India in a better position than first & second COVID wave: Health expert

Omicron is a wake-up call that pandemic isn't yet over, said Rakesh Mishra, Director Tata Institute for Genetics & Society.

New Delhi: The emergence of the Omicron variant in India is a wake call that the pandemic is not yet over but India is in a better position than it was during the first and second wave of COVID-19 in terms of health infrastructure, said Rakesh Mishra, Director Tata Institute for Genetics & Society.

While talking to ANI on the recent reports of Omiron cases, Mishra said, “It's a wake-up call to be aware that pandemic isn't over and we're in a very strong position with very high seropositivity and vaccination than before,

Our healthcare system is much more enabled than it was in the first and second wave of coronavirus, so we're in a very strong position, added Mishra.

The health expert, however, added that it doesn’t mean that the threat is over and there's no room for carelessness on the part of the general public.

“But we shouldn't squander advantage by being careless. People should cooperate with the government and the government should keep surveying the outbreak and if there are new variants emerging or if the same variant is in some places so that you can put some control,” ANI quotes Mishra as saying.

Adding that the vaccination against COVID is India’s strongest tool, the expert urged the population to get fully vaccinated.

So far, India has reported four confirmed Omicron cases with Maharashtra being the latest state to detect the variant.

Apart from Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat have confirmed two and one cases of Omicron respectively.

Omicron, the new variant of coronavirus, has been classified as a ‘variant of concern by the WHO’, however, the health body has urged the nations not to panic as the symptoms so far have been mild.

(With inputs from ANI)