As Omicron fear ripples across nation after cases found in Karnataka, INSACOG, a network of national testing labs, stresses importance of the third shot
Workers prepare beds inside a COVID-19 ward to treat Omicron cases, at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital in Chennai on Friday
Amid demands for a booster vaccine dose, India’s top genome scientists have said it “may be considered” for people above 40 years. “Vaccination of all remaining unvaccinated at-risk people and consideration of a booster dose for those 40 years and over, first targeting the most high-risk / high-exposure may be considered,” the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Sequencing Consortium (INSACOG) said in its weekly bulletin on November 29. The INSACOG is a network of national testing labs set up by the government to monitor genomic variations of COVID. Two Omicron cases were found in Karnataka.
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With the nation in the grip of Omicron fears, the country’s top genome scientists have said that there is a need to inoculate all unvaccinated at-risk people apart from considering giving a booster dose to those above 40 years of age.
A health worker collects a swab sample in Bengaluru on Friday. Pics/PTI
The recommendation came amid demands for a booster dose of COVID vaccines by lawmakers during a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the pandemic situation in the country. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said a decision on booster and jabs for children will be taken on the basis of advice of experts.
The INSACOG said genomic surveillance will be critical for early detection of the presence of this variant, to enable necessary public health measures. It also recommended monitoring travel to and from the affected areas, and contact tracing and upped testing.
A health worker administers a dose of COVID vaccine to a man, in Bengaluru on Friday. Pic/PTI
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government has postponed all events in educational institutes till January 15, 2022, informed state Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Friday. The state is also probing into the case of a Omicron-positive man, who left the country after taking a COVID negative certificate from a private lab. Ten fliers are ‘missing’, said Ashoka.
9 of Jaipur family test positive
Jaipur: Nine members of a family here tested positive for COVID-19, days after four of them returned from South Africa. Their swab samples have been sent for genome sequencing to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital, a health official said.
12 potential Omicron patients in Delhi hosp
As many as 12 patients suspected to be infected with Omicron variant have been admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan hospital in Delhi so far, said sources. Eight of these patients were brought to the hospital on Thursday. “Four suspects have been admitted today, out of which, two have tested positive,” they said.
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