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COVID-19 Cases Among Fully Vaccinated on the Rise in India As Omicron Variant Fears Escalate
COVID-19 Cases Among Fully Vaccinated on the Rise in India As Omicron Variant Fears Escalate
Sputnik International
Several doctors have maintained that although there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases among the fully vaccinated in India, those who are infected only have it... 29.11.2021, Sputnik International
2021-11-29T14:44+0000
2021-11-29T14:44+0000
2021-11-30T10:19+0000
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Just as concerns are beginning to take hold over the new COVID-19 strain, the omicron variant, there has been a spike in COVID-19 cases in India - especially among those who are fully vaccinated.Last week, several instances of fully vaccinated people testing positive for COVID-19 across India became a cause of worry.Last week, around 67 people, 59 of whom were fully vaccinated, were found to be COVID-19 positive at an old-age home in Maharashtra state.In the state of Madhya Pradesh, 11 fully vaccinated Indian Army officers, studying for a certificate in business management at the Indian Institute of Management Indore, tested positive for COVID-19.A similar pattern has also been seen in Karnataka state where so far 182 fully vaccinated students at a medical college in Dharwad District have tested positive for COVID-19. However, the state's health authorities have said that these are "breakthrough cases". A study conducted by the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics (INSACOG) consortium, India's Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on two Delhi hospitals revealed that there has been a surge in breakthrough cases and there is a possible risk of further transmission to susceptible people. "Waning immunity means booster doses will probably be needed to top up protection at least for the next couple of years while the virus continues to circulate at such high levels," he added. According to doctors, infections that occur two weeks after vaccination are known as breakthrough infections. As everybody reacts differently to vaccination, some recipients contract breakthrough infection which is an immune response to the vaccine by their bodies. However, as preliminary evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that there may be an increased risk of reinfection with the omicron variant compared with other variants, this surge in COVID-19 cases among the fully vaccinated can be alarming. "Vaccines can only prevent infection by 70 percent but there is always a 30 percent risk of exposure to the virus," he added. Dr Lokesh also said the spread of COVID-19 will "never" stop as the virus will keep on mutating. "We need to follow the regular protocols of social distancing, wearing masks, sanitation. The spread of the virus will not stop here as there will be a constant mutation of the virus and we have to be prepared for this. We have to take maximum measures that are possible at our end," he said.Over the past two weeks, the majority of COVID-19 cases in Kerala state have been seen among fully vaccinated people. Kerala's health minister, Veena George, said the rise in breakthrough cases was not "unexpected" and although COVID-19 cases are surging among the fully vaccinated, death is still rare. "However, the presence of full vaccination mitigates the severity of the illness and most individuals tend to have a mild illness." Dr Banka also said that re-infection is fairly uncommon and only a handful of cases are reported in every country. "The low numbers may be attributed to the fact that this disease is less than 24 months old and we need to wait some more time to understand re-infection trends." "Reasons for re-infection may be immunity waning over time, the emergence of new variants, complacency in COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, etc. Reassuringly most of the re-infection cases reported so far have been mild," Dr Banka added. According to John Hopkins University COVID-19 Resource Centre, there has also been a surge in COVID-19 cases in western countries such as Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, despite the majority of the populations being fully vaccinated. “The breakthrough infection cases in the new COVID clusters is the same. In India, four vaccines are available Moderna, Sputnik V, Covaxin, and Covishield," Dr Jagadish Hiremath, chairman of Aasra Hospital in Bangalore, Karnataka, told Sputnik. "There is always a chance of catching COVID even after being fully vaccinated," he added. Although around 40 percent of India's population is fully vaccinated, the infection rate of the country has drastically declined. The daily COVID-19 tally of the country has dropped from a peak of more than 400,000 per day in May to less than 10,000 cases a day at present.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20211126/india-new-south-african-covid-19-variant-triggers-panic-govt-announces-rigorous-screening--tests-1091038528.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20211129/omicron-variant-panic-grips-indian-officials-as-passenger-from-south-africa-tests-covid-positive-1091100050.html
https://sputnikglobe.com/20211128/who-data-insufficient-to-conclude-omicron-more-dangerous-than-delta-1091093014.html
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COVID-19 Cases Among Fully Vaccinated on the Rise in India As Omicron Variant Fears Escalate
14:44 GMT 29.11.2021 (Updated: 10:19 GMT 30.11.2021) Several doctors have maintained that although there has been a rise in COVID-19 cases among the fully vaccinated in India, those who are infected only have it to a mild extent and the risk of mortality is low. However, the doctors add that the emergence of the omicron variant and its potential threat of causing re-infection, is alarming.
Just as concerns are beginning to take hold over the
new COVID-19 strain, the omicron variant, there has been a spike in COVID-19 cases in India - especially among those who are fully vaccinated.
Last week, several instances of fully vaccinated people testing positive for COVID-19 across India became a cause of worry.
Last week, around 67 people, 59 of whom were fully vaccinated, were found to be COVID-19 positive at an old-age home in Maharashtra state.
In the state of Madhya Pradesh, 11 fully vaccinated Indian Army officers, studying for a certificate in business management at the Indian Institute of Management Indore, tested positive for COVID-19.
26 November 2021, 13:45 GMT
A similar pattern has also been seen in Karnataka state where so far 182 fully vaccinated students at a medical college in Dharwad District have tested positive for COVID-19. However, the state's health authorities have said that these are "breakthrough cases".
A
study conducted by the Indian SARS-CoV2 Genomics (INSACOG) consortium, India's Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on two Delhi hospitals revealed that there has been a surge in breakthrough cases and there is a possible risk of further transmission to susceptible people.
"We are all worried about reports of breakthrough COVID-19 infections. Vaccines are designed to protect us from getting infected but there are studies from the UK that suggest that the immunity we get from COVID vaccines wanes over about four to six months," Dr Sanket Jain, a renowned pulmonologist at Masina Hospital in Mumbai, told Sputnik.
"Waning immunity means booster doses will probably be needed to top up protection at least for the next couple of years while the virus continues to circulate at such high levels," he added.
According to doctors, infections that occur two weeks after vaccination are known as breakthrough infections. As everybody reacts differently to vaccination, some recipients contract breakthrough infection which is an immune response to the vaccine by their bodies.
However, as preliminary evidence from the
World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that there may be an increased risk of reinfection with the omicron variant compared with other variants, this surge in COVID-19 cases among the fully vaccinated can be alarming.
"Post-second wave, there were patients who were infected with COVID-19 despite two doses of vaccination. Now that the new omicron variant is appearing, people need to be more careful about the virus," Dr Gutta Lokesh, a consultant pulmonologist at Manipal Hospital in Vijayawada city, Andhra Pradesh state, told Sputnik.
"Vaccines can only prevent infection by 70 percent but there is always a 30 percent risk of exposure to the virus," he added.
Dr Lokesh also said the spread of COVID-19 will "never" stop as the virus will keep on mutating.
"We need to follow the regular protocols of social distancing, wearing masks, sanitation. The spread of the virus will not stop here as there will be a constant mutation of the virus and we have to be prepared for this. We have to take maximum measures that are possible at our end," he said.
29 November 2021, 08:04 GMT
Over the past two weeks, the majority of COVID-19 cases in Kerala state have been seen among fully vaccinated people.
Kerala's health minister, Veena George, said the rise in breakthrough cases was not "unexpected" and although COVID-19 cases are surging among the fully vaccinated, death is still rare.
"There are two aspects here: one is that breakthrough infection is not unusual since no COVID-19 vaccine has a 100 percent efficacy and we have evidence to show that vaccine efficacy decreases with emerging new variants especially the Delta variant," Dr Radhika Banka, a consultant pulmonologist at PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC, Mahim in Mumbai, told Sputnik.
"However, the presence of full vaccination mitigates the severity of the illness and most individuals tend to have a mild illness."
Dr Banka also said that re-infection is fairly uncommon and only a handful of cases are reported in every country.
"The low numbers may be attributed to the fact that this disease is less than 24 months old and we need to wait some more time to understand re-infection trends."
"Reasons for re-infection may be immunity waning over time, the emergence of new variants, complacency in COVID-19 appropriate behaviour, etc. Reassuringly most of the re-infection cases reported so far have been mild," Dr Banka added.
28 November 2021, 19:46 GMT
According to John Hopkins University COVID-19 Resource Centre, there has also been a surge in COVID-19 cases in western countries such as Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, despite the majority of the populations being fully vaccinated.
“The breakthrough infection cases in the new COVID clusters is the same. In India, four vaccines are available Moderna, Sputnik V, Covaxin, and Covishield," Dr Jagadish Hiremath, chairman of Aasra Hospital in Bangalore, Karnataka, told Sputnik.
"There is always a chance of catching COVID even after being fully vaccinated," he added.
Although around 40 percent of India's population is fully vaccinated, the infection rate of the country has drastically declined.
The daily COVID-19 tally of the country has dropped from a peak of more than 400,000 per day in May to less than 10,000 cases a day at present.
