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New Delhi: There is no evidence that existing vaccines do not work on the omicron version of the coronavirus, although some mutations reported on the spike gene may reduce the efficacy of existing vaccines, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
“There is limited data available on the efficacy or effectiveness of the vaccine for Omicron, and no peer-reviewed evidence,” Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said in a written reply.
He was responding to a question whether vaccines given in the country are effective in developing immunity to this type.
“However, the vaccine is protected by antibodies as well as cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better protected. So vaccines are still expected to provide protection against serious disease and vaccination with available vaccines is critical,” he said.
Listing out the steps taken by the government following the news of the outbreak of the Omicron version of COVID-19 in various countries, Mandaviya said his ministry reviewed the existing travel guidelines based on risk assessment and revised rules for international arrivals. Issued on 28 November. Which was amended two days later.
As per the guidelines, regions or countries have been re-classified as ‘at risk’ based on the epidemiological status of COVID-19 there and the reporting of the Omicron variant from these countries.
The list of such ‘at risk’ areas or countries is dynamic in nature and has been updated from time to time. Mandaviya said all travelers coming from countries deemed ‘at risk’ will also have to mandatorily undergo COVID-19 test through RT-PCR, followed by mandatory home quarantine for 7 days. .
An RT-PCR test will also be conducted on the eighth day of arrival in India for monitoring by the state health authorities. Two per cent passengers from non-at-risk countries will be randomly tested for COVID-19.
Individuals tested positive will be subjected to whole genomic sequencing at the identified INSACOG network laboratories to determine the presence of SARSCoV-2 variants (including Omicron).
Mandaviya said that the states and union territories have been asked to initiate several activities including strict surveillance of international travelers in the community, contact tracing of positive persons and follow-up for 14 days, Insacog Labs Involves genome sequencing of positive samples in an accelerated manner.
Read also: India’s Omicron tally crosses 200-mark, cases detected in 7 states
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