- Thursday, April 18, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA expects the Omicron variant of Covid-19 to cause less severe impact, the country’s health ministry on Friday (3) said, thanks to vaccinations and high exposure to the Delta variant that infected nearly 70 per cent of the country’s mammoth population by July, Reuters reported.
Several junior doctors in India have protested over the demand that staff members be beefed up, warning of a disastrous situation if the new variant put the healthcare facilities under pressure, even though nearly half of the country’s 944 million adults have been fully jabbed.
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Eighty-four per cent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine while more than 125 million are due for the second dose by November as the government is pushing more people to take the vaccine as Omicron poses a threat.
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“Given the fast pace of vaccination in India and high exposure to Delta variant … the severity of the disease is anticipated to be low,” the health ministry said in a statement. “However, scientific evidence is still evolving,” it added.
Two cases of Omicron were detected in India on Thursday (2), the first such instance, and the duo displayed mild symptoms, the ministry said. One of the two persons is a foreign national.
However, concern over the prospect of a third wave of infections remained high after the cases of Omicron were found in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, with one of the two affected persons having no recent travel history, the Reuters report added.
The health ministry told the Indian parliament that its immunisation experts were considering the need for booster doses after many lawmakers sought a third shot for health workers and those who are vulnerable.
It also said discussions were underway to vaccinate 145 million children in the country aged between 12 and 17.
A devastating second wave of the coronavirus wreaked havoc in India in the months of April and May, leaving several thousands dead and putting the health infrastructure under a massive stress.
