Does vaccine work against Omicron? Should you be concerned? Govt answers FAQs

The emergence of Omicron, the new variant of the novel coronavirus has everyone concerned and there are several questions that are on people's mind - especially after 2 cases of the variant were reported in India.

The Centre has now issued answers to some frequently asked questions.

Could Omicron variant lead to a third wave in India?

The ministry has said that the ministry said Omicron cases are increasingly being reported from countries outside of South Africa and given its characteristics, it is likely to spread to more countries, including India. However, the scale and magnitude of the rise in cases and the severity of the disease are still not clear.

Do existing vaccines work against the Omicron variant?

While, there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on Omicron, some of the mutations reported on spike gene may decrease the efficacy of existing vaccines, the ministry said in its statement.

However, vaccine protection is also by antibodies as well as by cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better preserved. Hence, vaccines are expected to still offer protection against severe disease and vaccination is crucial. If eligible one should get vaccinated, it said.

How concerned should we be?

Omicron has been declared a variant of conern based on the observed mutations, their predicted features of increased transmission and immune evasion. The definitive evidence for increased remission and immune evasion is awaited, the ministry said.

What precautions does the Govt recommend?

It stressed that the precautions and steps to be taken remain the same as before and said it's essential to mask up properly, take both doses of vaccines, maintain social distancing and maintain good ventilation to the maximum possible.

Do current diagnostic methods work against Omicron?

RT-PCR test detects specific genes in the virus, such as Spike (S), Enveloped (E) and Nucleocapsid (N) etc to confirm the presence of the virus. However, in the case of Omicron, as the S gene is heavily mutated, some of the primers may lead to results indicating the absence of the S gene (called S gene drop out).

This particular S gene drop out along with the detection of other viral genes could be used as a diagnostic feature of Omicron. However, for final confirmation of the omicron variant genomic sequencing is required, the ministry explained.