'Omicron is a mild infection', Says AIIMS Director Dr Guleria
Read more to know what AIIMS Director Dr Guleria has said about Omicron infection.
On Thursday, AIIMS Director Dr. Randeep Guleria has cautioned the public against rising Omicron cases and urged citizens to not hoard essential medical supplies such as oxygen cylinders and medicine. He asserted that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus is a “mild infection”.
“Omicron is a mild infection. Oxygen requirement may not be that much. But I would request everyone to refrain from hoarding oxygen cylinders, medicines, etc. We as a nation are better prepared to manage any surge in the cases,” he said.
Further, he said, "from the point of view of individual immunity. A large number of us have either got immunity because of vaccination or due to natural infection. Don’t panic, stay alert."
Meanwhile on Thursday, the World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said, "Omicron infection numbers are high and occurring in both vaccinated and unvaccinated. But it appears that vaccines proving to be protective. The need for critical care doesn’t seem to be going up. It’s a good sign. Multiple factors account for vaccine effectiveness. One is the vaccine itself, second is biological factors like age - the older you are, the more vulnerable you are to the disease and third factor is waning of immunity."
On Thursday, India has recorded 180 new cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, pushing the total tally of such infections in the country to 961, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday. The 961 cases have been detected across 22 states and UTs so far, and 320 people have recovered or migrated.
