‘Jan-Feb may see Omicron surge, but cases may be mild’

NEW DELHI: India could see a major surge in Omicron cases during January-February as the variant is expected to outpace the speed at which the Delta strain spread, a senior official source told TOI. He said the infections, however, are likely to remain mild.

The spike, predicted after conducting modelling studies, should be no cause for panic as the infectious disease appears to be approaching a stage of endemicity in which transmissibility will remain high, but the virus will not cause severe disease, he said.

Meanwhile, WHO says Omicron is spreading at an unprecedented rate and is likely already present in most countries, though only 77 have reported cases.

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Govt banks on vax to protect against severe Omicron attack
The official said there was no reason to panic, adding, “We need to work on controlling Omicron’s transmissibility.”

The WHO’s latest brief on Omicron says it is likely that the new SARS-COV2 strain will outpace the Delta variant in spots where community transmission occurs. Delta variant, which caused the devastating second wave worldwide earlier this year, still continues to be the dominating variant in India and across the globe.



Health officials in India maintain that though an upsurge in Omicron cases is expected over next couple of months and it will gradually overtake Delta, the infectons may not overwhelm the healthcare system. “Our efforts are focused at ramping up double dose vaccination so that the majority of the population is protected against severe disease and death. Data from other countries shows that Omicron is causing only mild disease. So in a situation where we are able to protect our high risk population with vaccine, there is no cause for worry,” the official said.

The Centre has asked states to focus on containment measures to limit transmission and ramp up coverage of double dose of vaccine.

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