Omicron Threat..How Serious?

COVID-19

- Amarnath K. Menon & M.G. Arun

Barely a fortnight after news broke of a new Covid-19 ‘variant of concern’—codenamed ‘Omicron’ and first reported to the WHO (World Health Organization) by South Africa on November 24—and even before a single case has been reported in the country, India is scrambling to implement measures to contain what some say is the most contagious variant yet. At the national level, these include travel advisories and stricter testing and quarantine guidelines for travellers, while several states have imposed additional restrictions of their own.

At the time of writing, there were few certainties about the Omicron variant. Virologists say they hope to have a better understanding of the danger posed by this strain by mid-December, including how quickly it spreads, the expected severity of symptoms and how effective existing vaccines are against it. However, the fact that such a variant has emerged appears to confirm earlier warnings that Covid-19, like swine flu, could become an endemic disease, with regular mutations and cyclic spikes in case numbers in vulnerable areas.