there is so far no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on Omicron, some of the mutations reported on Spike gene, however, may decrease the efficacy of existing vaccines.
However, vaccine protection is also by antibodies as well as by cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better preserved.
"Hence vaccines are expected to still offer protection against severe disease, and vaccination with the available vaccines is crucial. If eligible, but not vaccinated, one should get vaccinated," it added.
How to protect oneself from Omicron?
The response measures for all variants of concern, including Omicron, is the same as for the COVID causing SARs CoV2. The ministry has said that the precautions and steps to be taken remain the same as before.
"It is essential to mask yourself properly, take both doses of vaccines (if not yet vaccinated), maintain social distancing and maintain good ventilation to the maximum possible", said the ministry in a statement.
What is India doing to curb the spread of Omicron?
Apart from rigorous screening of international travel and proper monitoring of all positive cases. The government is issuing suitable guidelines, said the ministry, adding that the scientific and medical community is geared up for developing and deploying diagnostics, carrying out genomic surveillance, generating evidence about viral and epidemiologic characteristics, and developing therapeutics.
(With inputs from IANS)
