published on EastMojo on Jan 17, 2022
Vaccinate before it is too
late, warns top virologist
Dr T Jacob John, a
retired professor of Christian Medical College, Vellore, says India
should have acted fast when the first warnings came in
Covid-19’s omicron
variant is capable of stealthily infecting in spite of all precautions
taken and can cause severe disease, even death, among the vulnerable, and so people
should vaccinate before it is too late, a top virologist has said.
“Earlier, Delta was more
efficient in transmission and it dominated the epidemiology. Today Omicron is
even more transmissible,” Dr T Jacob John, a retired professor and head of
departments of clinical virology and microbiology at Christian Medical College,
Vellore, told this writer.
Whether vaccinated or not,
following Covid protocol is a must, but even the educated often forget this
point. “Masks must be compulsorily worn, but all masks are
not good enough. The other precautions regarding social distancing etc., are
well known. But even in spite of these, Omicron can stealthily infect,” Dr
John said on how to stay safe.
Dr John explained how
Japan experienced two months of endemic prevalence since the end of September last
year and disallowed travellers from outside in a bid to stop Omicron.
“But Omicron entered
Japan through a twice-vaccinated diplomat. Now Japan is bracing for a new wave
with all the known defences, including booster doses,” Dr John said in an email interview.
For the last two
years, the Covid pandemic has taken the world by storm
that refuses to subside. The virus is getting muted and new variants are
cropping up. People are in the midst of uncertainty as no one seems to have any
answer.
During the first
wave, the virus was new and as an experiment, a lockdown was announced. Vaccines
were not available then and we could not flatten the curve. The result: the economy
suffered and lives were lost.
During the second
wave, though vaccines were available, many other factors came into play – Kumbh
mela, elections, people’s resistance to take vaccines, unavailability of enough
vaccine stock. All this led to a devastating result with India losing too many lives
along with the rest of the world.
After the horrifying
second wave caused by the Delta variant, from early July to the last week of
December 2021, India experienced a period of low daily cases, settling down to
an endemic state.
Next cropped up the
Omicron variant of the SARS Cov-2 virus. The World Health Organisation (WHO) on
November 26, 2021 alerted about the next wave with huge numbers of infections. The
initial relief was that it was a diluted version of Covid caused by Delta. People
took it lightly, thinking the variant to be mild. The vaccinated ones were
confident that now the virus can’t attack them. The result is in front of us.
Omicron is now spreading like a wild fire.
The government has opened
vaccination from 15-18 age groups from January 3, 2022. But the point is even
if we achieve high coverage, will the response affect the shape or mass of a
third wave? Stressing the importance of vaccines, Dr John says, “Those who
are due for the second dose must take it before it is too late. Now boosters
are available to government-stipulated categories. Take it. Even 15-18 (age
group) likewise.”
The government has opened up booster dose for certain
categories but what if another variant comes, another booster dose? “We must find out by
studies. Another variant may not be immunity dodger. If found necessary,
yes another booster. If not wait for waning of immunity — boosted
immunity may last longer than un-boosted,” he says.
Last year, the fatalities were
very high due to the Delta variant, how scared should we be this time? Dr John says, “Omicron case-fatality rate
is about 10% (roughly) that of Delta. For vulnerable people, Omicron can cause
severe disease and even death.”
Taking a vaccine does not
make us say protected forever. So, for how long does a vaccine’s effect last? Dr John says, “In the UK, effectiveness
against disease requiring hospitalisation was 72% till 25 weeks after the second
dose; fell to 52% after 25 weeks, but rose to 88% two weeks after a
booster. Although we use different vaccines, the principle is the same.”
Some people are of the view
that a human body can build natural immunity, and when we take vaccines, we
become dependent and our body gradually reduces the ability to build natural
immunity. Dr John dismisses this concept. “Wrong notion. Vaccine is just like
infection in stimulating immune system with no risk of diseases (no infection
is introduced). Immunity is specific to each infectious agent.”
So apart from vaccines, how
do we build our immunity? Dr John says, “Immunity is specific to one
agent or its vaccine. Either get infected (with attendant risks) or get
vaccinated.”
Dr John said WHO took just
two days after the announcement from South Africa about this variant to issue
its warning, and declared Omicron as a variant of concern on November 26 last
year. He said scientists in South Africa provided early signals of two sinister
properties — transmission efficiency higher than Delta, and Omicron’s ability
to dodge immunity, whether induced by infection with other variants or the
locally used vaccines, mainly mRNA, even two doses.
India, Dr John said, should
have acted promptly immediately after the warning from WHO. What can the central and state governments do now to
stop the virus from spreading more? “Far too late to consider
that,” Dr John concludes.
(The writer is an
independent journalist and content creator based in Delhi)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8qtK5_RVrM
The writer is an independent journalist and content creator based in Delhi.
