Tag: New Covid Variant

Several scientists have criticised the government's decision not to introduce further Covid restrictions in England before New Year's Eve, with some describing it as "the greatest divergence between scientific advice and legislation" since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, various state governments have announced curbs to stem the worsening situation due to the Omicron variant. The night curfew has been imposed in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.

According to the researchers, the levels of neutralising potency are within the range of titres found in individuals who have been previously infected with and recovered naturally from Covid-19.

The PM directed the officials to ensure that the health systems in the states, beginning from the district level, are strengthened to meet any challenge posed by the new variant. It is important for states to ensure that the oxygen supply equipments are installed and fully functional, he said.

The study analysed blood samples taken from individuals infected with Covid-19; those who had been vaccinated with a two-dose schedule and a third dose booster; and those who had reported previous infection from other Covid-19 variants of concern. The study included samples from 41 individuals who had received three doses of Vaxzevria.

The states have been advised that the main elements of the framework to be used should be based on the test positivity rate of 10 per cent or more in the last one week and on bed occupancy of 40 per cent or more on oxygen supported or ICU beds.

The INSACOG reports genomic surveillance of SARS CoV-2 across the country through sequencing of samples from 'sentinel sites' and also a detailed statewise district analysis for some states.

The study is in tandem with preliminary studies showing that several clinically used antibodies lose neutralising activity against Omicron's spike-expressing recombinant lentiviral or vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV)-based pseudoviruses, the researchers said.

While Omicron was first reported in South Africa on November 24, India's first two cases of this heavily mutated version of the coronavirus were detected in Karnataka on December 2.

The ICMR-Regional Medical Research Centre, NE, Dibrugarh has developed a novel technology -- real-time RT-PCR assay for detection of Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV2 and a kit for the same.

Besides South Africa, the Omicron strain has surged Covid cases in many countries including France, Russia, the US, and Israel. In the UK, it is expected to replace Delta as the dominant variant and the UK Health Security Agency estimates that the number of daily infections could touch 200,000.

While current Covid-19 vaccines use genes taken from the virus spike protein to encode antigens, which causes the immune system to produce antibodies, the new vaccine uses predictive methods to mimic the wider family of coronavirus antigens that researchers hope will give more protection.

The study was conducted using AlphaFold2 - a neural network-based deep learning model created by Google DeepMind - which can predict protein structure based on the genetic code.

Raising the issue of many ventilators supplied by the Centre lying unpacked and unused at some field hospitals, the Centre has asked the states to review immediately and ensure that all PSA oxygen plants, oxygen concentrators and ventilators are installed and functioning.

As Omicron is found to have more than 30 mutations in its spike protein, the main concern over its outbreak is whether disease severity is similar, milder or more severe than with the other variants.