With the detection of new corona variant Omicron, ,the religious leaders, astrologers and even scientists fear that end of the humanity is almost nearer. We could derive satisfaction from the fact that erarlier predictions over the destruction of the world through floods, fires, pandemic and comets proved false and none of them could do any harm to the human beings. However, now as deadly coronavirus is raising its bloody head time and again, and all our scientific, technology and nuke power turning out helpless before the killer virus, the fear of the impending end of the world looks somehow probable.
Look at the happenings in last two years since the coronavirus first appeared in China in December 2019. It is for the first time that a killer virus has hit the the entire world equally and still raising its head. It has killed more than 52 lakhs people the world over and gripped over 2.16 billion people out of the 7.9 billion population of the world. And the count is continuing as no respite from this killer virus is seen in near future.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that new corona variant- Omicron- may spread more quickly than other forms, and preliminary evidence suggested there is an increased risk of reinfection.It has classified the new variant more deadly than earlier beta and delta.
Like earlier variant Omicron is more likely to manifest as severe, often life-threatening disease in the elderly and chronically ill individuals. But younger, mobile and usually healthy people are also more at risk. As of now. it will take a while before its effects, in terms of disease severity, can be assessed.
The World Health Organisation has declared it a variant of concern, and assigned it the name Omicron. The beta variant spread much more efficiently between people compared to the “wild type” or “ancestral” SARS-CoV-2 and caused South Africa’s second pandemic wave. It was therefore classified as a variant of concern. During 2021, yet another variant of concern called delta spread faster over much of the world, causing a third pandemic wave.
As the new variant carries certain mutations that are concerning. so its genetic profile very different from other circulating variants. Experts say it does not seem to be a “daughter of delta” or “grandson of beta” but rather represents a new lineage of SARS-CoV-2.
It is not yet known whether Omicron is not as severe on vaccinated people but it is learnt that the immune protection provided by vaccination wanes over time and does not protect as much against infection but rather against severe disease and death. The possibility that new variant may evade the immune response is disconcerting.
Studies show that effectiveness after one dose of corona vaccine was notably lower among persons with the delta variant (30.7%) than among those with the alpha variant. With the vaccine, the effectiveness of two doses was 93.7% among persons with the alpha variant and 88.0% among those with the delta variant. With the another vaccine, the effectiveness of two doses was 74.5% among persons with the alpha variant and 67.0% (95% CI, 61.3 to 71.8) among those with the delta variant.
Modest differences in vaccine effectiveness were noted with the delta variant as compared with the alpha variant after the receipt of two vaccine doses. Absolute differences in vaccine effectiveness were more marked after the receipt of the first dose.
May be that the coronavirus pandemic is not the end of humanity, but It, undoubtedly is putting us to the test. Despite our scientific advancement and technology, we haven't found an effective vaccination against the killer virus as its variant after variant is emerging again and again.
Two years (since Dec 2019) is a long period and by this time we should have been able to develop an most effective vaccination or drug to fight this killer virus with our rich science and technology power. However, appearance of new corona variant is not a good sign. It has put humanity at the tail end.
(Chander Sharma)
No comments:
Post a Comment