New Delhi: Even after facing two devastating Covid waves that resulted in several deaths, Indians are yet to fully comprehend the dangers associated with Omicron. The pandemic fatigue, coupled with theories floating around treating Omicron as a viral fever or common cold has made them more complacent towards real dangers, health experts lamented on Thursday.
India registered a single-day rise of 90,928 cases, a significant rise from the previous day's 58,097 Covid cases in a span of 24 hours. A total of 325 deaths have also been reported in the same time, according to the Health Ministry. The country's overall Omicron tally increased to 2,630 after 495 fresh cases were recorded in the last 24 hours, with Maharashtra and Delhi continuing to be the worst-hit.
According to Dr Navneet Sood, Pulmonary Consultant, Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, while the daily worries of economic constraints has overpowered the fear of infection in some sections of the population, there are people who are actually ignoring infection's possible risks and not taking required precautions.
"The reports claiming that Omicron is not causing that much severity may bring some relief but it ultimately is a variant which should be taken seriously. More awareness needs to be spread in this regard," Dr Sood said. "One should consider that if Omicron is causing lesser severity as compared to other variants till date, then some death cases have also been reported under the same variant and every death counts especially when this variant is new for us," he added.
Covid infection, even if mild, can trigger an immune response that lasts longer than the initial infection and recovery, according to a new study. The study by scientists at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, showed that the presence of elevated autoantibodies after mild or asymptomatic infection, as well as their persistence over time, Jerusalem Post reported.
"These findings help to explain what makes Covid-19 an especially unique disease," Justyna Fert-Bober, PhD, co-senior author of the study, was quoted as saying. "These patterns of immune dysregulation could be underlying the different types of persistent symptoms we see in people who go on to develop the condition now referred to as long Covid-19," Fert-Bober added.
According to Dr Anuja Lakra, Consultant-Internal Medicine, HCMCT Manipal Hospital, Dwarka, India has gone through two Covid waves with more severe symptoms and repercussions. "This time, people have become very casual and are treating it more like a viral fever or normal flu like symptoms. They are also refusing to get themselves tested, saying that they will wait for a few days to see if the symptoms are going away. It's a very casual approach towards something the medical fraternity is still evaluating," Lakra said. "We request everyone to strictly follow Covid norms as the cases are spreading like a wildfire," the doctor added.
