COVID’s Renewed Threat

With the new Omicron subvariants back, the people are compelled to navigate their life amidst the pandemic. The Omicron subvariants – BA.4 and BA.5 – have spread fast globally. The new Omicron spin-offs are less dangerous than its predecessor – BA.2 but they infect more people more than its previous variant. The latest variant has caused fewer deaths and hospitalisations, which indicates that community immunity has grown, tempering the rage of COVID-19 pandemic that broke out in December 2019. It ran amok through 2020 to April 2021 before subsiding towards the end of last year.

The researchers state the new family members of Omicron can infect people who were immune to its earlier variants.  Like the symptoms of earlier versions of Omicron, persons contracted with BA.4 and BA.5 may suffer from cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue and headaches. But the patients are unlikely to lose their sense of taste and smell or shortness of breath found in the people struck down by the Delta and other variants of coronavirus.  

Scientists have discovered important facts about the new offspring of Omicron that impels people to follow the health protocols to avoid the virus infection. The new studies imply that antibodies, generated by vaccination, are not much effective in preventing BA.4 and BA.5 than containing its earlier variants. This shows that even the vaccinated people find it difficult to escape the Omicron infections. Nepal has witnessed spike in the new cases of Omicron for the past few days, raising alarm of new wave of pandemic.

According to the news report of this daily, the daily infection caseload of virus has crossed 12 per cent from below 1 per cent one month back. The vaccinated people and those with natural immunity can easily catch the virus and transmit it to the immune-compromised population. 

This has challenged the experts who insisted that the people are protected for certain months after getting infected or receiving full dose of vaccines. Those who have contracted the virus once or twice, have gone to the hospitals, thanks to the hyper-transmissible BA.5 that is now spreading throughout the country. The new variants have busted the myth that the people will finally achieve the herd immunity and keep the virus at bay. As the people stopped applying the safety measures such as wearing a mask, maintaining social distance and washing hands, the virus gets mutated and attacks those prone to it. Doctors admit that it is difficult to identify the risk groups susceptible to re-infection. 

The worrisome thing is that it is the young people who have been infected most compared to the people of other age groups. Of total 335 infected on Friday and Saturday, 124 belong to 21-40 years age group. As the vaccination is the only way to prevent infection, the government has given top priority to the vaccination drive from the very beginning. Altogether 7,130,779 people, who form around 24 per cent of the total population, have got the booster shots.

National Immunisation Programme, under the Department of Health Services, has informed that it has the stock of 7 million doses of vaccines. Now the challenges lie in encouraging the people to have the booster dose. The three-tier governments should develop a sound mechanism of coordination to run the vaccination campaign and save people from being re-infected.