In these difficult days, the arrival of a new COVID variant is creating new challenges. Since the beginning of the Corona epidemic, many people all over the world are facing difficult days. In such a situation, it is natural for people to panic due to a new type of virus. The World Health Organization (WHO) last week confirmed the presence of a highly infectious Covid variant named Omicron and described it as a ‘concern variant’.
This new variant of Corona has been confirmed to be found in many countries. This includes from England and Hong Kong to Israel. Health experts say that this is a rapidly changing situation. Omicron’s genetic profile has raised concerns. However, one obstacle associated with its prevention is the lack of data related to it. This means that no one knows what the capabilities of this variant are, nor is it clear how big a threat it can become.
India, which has suffered a severe injury during the second wave of the corono epidemic, is not taking any chances this time. The Union Home Secretary on Sunday chaired an urgent meeting in view of ‘Omicron’. A day before this, PM Modi had a meeting with top officials of the Health Ministry, in which he was briefed about the new variant and its features, its impact in other countries and its impact on India.
Earlier on November 27, an unverified report created a sensation among the people, which claimed that two people from South Africa who had come to Bangalore have tested positive. However, it was later revealed that both of them were infected with the Delta variant, not Omicron.
The Union Health Secretary has written to the states and union territories asking them to implement measures related to prevention and surveillance of Omicron variants of corona and to increase the coverage of vaccination. Along with this, COVID tests are being made mandatory for international passengers at the airport. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), showing extra vigilance in this matter, has banned the arrival of new international passengers in the city.
According to the latest guidelines issued by the BMC – passengers coming through South Africa, Hong Kong and Botswana will have to compulsorily undergo RT-PCR test at Mumbai airport. Let us inform that cases of Omicron variants have been found in all these three countries. Moneycontrol spoke to five leading experts to understand their assessment of the situation. Here are selected excerpts:
Vinita Bal, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune
Question: What is your opinion on this variant found in South African countries, which seems to have suddenly been exposed to the world. It has certainly frightened some countries in Europe, where, surprisingly, travel restrictions are being reimposed.
Answer: Viruses change their form. This process is called mutation. RNA viruses mutate more often than DNA viruses. SARS-CoV2 is an RNA virus, and it has been mutating over the last more than 20 months. In such a situation, it is not surprising that it is mutated to come in a new form. More new variants may appear in the future. In the context of science, this is no surprise.
Question: What other steps should the government take to protect people from this variant? Is tracking travelers coming from abroad an option?
Answer: At present, not much can be done other than keeping an eye on tourists, especially foreign travelers, and expediting sequencing. As soon as such infected persons are identified, they should be tracked, people who came in contact with them should be tested and if required they should be quarantined. We need to continue to use masks, maintain social distancing. For some time, people are not paying attention to the rules related to masks and social distancing, which should be strictly implemented.
Question: It will be called hasty to reach any conclusion now, but still how big a danger do you see in India, especially considering that here more than 50% of the population has not received both doses of the vaccine and now people have taken precautions related to corona. Wearing has also been reduced.
Answer: People who have received both doses of the vaccine are expected to have some degree of protection from this Omicron variant. I don’t think this variant has completely nullified the immunity I got from earlier vaccines. However, in many developing countries including India, a very large population is yet to take the first dose or second dose of the vaccine. These people will be at higher risk than people who have taken the full dose of the vaccine.
Question: Is it also likely that many more new variants already exist, but have not yet been identified?
Answer: Yes, as I mentioned above, more variants are likely to come in the future. Instead of motivating people for booster doses, rapid vaccination is the most important thing around the world at this time.
Dilip Mavalankar, Head – Indian Institute of Public Health, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Question: It looks like this new South African is traveling from country to country. Can it reach India also?
Answer: Look, if this variant can go to Hong Kong and Israel, there doesn’t appear to be any reason why it can’t come to India. Our sequencing is out of date and the government is not releasing new sequencing data. Nor is the government telling how many people are hospitalized. Just everyday the number of cases and deaths are being released.
Question: How is India’s quarantine system?
Answer: A lot depends on how effective our quarantine system is and how passengers have been screened in the last two weeks on connecting flights from South Africa to the Middle East and then from there to India. There is still room to be more effective in our quarantine system.
Question: It seems that the fear of Coronavirus in the Indian public is largely over.
Answer : I was at a function yesterday, the purpose of which was to spread awareness about the virus among the people. However, I was surprised to see that no one was wearing a mask there and there was less ventilation. So, I would say that we have to pay attention to our safety measures as any negligence can cost us dearly.
Prabhat Jha, Founding Director of The Center for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, Canada
Question: What is your opinion on this variant found in South African countries, which seems to have suddenly been exposed to the world. It has certainly frightened some countries in Europe, where, surprisingly, travel restrictions are being reimposed.
Answer: This variant has been named Omicron. It didn’t come suddenly. In South Africa, less than 35% have been vaccinated and in the African continent, it is less than 10%. In such a situation, wherever there is an unvaccinated population, there will be chances of variants coming. Whether it is India or any other country.
Question: What measures should the Indian government take to protect its people from this variant? Is tracking tourists an option?
Answer: Don’t ban travel. It’s not going to work. In its place, when people come, take measures like investigation and seven-day quarantine. It is very important for India to rapidly increase genotyping in every region of the country. The Omicron variant is getting caught in the PCR test, so its testing should be accelerated.
Question: It will be called hasty to reach any conclusion now, but still how big a danger do you see in India, especially considering that here more than 50% of the population has not received both doses of the vaccine and now people have taken precautions related to corona. Wearing has also been reduced.
Answer: Vaccination should be expedited. Getting at least one dose of vaccine for all those who have not been vaccinated should be top priority. The Prime Minister should not do anything other than this day and night for the next three months.
Question: Is it also likely that there may be many more variants that have not yet been identified?
Answer: Yes. An unvaccinated population is a factory of variants. So vaccinate all Indians.
Rakesh Sharma, Director, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society
Question: How do you see this South African variant, which has once again drawn the attention of the whole world to the corona virus.
Answer: Like this South African variant, many other variants will keep coming in the future. It happens with all viruses. There are hundreds of variants of the virus, which go unnoticed. But since this variant is spreading very fast, it has immediately caught everyone’s attention. It is too early to reach any conclusion on this now. It is possible that it may prove to be a ‘super spreader’, but anything can be said about it only if there is enough data related to it.
Question: What are the main precautions that need to be taken right now?
Answer: It is very important that we take precautions at the level of the government as well as the individuals. Surveillance and monitoring is already going on at the government level, which is very important. At the level of individuals, we need to adopt adequate safeguards. People should take both doses of vaccination on time and wear a mask at all times. In the absence of these things you are at risk of contracting the virus.
Question: At present, less than 50% of India’s population has received both doses. Does this mean we are at greater risk?
Answer: Not only in India, but 3 billion people across the world including Africa have not received a single dose of the vaccine. India is still in a good position because a large population here has received at least one dose. This South African variant is in a way a warning to the people that the corona virus is not gone yet. If people don’t take precautions, it can come back again.
Alex Thomas, National President of the Association of Healthcare Providers (AHPI)
Question: Suddenly everywhere there is talk of the Omicron variant, which was probably first found in South Africa.
Answer: I believe that there is increasing panic among the people. The most important thing here is to see how effective it is. In such a situation, I suggest that we wait now and let the results related to it come.
Question: But the virus spreads very fast and before we know it, it engulfs us.
Answer: Still, I would say that there is no need to panic so soon. You all know that it can be like common cold. It may be a mild infection after such a large part of the Indian population has been vaccinated.
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