Public health analyst and epidemiologist Chandrakant Lahariya on Thursday said that the initial designation of new Covid-19 variant Omicron as a “variant of concern” was the right step but after designation, scientific processes should have been followed. There were risks of transmissibility and severity of infection, he said.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Dr Lahariya said that scientists are still trying to figure out the meaning of these mutations. “We are hearing that the transmissions are not as high and is, in fact, lower than that of the delta variant. We saw misinformation during the second wave. India must convey information from transparent, trusted sources to the public,” he said, adding that the steps should not be excessive.
“The designation of new variant as a “variant of concern” was the right step. But after designation, scientific processes should have been followed. There were risks of transmissibility and severity of infection,” he said.
“Travel Restrictions are going a bit too far. The response of the government should be commensurate to the data available,” he added.
His remarks come on the day India reported its first two cases of Omicron in Karnataka.
Two males, aged 66 and 46, have tested positive for the new variant. Contact tracing is being done for primary and secondary contacts and samples of 10 passengers have been collected for Genome Surveillance, the health ministry said on Thursday.
“We don’t have all answers today but our scientists and labs are working on it. Will deal with the new situation through science and experience. Countries that took the virus lightly are seeing things get back to worse. We need to wear a mask,” said Dr VK Paul, Member, Health, Niti Aayog.
Talking about a possible ban on international flights in the face of the two cases, Paul said, “The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is being carefully examined. We will take the decisions on the basis of it. It’s an ongoing discussion within our technical and scientific circles.”
In an article he wrote for News18 earlier, Dr Lahariya had said, “What we know about B.1.1.529 or Omicron is that it has around 50 mutations, of which 32 are in spike proteins and 10 of those mutations are of a high relevance. These include H655Y, N679K and P681H mutations, which potentially increase the transmissibility. The mutations R203K and G204R are considered to be associated with higher infectivity.”
“Similarly, there is missing gene for membrane protein, nsp6, which could result in immune escape. The mutations in N-terminal and Furin cleavage sites in spike protein may affect the immune protection as these sections bind to antibodies. The mutation in receptor binding domains helps the virus to latch onto the cell and increase transmissibility.”
“Scientific studies are in progress to determine how individual immunity (natural and vaccine-induced) performs against the new variant. We need to remember that there is always a possibility of re-infection in everyone, with an existing variant or a new variant. The immunity helps in reducing the progression to clinical disease. To prevent infection from existing variants as well as Omicron, we need to continue to follow the same COVID-appropriate behaviours,” he had said.
Talking about whether vaccines be effective against this new variant or if there is a need to get a booster shot, he said, “We need to remember that vaccines are effective but do not offer 100 per cent protection. There are breakthrough infections with all vaccines and even with existing variants, including the Delta variant. It is yet to be seen whether the rate of breakthrough infections would be similar, lower or higher with Omicron.”
There are currently 99,763 active cases of covid in the country and in the last 24 hours, 9,765 new cases were reported. The average daily cases go up to 8,808 and the case positivity rate stands at 0.89 per cent, he said.
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