There could be approximately 75,000 Omicron- related deaths in the UK by April 2022.
Pandemic is not over, new variant has spread in 63 countries
New Delhi: The Omicron Covid-19 variant was increasing in India and Delhi with four and Maharashtra with eight more cases , the tally of Omicron cases has swollen to 61 in the country.
Principal Investigator for National Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme Dr Naresh Purohit said that the pandemic is not over, as the new variant has spread to almost 63 countries so far and it is safe to be on a defensive mode instead of wishful speculation.
Quoting a recent study of the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine, Dr Purohit pointed that as per the projections, there could be approximately 75,000 Omicron- related deaths in the UK by April 2022.
Advisor, National Communicable Disease Control Programme Dr Naresh Purohit said in a release here today that the new Omicron coronavirus strain found in 63 countries was spreading at a rate not seen with any previous variant of Covid-19 — underlining that even if it causes less severe disease, “the sheer number of cases could once again overwhelm unprepared health systems".
Acclaimed Epidemiologist Dr Purohit averred that a two times more transmissible and 10 times less lethal variant could lead to more deaths when compared to a more lethal variant.
Omicron, a mild variant with more transmissibility was expected to lead to more hospitalisations and more deaths.He warned that the information that Omicron is a milder variant could lead to complacency in the general population, leading to disastrous results.
Dr Purohit said though omicron exact pathogenicity is yet to be ascertained, various hypotheses have been put forth on the transmissibility and severity of disease. One should not underestimate the pathogenicity of Omicron.
Dr Purohit further said that Omicron wad able to reduce the effect of the preventive vaccine and it is spreading rapidly. He apprehended that omicron is more contagious and will outperform Delta in terms of patient numbers and the effects of the vaccine diminish after omicron infection.
Noted Infectious Disease Expert Dr Purohit said that as per simple logic when any variant spreads fast, the number of people infected will be more and more people with comorbidities will also get infected. People with comorbidities have a larger risk of getting serious symptoms and mortality. So definitely if we fail to stop Omicron, theres a high chance that we will face a huge problem in the country.
He added that Omicron is a new threat and we need to take all measures to stop its spread. There is no escape from taking precautions till we get zero Covid cases in our country.
He cautioned that new variants may emerge from time to time so we must continue our research in the development of vaccines which can protect us from all variants. Strict Covid protocols should be followed.
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