The introduction of the Omicron variant in India has proved to be a threat for the country causing the rise of many answered questions: Will our current health infrastructure be able to fight this contagious mutant of the Covid-19 strain? Will the country see the same doom as it was seen earlier in the previous? Will the situation ever go to normal?
India is currently facing a dire situation as the cases of introduction of the new variant of the covid-19 virus named Omicron has appeared already in the Karnataka region of the country.
If we look back on the previous year, the covid-19 pandemic has severely affected the lives of the people of the country and consequently, even resulted in an economic shock throughout the country.
Moreover, in an attempt to reduce the number of cases of virus transmission, India imposed one of the strictest lockdowns all over the country. Although India was able to bring the fatality rate to equilibrium, it also resulted in economic losses and hardship all across the country.
People from different classes faced terrors; be it the people whose daily source of income depended on the labor market or the newcomers seeking employment opportunities. Apart from that, various sources have claimed that there has also been a certain decline in the earning of the people belonging from different job sectors.
The government has tried to distribute the ration and daily essentials to the weaker sections of society. But, the step was half-hearted.
This has also taken a toll on the tourism sectors and startups that eventually had to shut down because of the loss of revenue.
In the first half of the year, the country has also been in the throes of the second wave of the pandemic. This has resulted in the whole health care system of the country collapsing.
Due to a sudden surge in the covid-19 cases, it became impossible for the hospital authorities to secure the essentials that were required to treat the patients suffering from the virus.
The second wave has severely affected the states of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Delhi. This has been quite evident from the news that many people could not fight the battle against covid because of the shortage of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders, and supply of basic medicines.
Again, health is a state subject and the government should be responsible for the health of the people. Due to the scarcity of human resources in the research and health industry, it took a considerable amount of time to develop a vaccine against Covid-19 that could provide immunization against all the persisting strains of the virus.
And let us not forget the fact that within a span of one year, there has been no intent or rule provided by governments to provide vaccines for children below the age of 15 years. This means that around 472 million people are susceptible to the virus. And, not any governments except the Sikkim Government has imposed a lockdown in the region.
In this situation, when India has suffered so much by visualizing its own economy and health infrastructure collapsing, can India take such a doom once again? Will history repeat itself?
What is exactly Omicron and how contagious it can be?
World Health Organization has renamed the new variant of Covid-19 virus B.1.1.529 as Omicron. As threatening as this name sounds, it has also been stated by the Technical advisory group on Virus Evolution that the variant Omicron may have severe mutations and its impact may vary on the mutations.
The scientists and researchers are currently carrying out their studies to understand the nature of the omicron variant. It is not yet made aware what is the transmissibility rate of the variant and if it is more contagious than the Delta strain of the Covid-19 virus.
However, the researchers have declared that the variant will cause mild disease in people of younger age. And, the Omicron variant may be somewhat similar to the delta form of the virus and may result in fatality among vulnerable groups of people.
It has also been suggested in the preliminary examination that the people have a chance to be re-infected by the disease. Also, the infections can be diagnosed by RT-PCR tests.
But, whether the vaccinations that provided immunization against the other strain of Covid-19 virus will be able to effectively work against the Omicron variant of the virus.
Current Cases of the Omicron variant in India
It has been reported that the Omicron variant has already reached the country as two individuals have been tested positive against the new variant of the covid-19 virus. One of the two individuals hailed from South Africa and has already left the country. The other individual is a Bangalore-based doctor who is 46 years old.
The police commissioner has stated that the infected people were showing mild symptoms. The Bangalore-based doctor had no travel history.
The results were also verified by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium where the agency has studied the genetic variations of the Omnicron variant.
The doctor who was detected positive was kept in isolation and his primary, as well as secondary contacts, were also tested for the virus. Five of his contacts were found positive and kept under home isolation.
The foreign returnee was kept under isolation and was later found to be negative. The person later returned to Dubai.
The Karnataka Government should be accredited for their quick response that has helped to tackle the situation on time.
Moreover, the center along with the health minister have also implemented strict rules for international travelers entering the country. They have to undergo RT-PCR tests and if found positive, the sample would be further sent for genome sequencing.
In addition, the passengers have to serve a period of self-isolation for a given period of time that may be extended if found positive in the subsequent testing.
Omicron “Milder” than Delta Variant?
The South African researchers have claimed that the new variant Omicron is milder than the delta form of the Covid variant. They have implied the statement as they have seen people infected by Omicron in the few clusters of south Africa. They have also stated that the variant may not prove to be as lethal as the delta variant. And the vaccination status of the people would also affect the consequence of the infection.
Covaxin and covishield may work well against the new strain of virus theoretically and one of the major symptoms of omicron is that it does not affect the smell and taste of the infected persons. And the symptoms are indifferent to the delta strain of the virus that includes body ache, smell, taste.
Final Verdict:
Will India see an inevitable doom because of the new strain of the virus?
The Delhi government has recently stated that they are fully prepared to tackle the Omnicron variant in India. Moreover, the South African researchers have also stated that the new variant seems to be milder than the Delta variant.
Given that, most of the people in India are vaccinated and several vaccine campaigns have been introduced in the interest of the central as well as the state governments to administer at least a single dose of the vaccine to the rural people, India may not see the doom as experienced in the previous year.
The government has also undertaken to carry out an ample amount of RT-PCR tests proving that prevention is the key.
At the end of the day, a country’s economy or health depends on the people. The citizens should be accountable for the situation and follow all the covid norms to avoid the inevitable doom. It lies in the fact that
“The government can only give out the norms. It ultimately rests in the hands of the people whether to follow the law or oppose it.”
edited and proofread by nikita sharma
