The highly infectious BF.7 strain of the omicron variant is believed to be behind the surge of cases in many countries this time, especially in China. Reports suggest that this variant is highly transmissible; it has a shorter incubation period – those who are vaccinated are also contracting the virus.
With the surge in Covid-19 cases in countries like China Japan, South Korea, the US, and Brazil – India has also started gearing up. The bruises of the second wave are not yet healed – the period when the health system was near the verge of collapsing. Since the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2019, 1.4 billion people in this country have experienced three waves of Covid-19, that so far, killed at least half a million people out of about 44 million infected.
This time, the highly infectious BF.7 strain of the omicron variant is believed to be behind the surge of cases in many countries, especially in China. Reports suggest that this variant is highly transmissible; it has a shorter incubation period – those who are vaccinated are also contracting the virus.
Incidentally, in India, this variant had already made an entry. Three BF.7 positive cases were reported from Gujarat and one from Odisha respectively in July, September, and November, according to a report by ANI. People are worried about the possibility of a new wave – the havoc that previous waves have wrecked on the country exposed the health system.
But, there is no need to panic, according to experts and doctors. Renowned Virologist, Gangandeep Kang, tweeted on Friday that, “India is doing fine.” India does have a few cases of the XBB and BF.7 variants for some time. But, they have not driven an upsurge in India. “In the absence of an even more highly infectious variant, I do not expect a surge,” she said in a long thread.
The professor at the Christian Medical College's division of gastrointestinal sciences, Kang, explains, these cases are “omicron subvariants”, they are very good at infecting people, and “they escape the immune response that prevents infection, but are not causing more severe disease than delta,” she adds.
Incidentally, virologists believe that China’s surge is due to the ‘zero-Covid policy’ – the policy focusing on bringing Covid cases down to Zero by employing mass testing, quarantining the sick in government facilities, and imposing strict lockdowns. This policy made the Chinese population being unexposed to natural infection. This now is haunting the country, as older people who were not vaccinated, are reportedly getting severely ill, and a large population of young people are also getting infected.
Bloomberg news reported 3.7 crore people might have gotten infected in a single day, this week in China. Adding on, the report said, 24.8 crore people, got infected by this virus in the first 20 days of December. This is the biggest Covid-19 Outbreak in any country so far.
While Indians, as experts say, have been exposed to the virus and developed “hybrid immunity” – the immunity through vaccines and natural infection. Thus, relatively safer than China. During the second and third waves, Indians were exposed to the Omicron and Delta variants of Covid.
Rakesh Mishra, former director of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology told PTI that, though avoiding big crowds, and mask is “always advisable”, there is no need to panic about any new wave, “This is a sub-variant of Omicron. The main features will be like Omicron except for some small changes, there is no big difference. Most of us have gone through the Omicron wave. So, we don't have to worry about it. Essentially, it is the same virus,” he said.
India is in alert mode. PM Minister, on Thursday, after a review meeting on Covid-19, alerted against complacency and asked states to ensure operational readiness, in terms of hospital infrastructure, and human resources. He also directed to increase in genome sequencing to identify any new variant.
“Prime Minister stressed the need to ensure that the entire Covid infrastructure at all levels is maintained at a high level of preparedness in terms of equipment, processes, and human resources. He advised States to audit Covid-specific facilities to ensure operational readiness of Hospital Infrastructure, including Oxygen Cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators, and human resources,” the Prime Minister office (PMO) in a statement said earlier.
This upsurge is coinciding with the festive season. Thus, one should listen to the doctor’s advice, given it is a season of the common cold – one should avoid panicking and going to large social gatherings, and always wear masks.