By DR BINOY KUMAR CHOUDHURY
Covid-19 is far from over. We are not out of the pandemic. There has been lot of speculation, assumptions and misinformation about Omicron around the world and people are confused. Many people around the world are thinking that Omicron is last variant, some call it a common cold and even some calls it a vaccine. Omicron is neither the last variant nor it is a vaccine. As long as there is high circulation of the virus, there is possibility of developing new variants including more virulent strain. There is a mistaken notion that the virus is somehow evolving to become less virulent, and this is being inaccurately lauded as endemicity by various parties. Viruses do not always evolve to become less virulent, they evolve to ensure they can thrive and transmit effectively. People are not following the safety protocols properly after some reports said that the omicron is mild. Omicron is not mild; it is “milder” than delta. After the devastation the delta variant has caused, Omicron is bound to seem less harmful in comparison. Calling Omicron mild and harmless was the biggest mistake and people are letting down their guards, getting infected and spreading the disease. An overly fast return to pre-pandemic behavior could cause considerable problems and may risk further delaying the return to post-pandemic normal.
A lot would depend on transmissibility and severity of the next variant of this deadly virus. Everything will depend on behavior of the virus and human behavior.
VACCINATION AND OUR BEHAVIOR will be the key factor in the war between the virus and us. Vaccination will prevent severity of the disease, hospitalization and mortality. Vaccinations have already contributed to lower rates of hospitalization and deaths so far. Many more people would have been hospitalized due to Covid-19 had the vaccines not been available.
The spread of any variant of Covid-19 can be controlled and prevented by our behavior to the virus i.e. Covid Appropriate Behavior.
WE SHOULD AVOID 3 C’s ( CLOSE CONTACT, CROWD AND CLOSE SETTING ) AND STRICTLY FOLLOW SMS (SOAP/SANITIZATION OF HANDS, MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING ). MANDATORY AND PROPER USE OF WELL-FITTED MASKS ( PREFERABLY N-95 MASKS ) WILL DRASTICALLY CONTROL ANY VARIANT OF COVID-19 AND PREVENT THE WAVES.
Mask is My Armament & Safety Key ( MASK ). Contrary to branding the omicron as vaccine, it is better to call Mask as the universal vaccine. Mask may be called the universal vaccine which will protect us from any variant entering into our body. Countries that neglect the importance of mask may face the threat of pandemic from new variants.
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE REASONS WHY PEOPLE SHOULD FOLLOW COVID APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR AND TRY TO AVOID THE VIRUS :
( 1 ) MORE INFECTIONS WILL LEAD TO MORE MUTATIONS AND MORE NEW VARIANTS :
It is not possible to predict the evolutionary trajectory of this RNA virus. People have forgotten about Delta. Omicron can not be used to set a trajectory for how SARS-CoV2 will behave in future. Omicron is the fifth highly significant variant of the original SARS-COV-2. It is the nature of RNA viruses to evolve and mutate and we may continue to see new variants. Higher infection rates will give the virus enough opportunities to mutate and give rise to new variants. There is no guarantee that a new variant of coronavirus would be milder than its predecessors. Possibility of more virulent variant in future can not be ruled out. There is possibility that new variant can evade the immunity provided by prior infection or vaccination.
( 2 ) OMICRON IS NOT COMMON COLD :
A misinformation is circulating around the world is that Omicron is like common cold virus.
Omicron is not common cold because it is more likely than cold to land you in hospital, and some people have already died as a result of it. It is much more severe than common cold.
( 3 ) DELTA IS STILL INFECTING :
We should not forget the devastation caused by Delta. Even though Omicron is quickly gaining ground in the world, many cases are still being caused by the Delta variant, which is known to cause severe disease and death and this is happening globally.
( 4 ) OMICRON’S LONG-TERM EFFECTS ARE UNKNOWN :
The long-term effects of Omicron is unknown. Underestimating Omicron could put people at risk of a debilitating long-haul Covid syndrome that can linger for months or years. The “silent” effects of Omicron variant are also unknown. We have no data yet on what proportion of Omicron infection will end up with “Long Covid”. People who underestimate Omicron as ‘mild’ are putting themselves at possible risk of debilitating disease that can linger for months or years. There are some reports that even with omicron the virus can stay in the body for longer. There has been report of brain fog due to Omicron which causes memory loss and cognitive issues as a result of infection. A group of researchers from University of California has linked the brain fog to the way the virus affects a person’s spine. The previous variants were detected in the body for as long as six months and in organs other than the lung.
( 5 ) YOU COULD INFECT SOMEONE AT RISK FOR SERIOUS ILLNESS :
Asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic omicron patients or even vaccinated people infected with omicron could pass the virus to someone else at risk for critical illness even if you have antibodies from a prior infection or from vaccination.
( 6 ) SOME PEOPLE COULD STILL BECOME VERY ILL :
Though the variant is causing comparatively mild symptoms, the rate at which it is spreading, there is possibility of overburdened of healthcare system. We should not forget the vulnerable sections ( elderly, children and people with comorbidities ) who may have serious disease. In many countries, children are not yet vaccinated. Omicron may be less severe than prior variants, but the extraordinary spread of Omicron in many countries means that in absolute numbers, more people will experience severe disease. In particular, recent data from USA, Italy and Germany show that people who are not vaccinated are far more vulnerable when it comes to hospitalization, intensive care and death. In USA death rate is still high.
( 7 ) OVERBURDENED HOSPITALS :
The ongoing Covid wave in the US and some European countries overwhelmed the healthcare system with record hospitalizations. Hospitals have had to postpone elective surgeries, treatment of cancer patients due to a record surge in infections. Overwhelmed hospitals have been unable to properly treat other emergencies, such as heart attacks etc and heightens the rates of mortality for these individuals.
( 8 ) MORE INFECTIONS WITH HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS OMICRON WOULD EXPOSE MORE HEALTH CARE WORKERS :
High transmissibility of the Omicron variant would expose healthcare workers and
there may not be enough hands to take care of all of those who are seriously ill. This has already happened. Patients will not get the proper care that doctors and nurses want to provide because of the current COVID surge.
( 9 ) SHORTAGE OF MANPOWER :
If more people are infected in the community, there will be shortage of manpower in various sectors.
( 10 ) OVERBURDENED HOSPITALS MEANS MORE HOME ISOLATION :
Those who advocate for home isolation should not forget that many families live in a small house where there is no provision for home isolation. Many people do not know why isolation is required and how to stay in home isolation. These problems have to be addressed.
( 11 ) EMERGENCE OF IMMUNE ESCAPE VARIANT IN FUTURE :
As mentioned earlier more infections will lead to more mutations and more new variants.
Future variant could be more resistant to immunity in the population. Future variant may even evade the immunity acquired by vaccination or prior infection.
We need to learn to live with the virus. Learning to live with the virus should not mean that we give the virus a free ride. We should not expose ourselves to the virus. It is never safe to let our guard down any time over Omicron. There is almost 50000 deaths a week globally and we can not accept this from a preventable disease. Vaccination and our behavior ( Covid Appropriate Behaviour ) is the key factor in our fight against the virus. Everybody should follow Covid appropriate behavior very sincerely and there should be strict implementation of this to keep the virus at bay.
DR BINOY KUMAR CHOUDHURY,
MD, FICR, Fellowship from SGH ( Singapore )
Professor and Head,
Department of Radiology,
Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute ( A grant-in-aid Institute of Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India and a unit of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai ).
E-mail : [email protected]
Tel : 9864094372