Deaths in Telangana due to Delta variant, say Experts
Hyderabad: While the Omicron variant has been the dominant circulating virus triggering the Covid third wave, there are pockets where the Delta variant continues to remain active and could be responsible for Covid-related fatalities in Telangana, senior public health officials here believe.
It is universally accepted that the Omicron variant is highly transmissible but not as severe as the Delta variant. With the rise of Covid infections, in the last one week, the health authorities, however, have also reported 18 fatalities in Telangana.
Due to lack of genetic sequencing, there is no mechanism to ascertain the variant (Delta or Omicron) that was causing the fatalities among positive Covid infections. However, almost all the fatalities during the ongoing third wave were among unvaccinated individuals, had severe comorbidities, delayed seeking medical help, and aged, doctors said.
“At Gandhi Hospital, per day 1 or 2 deaths are getting reported on a daily basis. The patients are brought in a very severe condition. It is also clear that Omicron is not severe at all and there are still several instances where the Delta variant has been active. That is the reason why it is important to be very careful and keep taking maximum precautions,” Superintendent, Gandhi Hospital, Dr M Raja Rao said.
Former Pulmonology professor, Osmania Medical College and coordinator for swine flu, Dr K Subhakar points out that it is unvaccinated with severe comorbidities, who are always at risk when they test positive for Covid.
“At present, the dominant circulating virus in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is Omicron variant. There could be some pockets where the Delta variant could still be active. However, we must keep in mind that individuals with comorbid conditions are always at risk,” he said.
Senior health officials have also cautioned people not to take Omicron lightly or consider getting infected intentionally to gain immunity, especially people with compromised immunity due to chronic heart, lung and kidney ailments, and who have to take extreme precautions during the ongoing third wave.
The Chief Scientist, World Health Organisation (WHO) Dr Soumya Swaminathan also tweeted on this issue. “Omicron infection is not a substitute for vaccination, as some are suggesting. Among unvaccinated people, Omicron doesn’t guarantee immunity against variants. However, Omicron infection among vaccinated increases immunity to Delta,” she remarked.
The top WHO scientist was referring to a recent study conducted by researchers from Africa Health Research Institute (AHRI), South Africa, led by Professor Alex Sigal. The researchers in the study had observed that “Delta variant was on its way out as Omicron could shut the door on Delta re-infections. Provided there are enough vaccinated people. The unvaccinated lose out on the extra Omicron protection and don’t gain a boost to Delta”.
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