Dr Samiran Panda says ‘Omicron’ may have been in India.
New Delhi:
‘Omicron’ may already be in India and it may be a matter of time before it is detected, Dr Samiran Panda, head of Epidemiology at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), told NDTV. “The first case (of ‘Omicron’, the new Covid variant first found in South Africa) was reported on 9 November and there has been a lot of travel since then from South Africa,” he said and pointed out that there have been a number of symptomatic cases among these passengers as well.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were detections in India. It’s only a matter of time, given the high transmittance that this variant comes with,” he added.
Dr. Panda stated that India is well prepared, citing the example of the INSACOG laboratory network, an all-India, multi-laboratory, multi-agency, all-India network set up by the government to track variables genome in SARS-CoV-2. Labs around the country in this network are sent samples of Covid-positive patients, which they study to determine the genetic makeup of the virus. This helps to identify different strains of the virus. “They are very adept at identifying the variants that cause infection,” he said.
Speaking of prevention, he said we must remember that vaccination does not prevent infection even if a person has been vaccinated twice. “If the appropriate Covid behaviors are not followed, a person can always become infected. Masks, hand hygiene and avoiding large gatherings can help in prevention,” he said.
Emphasizing the need to understand that vaccines alone cannot help against this strain, he points out that they can help prevent severe illness, hospitalization and death but cannot prevent infection. Many experts have expressed concern about the transmissibility of this virus, which is said to be at least as similar to the Delta variant that once defeated India. They worry that a large number of cases could overwhelm health infrastructure, and even if the cases are not severe, it could still increase morbidity and mortality.
In response to a question about booster shots, he said the public health priority should be to first include as many people as possible by getting the double vaccine. Ideally, he points out, people who qualify for booster doses will be able to inject, but that won’t come at the expense of diverting attention from the public health priority of fully immunizing everyone. the entire population first.
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