Pandemic is not yet over, warns top scientist

‘Important to keep economy running, but don’t forget virus is all around us’

The COVID-19 pandemic is not over yet and “if we don’t do anything, we might get another wave through a new variant, which is likely to be highly infectious and cause severe clinical impacts”, warn scientists.

“Omicron may be causing milder symptoms, but it could still be fatal for the elderly and those with co-morbidities. If we allow ourselves to be infected by disregarding safety protocols or not taking the vaccine, we will be effectively helping new and, possibly, more potent variants to arise in a few months,” says director of Tata Institute for Genetics & Society (TIGS), Rakesh Mishra.

The former CSIR-CCMB director says it is “dangerous” to think Omicron is “mild” because it is still a virus and not a vaccine: “We are extremely lucky we have multiple options of vaccines. While they may not guarantee protection from infection, they are still doing an amazing job of substantially reducing hospitalisation and death related to COVID-19. Vaccines are controlling transmission and in ensuring cellular immunity”.