SARS-CoV-2 serves as a reminder that it still has new tricks to reveal every time someone in India declares emphatically that we have attained herd immunity and no longer need to worry about the virus.
That is a brave yet vulnerable confession! During Alpha and Delta, we were seared and then scorched. The arrival of the Omicron variant follows a bit of a herd immunity resurgence in India during October and November of 2021, which led to many people abandoning COVID-appropriate behaviour.
There is irony in the fact that those claiming that Delhi was protected from the new variant, with 97 per cent positive antibodies for antibodies in the sixth serological survey in October 2021, are among the first to call for banning flights from countries with a new variant.
Vaccination Coverage Must Increase
The sudden appearance of Omicron has caused consternation and even panic. The mistaken belief that COVID had ended in India stemmed from the assumption that most Indians acquired immunity to the Delta strain during the devastating second wave, supported by the faster vaccination rate after that.
A more realistic approach would have considered the possibility of new variants emerging in India from unvaccinated individuals or foreigners.
Although data are sparse and studies have just begun, much speculation has been made about the infectivity, virulence, and immune evasion capabilities of Omicron. Something is fascinating about science, as Mark Twain observed in his wry remark.
“For such a small investment of fact, one gets back such a lot of conjecture.” Virus variants are no trivial matter, but conjectures are going far ahead of the evidence. The prudence of public health and the wisdom of politics calls for us to take protective measures even in the face of incomplete information.
Still, we should not rush to rash conclusions about how dangerous the new variant is to the infected, the population at risk within each nation, and the global community at large. Scientists are still gathering information and analyzing it.
Understanding Omicron
Omicron is probably highly contagious. Several additional features have been added to this based on mutations that it shares with Delta. The upper respiratory tract, especially the throat, has higher replication rates due to these factors.
As a result of its 32 spike protein mutations, it can cling to the ACE2 receptors on human cells more readily. According to the prevalence of viral presence in Pretoria’s sewage water and the speed with which the virus appears to have spread throughout Gauteng, South Africa, the disease spreads rapidly within a country.
The UK and Europe are adding to the daily list of new countries where outbreaks occur (Portugal and Scotland are among the latest); evidence of the disease’s high transmission potential is evident from its global spread. In many parts of the world, if it displaces the dominant delta, it is not yet known. We’re in the middle of the Formula One race!
A higher number of mutations, on the other hand, does not necessarily mean greater virulence. When viruses adapt to survive in a world where they are being combated, their goals are to grow more infectious and better able to evade immunity conferred by vaccines or previous infections.
Unless the population of unprotected people continues to grow, it has no survival advantage if most of the people it infects die. Until we have a more significant number of case series worldwide, we need more information, but early indicators suggest a trade-off between virulence and infectivity. By evolutionarily, respiratory viruses have become more virulent over time.
In many cases, immune evasion or escape could result in ‘breakthrough’ infections among fully vaccinated individuals and re-infections among those who had recovered from illness caused by earlier variants of the virus.
Current COVID vaccines do not protect against the virus, as we know already. The antibiotics prevent the infections from leading to severe illness or death. Renfections and breakthroughs will also increase as transmission rates increase in community settings, but they will predominantly be mild.
Vaccines around the world contain ‘spike proteins’. Our bodies produce the spike protein from the mRNA and virus-vector vaccines so that a strong immune response can be generated against them.
Antibodies generated against this protein may immobilise the virus in the bloodstream, preventing it from entering our cells. Viruses use this protein to enter our cells. Omicron’s shape-changing spike proteins make it impossible for spike-specific antibodies to recognize it.
This concern is warranted, but previous variants like Delta had a diminished response to current vaccines but were still effective. Omicron’s spike protein configuration has now prompted vaccine manufacturers to tweak their vaccines.
Covaxin presents the human immune system with a broader array of viral antigens than does an inactivated vaccine. Because it evokes overall immunity not specific to spike proteins, the variant may be more resistant to it.
A neutralization study in the laboratory will confirm this. Persons who have previously been infected with an earlier version of the virus might experience a similar outcome. As well as protection against the surface spike protein, they would also be protected against other antigens that lay deeper within the virus.
Therefore, Omicron can evade the spike antibodies but will still be attacked by antibodies directed against different antigens and by cells in the immune response.
Fight The Virus As Team World
First, we need to boost our natural immunity and adopt COVID-appropriate behaviours to prevent infections. As people revert to unsafe behaviours when they perceive a minimal or non-existent danger, this is an old refrain that needs to be repeated.
Innate immunity can be boosted by a nutritious diet (rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and proteins), moderate physical activity, adequate sleep, and breathing exercises. When indoors and outdoors, masks are required. It is essential to have a well-ventilated home, office, shop, and car. You should also keep your hands clean.
Travel bans may temporarily slow the virus down, but they can’t stop it from spreading worldwide. These bans are often counterproductive.
An effective entry point surveillance program must include effective identification of cases and contacts, as well as genetic analyses of positive samples and a beefing up of our health system to handle a pandemic response of a greater intensity.
To complete two-dose universal adult vaccination, boosters for vulnerable adults and the initiation of vaccination for vulnerable children, the vaccination coverage must be increased as well.
Our development plan at COVID makes health a priority. We have just been given new lessons by another teacher, as well as being tested in our retention of previous studies.
To be good students, we need to demonstrate our ability to apply prior learning and quickly adapt to new methods. Avoid screams of “the virus is gone” from unmasked faces in crowded streets. Not just for Team India, but for Team World, we can and must pass this test.
edited and published by nikita sharma
