<p>On December 19, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) had said that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading at a much faster rate than the Deta strain.</p>.<p>The WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had also said that it was more likely for vaccinated and Covid-19-recovered individuals to catch the infection or be reinfected.</p>.<p>India is currently the living image of the same, with the Omicron variant spreading rapidly. The variant is already seen to be outpacing other variants across the world.</p>.<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/covid-cases-jump-130-in-karnataka-over-one-week-1067356.html" target="_blank">Covid cases jump 130% in Karnataka over one week </a></strong></p>.<p>There are currently 1,700 cases of the new strain in the country - the result of a massive jump, faster than even the devastating second wave India faced last year, an <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covid-surge-due-to-omicron-may-follow-global-trend-data-101641148104829.html" target="_blank">analysis </a>by <em>Hindustan T</em>imes showed. However, experts have suggested that Omicron could be a 'milder' strain in light of the lesser number of both hospitalisations and severe cases reported.</p>.<p>“The Covid world pre-Delta and during the Delta wave was very different from the post-Delta wave. Very small fraction of the population in any country was vaccinated. But now, vaccine coverage has increased and Delta also caused a lot of infections. In India, 67.6 per cent population was antibody positive by July 2021. Now, vaccine-induced as well as hybrid (both infection and vaccination) immunity protects much better from severe disease. Further, the Omicron variant appears to cause milder disease. Altogether, the hospitalisation rates are down everywhere even in face of a more transmissible virus,” Dr Shahid Jameel, noted virologist and former head of INSACOG, told the publication.</p>.<p>Cases in the country are spiking again, with India reporting 33,750 fresh infections on Monday - the highest single-day cases logged since September 18, 2021. However, lesser number of deaths are being reported in comparison to the deadly second wave, some indicator that Omicron infections could be milder than Delta. </p>.<p>The rate of spread is another story - a whopping 175 per cent spike in cases in merely one week, according to the publication. </p>.<p>What makes this even more alarming is that the growth rate has changed from negative, just 5 days ago, to surpass the second wave's peak growth rate of 75 per cent.</p>.<p>The case curve may reportedly double in a week if this trend persists. </p>.<p>It is also important to note that the national average growth rate fails to represent that difference in rates from state to state with the likes of Delhi and Maharashtra reporting considerably more cases than some other states.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH videos:</strong></p>
<p>On December 19, 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) had said that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading at a much faster rate than the Deta strain.</p>.<p>The WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had also said that it was more likely for vaccinated and Covid-19-recovered individuals to catch the infection or be reinfected.</p>.<p>India is currently the living image of the same, with the Omicron variant spreading rapidly. The variant is already seen to be outpacing other variants across the world.</p>.<p><strong>Read more: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/covid-cases-jump-130-in-karnataka-over-one-week-1067356.html" target="_blank">Covid cases jump 130% in Karnataka over one week </a></strong></p>.<p>There are currently 1,700 cases of the new strain in the country - the result of a massive jump, faster than even the devastating second wave India faced last year, an <a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/covid-surge-due-to-omicron-may-follow-global-trend-data-101641148104829.html" target="_blank">analysis </a>by <em>Hindustan T</em>imes showed. However, experts have suggested that Omicron could be a 'milder' strain in light of the lesser number of both hospitalisations and severe cases reported.</p>.<p>“The Covid world pre-Delta and during the Delta wave was very different from the post-Delta wave. Very small fraction of the population in any country was vaccinated. But now, vaccine coverage has increased and Delta also caused a lot of infections. In India, 67.6 per cent population was antibody positive by July 2021. Now, vaccine-induced as well as hybrid (both infection and vaccination) immunity protects much better from severe disease. Further, the Omicron variant appears to cause milder disease. Altogether, the hospitalisation rates are down everywhere even in face of a more transmissible virus,” Dr Shahid Jameel, noted virologist and former head of INSACOG, told the publication.</p>.<p>Cases in the country are spiking again, with India reporting 33,750 fresh infections on Monday - the highest single-day cases logged since September 18, 2021. However, lesser number of deaths are being reported in comparison to the deadly second wave, some indicator that Omicron infections could be milder than Delta. </p>.<p>The rate of spread is another story - a whopping 175 per cent spike in cases in merely one week, according to the publication. </p>.<p>What makes this even more alarming is that the growth rate has changed from negative, just 5 days ago, to surpass the second wave's peak growth rate of 75 per cent.</p>.<p>The case curve may reportedly double in a week if this trend persists. </p>.<p>It is also important to note that the national average growth rate fails to represent that difference in rates from state to state with the likes of Delhi and Maharashtra reporting considerably more cases than some other states.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH videos:</strong></p>
