December 21, 2024

Omicron: Initial Studies Suggest It Is Very Dangerous

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-11-29 06:43:58

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

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With the World Health Organization christening the B.1.1.529 Covid variant found in South Africa as Omicron and having classified it as a variant of "concern" and with it being detected in Netherlands, Denmark and Australia apart from South Africa, Botswana, Hong Kong and Israel, the threat from the new variant is very real and dangerous.

Omicron is said to have 53 variants, including 32 spike protein variants. This makes it extremely dangerous as initial studies have shown that some of the variants might be resistant to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)  including etesevimab, bamlanivimab, casirivimab, imdevimab and their cocktails. It has also been reported that at least one person in Israel infected with Omicron had even taken a booster dose of the vaccine, which means that the virus can cause vaccine breakthrough infections.

While experts have not been able to gauge how severely Omicron could infect the human body (with some experts in South Africa saying it will cause 'mild disease') the very fact that some of its mutations are mAbs resistant and one case of vaccine breakthrough has been seen makes it extremely dangerous. Also, the high number of mutations makes it highly transmissible (with experts saying it is 6 times more transmissible than Delta, the variant which caused havoc in India in the second wave) and hence capable of starting the third wave in India and additional waves worldwide.

It would be prudent for all countries to take immediate measures to stop the spread of Omicron. These must include screening travelers from all countries and not only countries where it has been detected. Genome sequencing must become a standard practice to discover the new variant and its mutations in collected samples, both from travelers and from the local population. While the time has not come to impose lockdowns, the situation must be monitored with all seriousness and extreme restrictions must be re-imposed if needed.

In India, travel restrictions for overseas travelers must be strictly re-imposed. Testing, that has become very lax in the last few months, must be taken up at the levels of April 2021. It must be recognized that just testing is not enough - a large number of random samples must also be sent for genome sequencing. The vaccination drive, which is showing signs of having slowed down immensely, needs to be pumped up again. First dose coverage must be increased exponentially and second dose defaulters must be given the jab immediately. The laxity seen in public places is very dangerous. Administrations all over India need to crack down on people not wearing masks, prevent overcrowding and ensure that sanitizers are available at the entrances of all public buildings. Disincentives, as introduced in Maharashtra, like not allowing access to public transport and other places to those who are not fully vaccinated is a step in the right direction. Other such measures must be taken to ensure that India is not caught napping as was the case when the second wave hit the country.