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Delta still dominant variant of COVID-19 in India; 91% Omicron cases fully vaccinated: Health Ministry

The government said the same strategy of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour and ramping up of vaccination should be continued as 358 cases of the new Omicron variant have been reported so far from 17 states.

December 24, 2021 / 17:10 IST
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Representative image: Reuters
Representative image: Reuters

The predominant COVID-19 strain in India is the Delta variant, including the recently identified clusters, Union Health Ministry said on December 24. Therefore, the ministry said, the country needs to continue with the same strategy of COVID-19-appropriate behaviour and ramping up of vaccination.

The treatment protocols for COVID-19 and Delta variant will apply to Omicron variant as well, the Ministry said.

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The analysis of 121 Omicron cases in India showed that 91 percent were fully vaccinated with three having booster shots, 70 percent were asymptomatic and the rest were symptomatic. Up to 73 percent of the cases analysed had travel history, the Ministry said.

COVID-19 Vaccine
Frequently Asked Questions

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How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.
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