India’s Covid-19 cases set for new highs as Omicron spreads rapidly

 Government officials have privately said they are working under the assumption that daily infections will surpass the record of more than 414,000 set in May

India’s daily Covid-19 cases jumped to 117,100 on Friday, a five-fold increase in a week and on course to overtake its previous infection peak as the fast-spreading Omicron variant replaces Delta in cities.

Government officials have privately said they are working under the assumption that daily infections will surpass the record of more than 414,000 set in May, given what has happened in countries such as the United States where daily cases recently rose past 1 million. “We will clearly surpass our record shortly and reach a new peak by early February,” M.D. Gupte, a former director of the state-run National Institute of Epidemiology and an immunisation adviser to the government, told Reuters.

“Given the size of our population, we will report more daily cases than the U.S. But what we have seen is that these cases are much more mild, so the need for hospitalisation and oxygen and all that is not picking up.” He said India’s high rate of infection during a previous major wave in April and May, as well as vaccinations, would mean a reduction in the severity of the illness for those infected by the Omicron variant.

Omicron scare: Amid sudden Covid-19 surge, Centre flags eight states

 West Bengal bans flights from UK; nearly 50% fresh cases in Delhi of Omicron

India’s R naught value, which indicates the spread of Covid-19, is 1.22, the Union government said on Thursday, warning that cases are increasing, not shrinking. It asked Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Jharkhand to remain vigilant following a significant rise in weekly infections and positivity rate there.

In view of rising Omicron cases, the West Bengal government on Thursday announced that it would suspend all direct flights from the UK and those emanating from other high-risk countries (as notified by the Union government) from January 3. This, even as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee maintained that coronavirus-related restrictions cannot be imposed everywhere as they may impact the economy.

Eight districts in India are reporting over 10 per cent weekly positivity across the country. The country on Thursday reported a single-day rise of over 13,000 new Covid-19 cases after around 49 days….

Omicron spread: Third Covid shot after nine months of second jab

 Student ID card will be considered as a proof to register on CoWIN

The gap between the second and the third doses of Covid vaccines given to co-morbid elderly, and health care and frontline workers has been set at least nine months, guidelines for Covid vaccinations for children and precaution dose issued on Monday said. Covaxin is the only option for children between 15 years and 18 years, the government said.

The Ministry of Health guidelines noted that in view of the recent global surge in Covid-19 cases, detection of Omicron variant, scientific evidence, and inputs and suggestions of ‘Covid-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advi­sory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI)’, as well as of ‘Standing Technical Scientific Committee (STSC)’ of NTAGI, India has decided to modify its Covid vaccination policy. Vaccinations for the age group of 15-18 years open on January 3.

“For such beneficiaries, vaccination option would be ‘Covaxin’ only,” the guidelines noted. A senior government official said this was done according to advice from the NTAGI, which has not recommended the Zydus Cadila vaccine for use on those under 18 years.

Omicron may not be the final variant, but it may be the last of concern

 The disease might very likely be mild as some past exposure creates immunity that reduces the likelihood of hospitalisation and death

It is controversial whether viruses are alive, but – like all living things – they do evolve. This fact has become abundantly clear during the pandemic, as new variants of concern have emerged every few months. Some of these variants have been better at spreading from person to person, eventually becoming dominant as they out-compete slower versions of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This improved spreading ability has been ascribed to mutations in the spike protein – the mushroom-shaped projections on the surface of the virus – that allow it to bind more strongly to ACE2 receptors. ACE2 are receptors on the surface of our cells, such as those that line our airways, that the virus attaches to in order to gain entry and start replicating.

These mutations allowed the alpha variant, and then the delta variant, to become globally dominant. And scientists expect the same thing to happen with omicron. The virus cannot, however, improve indefinitely. The laws of biochemistry mean that the virus will eventually evolve a spike protein that binds to ACE2 as strongly as possible. By that point, the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to spread between people will not be limited by how well the virus can stick to the outside of cells. Other factors will limit virus spread, such as how fast the genome can replicate, how quickly the virus can enter the cell via the protein TMPRSS2, and how much virus an infected human can shed. In principle, all of these should eventually evolve to peak performance.