Delhi logs 10 new cases of Omicron, total reaches 20: Satyendar Jain

The minister said 10 out of the 40 samples sent for genome sequencing tested positive for the new variant. The minister had on Thursday said many international travellers are turning out Covid positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Moneycontrol News

December 17, 2021 / 12:30 IST

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain (File image)

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain on Friday said 10 new cases of the new Covid variant Omicron have been detected in the national capital, taking the tally to 20. Ten of these patients have been discharged, he said.

The minister said 10 out of the 40 samples sent for genome sequencing tested positive for the new variant. The minister had on Thursday said many international travellers are turning out Covid positive upon arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.

On Tuesday, he had said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has not spread in the community so far and the situation is under control. Delhi’s first case of the Omicron variant — a 37-year-old man from Ranchi — was detected on December 5.

He was discharged on Monday. Delhi’s first case of the Omicron variant — a 37-year-old man from Ranchi — was detected on December 5. He was discharged on Monday.

He had travelled from Tanzania to Doha and from there, to Delhi on a Qatar Airways flight on December 2. He stayed in Johannesburg in South Africa for a week and had mild symptoms.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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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