In India, the Omicron Variety May Be Less Harmful, According to Epidemiologists

According to a senior epidemiologist, the newly-emerged omicron strain is likely to be less destructive in India than the delta-led virus pandemic that ravaged hospitals and crematoriums earlier this year.

India will likely be less affected by the new strain due to widespread exposure to the Covid-19 virus and a relatively high vaccination rate, according to Ramanan Laxminarayan, head of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy, in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday. That might change if omicron is successful in bypassing all immunological responses, he said.

When the highly-infectious delta version was tearing through the packed nation of 1.4 billion people in early May, India had the world’s fastest-spreading Covid outbreak, with daily new infections exceeding 400,000. The fatal virus re-energized the country’s vaccination drive, which has already provided over a billion doses and resulted in high levels of natural immunity among the population.

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