Protection due to Prior vaccination relatively lower for Omicron compared with delta variant :Nandicoori

Hyderabad Dec 16 (UNI) Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) Director Dr. Vinay K. Nandicoori has said that Scientists' preliminary experiments suggested that protection due to prior vaccination is relatively lower for Omicron compared with the Delta variant
Addressing a webinar on “OMICRON - All You Need To Know” organized by the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI ) here on Wednesday evening, Dr Nandicoori said that the “Omicron variant has 32 mutations and a few deletions and insertions.
Based on the evaluation of mutations, there are specific sorts of hypotheses on transmissibility and immune escape, he said the data emerging from South Africa suggests that the severity of infection is relatively low compared with the Delta.
As more and more data emerges, the situation will be more apparent, he said.
Even though India has 48 Omicron cases, the major variant in India is still Delta, the CCMB Director said whenever we get sensitive samples with travel history, we confirm the identity of the variant using genome sequencing within 72 hours.
It would be essential to get fully vaccinated and take necessary precautions to stay safe from COVID, he added.
Assistant Professor, Department of Biotechnology, NIT (National Institute of Technology) , Warangal, Dr Perugu Shyam said more mutations do not intrinsically mean that a variant is more dangerous, but almost immediately omicron generated concern within the global health community regarding its transmissibility and ability to evade both vaccine-induced and natural immunity.
The report of the new variant has caused national governments to react with the reintroduction of non-pharmaceutical measures and ramped up vaccine booster programmes in the hope of delaying the spread of omicron, he said.
Increased global genomic surveillance of variants requires both international collaboration and the sharing of resources and expertise, Dr Shyam added.
FTCCI President K Bhasker Reddy said the Omicron variant has now been reported in 57 countries. New data was emerging every day, but scientists need time to complete studies and interpret the results.
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