Vaccination prevents deaths, masking prevents infection. Omicron variants are infecting people who had received two doses and a booster shot, but this does not mean that vaccination is of no use in the battle against COVID-19, says Indian Institute of Public Health-Hyderabad Director Dr. G.V.S. Murthy.
Some vaccines, especially the m-RNA vaccines have protected against Omicron infections to an extent but no vaccine has provided 100% protection. However, people infected with other variants earlier and got primary immunisation or booster after the first infection, have shown higher antibody levels and protection against Omicron, he explains.
Recent studies have also shown that the protection against Omicron among previously vaccinated adolescents and young adults is much better compared to older individuals. This has been reported with many of the currently available vaccines. What is also evident is that even where massive outbreaks of Omicron variants have been reported, deaths have been very low compared to the previous variants, especially the Delta variant which caused havoc in India, he points out.
In this second part of a recent exclusive interaction, Dr. Murthy said that deaths have been reported mostly among the unvaccinated people. "This shows the benefit of being vaccinated, even in the case of Omicron. Therefore, it is vital to promote vaccination to prevent serious illness and death and other COVID-appropriate behavior like masks and social distancing," he avers.
The virus or its future variants will attack those not protected with greater alacrity than the rest of the population. Since a significant proportion of adults have been vaccinated or ‘boosted’, efforts should be made to immunise young adults, adolescents and children quickly so as not to expose them to an unpredictable variant in the future, he says.
Lethargy on this front because people feel that “Omicron is mild and so there is nothing to worry is dangerous”, the public health expert asserts. “When we have an effective weapon like a vaccine, using it appropriately will prevent catastrophic consequences for the younger population,” he says.
Dr. Murthy advocates mask use guidelines be enforced when cases are rising or during an outbreak, but its effort should be on the part of individuals and community leaders to educate on mask use rather than imposition of penalties by the government as they are counter-productive in the long run. The same is true for large gatherings where the organisers should ensure COVID appropriate behavior rather than government banning congregations.
