Omicron: Existing COVID vaccines less effective against new variant, says ICMR's Dr Panda

Dr Samiran Panda, Head, Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases Division, ICMR, on November 27, noted that current scientific evidence reveals the new COVID-19 variant Omicron contains many more mutations and that existing vaccines may be less effective. The media agency ANI in a tweet quoted Dr Panda as saying, "Time could tell but there are different kinds of vaccines. Some are directed towards the spike protein of the virus which gets attached to the receptor. So, if changes happened there, vaccines might not be effective." 

The World Health Organisation has designated the variation Omicron as a "variant of concern," meaning it has genetic alterations that are known to affect transmissibility, illness severity, or the ability to resist immunisations and treatments. Certainly, Omicron's transmissibility appears to be exceedingly high, and there are concerns about whether the new variation would affect vaccine effectiveness. Meanwhile, in South Africa, the variant B.1.1.529 contained far more mutations than the prevalent Delta variant, according to genomic sequencing of infections. More concerning, some of the mutations occur in the spike protein's antibody-targeted region.

'It's a matter of time' 

According to ANI's subsequent tweet, Dr Panda stated that, because mRNA vaccinations are designed to target spike protein & receptor interaction, mRNA vaccines must be modified to account for the change that has already been detected. However, not all immunisations are the same; Covishield-Covaxin produces protection by presenting a distinct antigen to our system, he added. On being asked if existing vaccines would be effective against the new variant, he was quoted by the media agency saying, "It's a matter of time but only time would tell along with follow up observations in terms of what's happening, infection as well as vaccines & the kind of immunity they produce."

WHO warns South-East Asian regions to take special measures

The World Health Organisation has issued a warning to the South-East Asia Region to take special steps to prevent the virus from spreading. According to Dr Poonam Khetarpal Singh, WHO Regional Director for South-East Asia, the countries must improve their infrastructure in the coming months to deal with any unexpected circumstances. She also insisted on keeping a close eye on international travel, particularly that coming from contaminated areas.

WHO issued a statement on Saturday urging nations in the South-East Asia region to increase surveillance and reinforce public health and social measures, as well as increase vaccine coverage. The World Health Organisation also dispatched a team of experts to work with the scientists to expedite the necessary steps to stop the spread of infection.

(With inputs from ANI)

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