Omicron is a 'deviant' from the COVID-19 pandemic progression script and so it must be postulated that two pandemics are going on side by side, one by the Delta and close relatives and the other by the latest variant of concern, said noted virologist Dr T Jacob John.
Experts in Singapore, which is seeing a surge in Omicron cases, have warned that the new and supposedly more contagious variant is likely to replace Delta over the coming weeks as the dominant global variant, with the virus being fitter and having a reproductive advantage.
At present, no Omicron variant has been reported in India, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
The genomic consortium, citing global data, said there is now clear experimental and clinical data supporting very high immune escape potential of Omicron, which appears to be the major component of its growth advantage over Delta.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has instructed officials to take extra efforts to complete the administration of the second dose of anti-COVID-19 vaccines to all eligible people.
No case of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus has been detected in India yet, a senior government official said on Monday.
The 73-year-old man, who was found infected with Omicron in genome sequencing and who had tested negative for the infection twice, died in a Udaipur hospital on December 31, Union healyh ministry said.
This comes amid the rising concerns of the new COVID-19 variant 'Omicron' which is being reported by foreign countries.
He said it took 15-25 days to recover for those who were infected with the Delta variant of the virus in March-April last year and even after recuperating, they complained about a number of problems.
'Better to prevent than to wait for evidence. Protection delayed can also mean protection denied'
A third dose of COVID-19 vaccine can provide up to 88 per cent protection against hospitalisation from infection by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to early results from studies conducted in the UK.
There is also evidence to support immune evasive properties of the BA.2 sub-variant, the researchers said.
Bharat Biotech on Wednesday said a study has demonstrated that a booster dose of Covaxin has a neutralising effect on the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID-19.
The reduced severity of Omicron is good news for now, but it is the result of an "evolutionary mistake" as Covid-19 is transmitting very efficiently and there is no reason for it to become milder, indicating that the next variant could be more virulent, a leading Indian-origin scientist from the University of Cambridge has warned.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 adds new uncertainties to the global economic outlook but much will depend on its speed of transmission, hospitalisation and death rates, and also the effectiveness of vaccines, Moody's Analytics said on Monday. In its commentary titled 'Much to Learn About Omicronast', Moody's Analytics said although the variant appears to spread "remarkably quickly", it will be at least two more weeks before more will be known about this new variant. "The Omicron variant of COVID-19 adds new measures of uncertainty to the outlook for the global economy, although it is too soon to adequately quantify that risk.
Neutralising antibody levels waned after six months in those who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with Covishield, Covaxin and a mix of both.
As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.
The cinema industry is staring at a loss of at least Rs 5,000 crore at the box office over the next six months if Omicron proves to be a spoiler.
The Union health ministry on Friday said while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, some of the mutations reported may decrease the efficacy of the jabs.
As the world recoils in fear from the Omicron scare and countries jostle to enforce lockdowns, these are scenes from Sarojini Nagar Market in the national capital on Sunday, November 28, where shoppers flouted every single norm in the Social Distancing rule book.
'This virus may have more immune evasion capability and therefore, it may make you more sick.'
Whether earnings growth sustains will be crucial to determining how Indian equity markets fare in the days to come.
Insurance regulator Irdai on Monday said health insurance policies that cover Covid treatment costs will also cover expenses for treating infections due to Omicron. "All health insurance policies issued by all general and health insurance companies that cover treatment costs of Covid-19 also cover the costs of treatment towards Omicron variant of Covid-19 as per terms and conditions of policy contract," the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) said in a release. The regulator has issued the directive to general and health insurers in view of the growing number of cases of the Omicron variant.
"We had a meeting with experts through video conference regarding the new year celebrations, keeping in mind the COVID-19 and Omicron related cases," Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters.
With the Omicron variant of coronavirus slowly spreading its tentacles in the country, a number of states enhanced surveillance to trace, track and quarantine contacts of COVID-19 positive persons while Delhi began genome sequencing of samples of all infected people and has prohibited Christmas and New Year gatherings.
"Protocol is very clear. Once any international traveller test positive, apart from following the routine protocol of containment and treatment, we are sending their samples to genome sequencing," said Mallikarjuna.
The WHO chief warned that it will continue to put immense pressure on exhausted health workers and health systems on the brink of collapse and again disturbing lives and livelihoods.
Two doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines generate lower levels of antibodies against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to a study which suggests that those previously infected or vaccinated may be at an increased risk of infection.
The ministry said 151 out of the 578 people who contracted the infection have recovered or migrated.
A Bharatiya Janata Party MP on Wednesday dubbed the opposition members protesting in Rajya Sabha as 'Omicrons,' alleging they were a threat to democracy, and asked them to get the 'Modi vaccine' for protection against the new coronavirus variant.
The research, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, is the first large-scale study to compare the health outcomes of coronavirus infection from Omicron and Delta in the age group which is not yet vaccinated.
A 29-year-old NRI who recently came to Vadodara in Gujarat from South Africa has been found infected with the BA.5 sub-variant of the highly-transmittable Omicron variant of coronavirus, a health official said on Tuesday.
... 'Or any country which has reasonable vaccine coverage.' 'The emergence of Omicron clearly proves that if we allow a virus to circulate in an unvaccinated population, it would take a form which could be a Variant of Concern, or a new variant.'
'We should hope that things are not as bad as in the United Kingdom'
With Omicron cases rising steadily in India, Rediff Labs has created a chart that shows latest number of cases in each state.
Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed in Mumbai for December 11 and 12, prohibiting rallies, morchas, processions etc of persons and vehicles.
We need to give a booster shot to all our frontline workers first as if they fall victim to Omicron, the health system will collapse, points out Ramesh Menon.
'Your body will be able to deal with Omicron at any time, but it depends (on when) if you are vaccinated.'
The reduced severity of the Omicron variant is good news for now, but it is the result of an 'evolutionary mistake' and does not indicate that the virus which causes COVID-19 is becoming less virulent, a leading Indian-origin scientist from the University of Cambridge warned on Thursday.
The percentage of patients with serious infections had halved from previous admissions.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances