India Saw Over 294 Omicron Variants in 2022, Not One Could Survive Here; Booster Shot Wise Call: INSACOG Co-Chair

Around 300 sub-variants of Omicron were detected in India last year, but not one was able to establish itself here as a variant of concern, the co-chair of India’s coronavirus genomic surveillance programme told News18.com.

“The surveillance for assessment of mutations in the coronavirus is of very high quality in India. In 2022, we have spotted more than 294 sub variants of the Omicron lineage," Dr NK Arora, co-chair of INSACOG, told News18.com.

The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, or INSACOG, is a group of over 50 laboratories to monitor genomic variations in the COVID-19 virus.

“This shows how tight India’s surveillance programme is. Practically, India has witnessed almost every variant of Omicron, but none of those was able to establish itself in India, while the variants caused havoc in some other parts of the world," he said.

Ruling out fears of new mutations emerging from China’s Covid-19 outbreak, Arora said that the positivity rate in India is 0.1 per cent and there is no new variant capable of triggering a new wave in sight.

Starting from BF.7 to BA 5.2, BQ variants, XBB variants, BB, BN, BY variants, India has witnessed all, but none established its prevalence here. “Globally, except China, the cases have started tapering down. There is no premise for creating a panic unless we find a new variant of concern. Hence, we only need to up our ante and be ready for every possible emergency."

‘TIME TO GET HETEROLOGOUS BOOSTER SHOTS’

Arora, who is also the chairman of India?s Covid-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), advised that while there is no need to be in panic mode, taking a booster shot would be a “wise call".

Arora advised that the population should get their pending third dose, preferably the “heterologous" booster, which includes “Biological E’s Corbevax and Bharat Biotech’s latest intranasal vaccine".

A homologous booster shot means the administration of the same vaccine as previously administered, whereas a heterologous booster shot involves the administration of a different vaccine.

A set of international studies have shown that heterologous boosting provides better protection as opposed to homologous ones. “There is no harm but only a benefit in taking a booster shot. Not only elders or people with compromised immunity, but I would also recommend the jabs to youngsters."

“A majority of people in their late 20s or 30s have no idea about their hypertension status or suffer from obesity and other silent ailments."

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