Amid Omicron scare, high ‘seropositivity’ rate should help India: Expert

Rakesh Mishra, former director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular, “Because, India has the advantage of high rate of ‘seropositivity’ of 70, 80 percent, and more than 90 percent of people in big cities already have antibodies.” Biology (CCMB) told PTI here.

In view of the protection available to people, even if they are infected, it will be very mild and asymptomatic most of the time, said Mishra, currently director, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), Bangalore. He said that it would help in a big way if the coverage of vaccination is further expanded and vaccines are introduced for children.

The prevalence of Omicron in the country is almost certain, although data is still emerging, but the situation will be better than Delta as the symptoms appear only mild. However, there is no scope to lower the guard as the virus must be prevented from becoming more virulent.

The only way to do this is by wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and immunization, he emphasized. When asked about the possibility of a third wave hitting the country in February or March next year, as predicted by some, with the threat of Omicron, he said waves are happening in Europe even without Omicron. Waves can happen even without a new version, he said.

Mishra said that the country is benefiting from the high rate of infection from the second wave. Even as the number of cases rises, he said that he does not see the possibility of hospitalization and oxygen problems arising.

In the same breath, the former CCMB official emphasized on COVID-appropriate behaviour, including exposure avoidance and vaccination in closed spaces. He warned of light wave in case of laxity in following the safety norms.

Noting that new types are bound to emerge, he said the general trend is that the new forms should be milder and more contagious. However, it is possible that an unexpected bad version may come up.

Mishra said that not wearing a mask and not taking vaccination will help the virus to grow which will be harmful for people with weak immunity or people without vaccination. On the testing mechanism for detecting oomicrons, Mishra said, “At present, genome sequencing is the only way to detect oomicrons.” But, many institutions and abroad are developing specific RT-PCR kits that can detect oomicron-specific infections. But, it will take weeks to become available in the country, he said.