Lots of speculations are doing the rounds on social media on whether Omicron, the new variant of SARS- CoV2, projected to be highly transmissible could be more lethal than the second Delta wave. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is apprehensive of vaccine inequity in poorer African countries which could hamper herd immunity world-wide. We also come across cases where fully vaccinated persons and people with no travel history in Omicron-hit countries contracting the virus which speaks volumes of the efficacy of the vaccines rolled out by pharma companies. With discussions by expert medical committees at an advanced stage for administering a booster dose to people who are immunocompromised and with comorbidities, the government will do well to review the entire pandemic conundrum in a holistic manner.
In all this hullabaloo there is a positive note from an eminent microbiologist who states that Omicron is a combination of Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants of Coronavirus which could prove to be a blessing in disguise as it has become a variant that causes mild infections of common cold with a rapid spread which is an indication of weakening of the severity of the virus.
