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| OMICRON: THE NEW THREAT | | | Dr. Parveen Kumar | 1/8/2022 11:32:09 PM |
| The whole world seemed to be relaxing after witnessing the death, devastation and destruction due to the COVID-19 virus; that went unabated for almost two years. When it was wrongly presumed that the Corona virus has been defeated and its havoc weakened, there was a sudden outbreak of a new variant that started spreading like wildfire. Its effects across the world, including India, have been devastating. The first fortnight of December 2021 witnessed about 27, 000 additional deaths in Europe and Central Asia and 2.6 million new cases. Infections, still predominantly from the Delta variant are 40% higher now than during the same period last year.
OMICRON VIRUS: On Nov. 24, 2021 South Africa reported the identification of a new SARS –CoV-2 variant, B.1.1.529 to the World Health Organization. The new variant B.1.1.529 was first detected n specimens collected on Nov. 1, 2021 in Botswana and on Nov. 24, 2021 in South Africa. On Nov. 26, 2021 WHO designated the variant B.1.1.529 as a variant of concern and named it Omicron on the advice of WHOs Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE). This decision was based on the evidence presented to the TAG-VE that Omicron has several mutations. Since its identification, the Omicron variant of concern has been detected in at least 38 of the 53 Member States of the WHO European Region. The new virus has already become dominant in several countries including in Denmark, Portugal and the United Kingdom, where its numbers are doubling every one and a half to 3 days, generating previously unseen transmission rates. This variant can evade previous immunity in people, so it can still infect those who have had COVID-19 in the past, those who are unvaccinated, and those who were vaccinated many months ago. Individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 are 3 to 5 times more likely to be reinfected with Omicron compared to Delta. On a positive note, early evidence supports the assumption that COVID-19 vaccines continue to do their job and save lives.
With cases rapidly increasing, this variant has been reported from many Indian states so far. That is a dreadful situation. The situation is only getting graver with each passing moment and what is further deteriorating the situation is that peoples have stop taking precautionary measures and in some cases as reported by media, they have blatantly refused to follow the rules of wearing masks and social distancing. Markets, parks, restaurants, banquet halls have normalized to the status quo as they were in the Pre-Covid period. In the coming months five Indian states of Punjab, Goa, Uttarpradesh, Manipur and Uttarakhand are going for elections. Huge rallies and compaigns with hundreds and thousands of workers will be the order of the day and this is surely bound to further worsen the situation. Are we heading for another lockdown because we have no other option? Already, several states have imposed night curfews. Night curfew has been implemented in the national capital of Delhi, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, some North-Eastern states and more.
SYMPTOMS: Based on the earliest Omicron cases reported to WHO/Europe, 89% of those people reported common COVID-19 symptoms i. e cough, sore throat, fever. Up until now, the virus has been transmitted mostly among adults in their 20s and 30s, spreading initially in large cities and in clusters associated with social and workplace gatherings. So, there are 3 things that we need to do urgently: protect ourselves through vaccination, prevent further infections, and prepare health systems for a surge in cases.
PROTECTION: The sheer volume of new COVID-19 and Omicron infections could lead to more hospitalizations and widespread disruption to health systems and other critical services. It has unfortunately already resulted in hospitalizations and deaths. Of course, as with other diseases, vaccination offers the best protection. Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) believes that the existing vaccines are effective against the disease. There is also a ray of hope in the form that it seems to be a minor disease, and as far as the vaccine is concerned, we should be safe by getting ourselves vaccinated timely. Vaccination has to go hand in hand with all out measures to prevent infection. The all out measures include social distancing, sanitizing, avoiding crowded, closed and confined spaces frequently washing hands; wearing a mask; coughing or sneezing into a bent elbow or tissue, do not spitting in open, disinfecting frequently touched surfaces and properly ventilating indoor spaces. At a time when social gatherings like marriage, Christmas and the New Year parties become the order, before going we should have to evaluate the huge risk involved for ourselves our families and the risk to others; accordingly we should prioritize the events that are most important to us.
It is also necessary that we scale-up vaccine uptake, be it a first, second or an additional/booster dose, starting with people at risk of severe COVID-19 and health care workers. Peoples who still do not have got vaccinated are at 100 percent risk. Existing vaccines will go a long way in reducing infection because if one has been vaccinated or has been infected before, they will only spread about a third of the infection, while people who aren’t vaccinated will probably spread 100 percent of the infection. For the time being, everyone must understand that the Covid-19 global pandemic is not over yet.
We must protect the vulnerable and we must also protect our health workforce to safeguard health systems. If we are still unvaccinated, we should immediately get the shot. If we have to take a booster, we should also do it. The respective governments and the concerned authorities should also have to prepare our response systems for a significant surge. These institutions should not wait for the no. of cases to rise. They must strengthen themselves by increasing testing and tracing capacities, engaging primary health care in case management; preparing hospitals for a surge; and supporting health and frontline workers. The center and the states should prepare from now that if the situation is serious, there should be no shortage in the arrangement of oxygen cylinders and beds in hospitals for patients. The whole country bore witness when all our health services proved to be clumsy, inadequate, and weak. At the same time, the anxiety and depression with which the health workers and other frontline warriors are suffering must be addressed also by supporting them with manageable working conditions and hours.
The government has moved heaven and earth to provide as much support and care as possible. The government has now decided to introduce booster doses to the people. That will be in addition to both doses of the vaccine administered to the people so far. The government has decided to introduce booster doses for front line warriors and for people above 60 years of age or those seriously ill. Such people will be able to get these doses from 10th January onwards after the advice of their doctors.
Dr. Parveen Kumar is a Scientist at SKUAST-K; can be reached at [email protected] |
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