GUWAHATI: Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma quoted scientists as he appealed to the eligible people of the state to get vaccinated against Covid-19 amid the Omicron variant scare.
"We are keeping a strict vigil. Whenever necessary, we will take all appropriate measures," Sarma said on Friday regarding the entry of Omicron in the country.
"In last few days, scientists have been saying that if we are vaccinated against Covid-19, there is not much to worry about. So, I appeal to those have not taken the first dose to get it and those who are yet to get the second dose to get it at the right time," Sarma added.
The state government is aiming to wrap up the first dose part of Covid-19 vaccination campaign by December 5 and to ensure that every eligible citizen has got the jab. Verification teams are knocking at every house in each of the 33,530 polling stations of the state to ensure 100% vaccination.
According to the FAQ on Omicron released by the ministry of health and family welfare on Friday, since this variant has a very large number of mutations, which earlier individually have been associated with increased infectivity and or immune evasion, WHO has declared it as variant of concern. It said the most accepted and commonly used method of diagnostic for SARS-CoV2 Variant is RT-PCR method, but in case of Omicron for final confirmation, genomic sequencing is required.
On whether there will be a third wave, the ministry's FAQ states, "Omicron cases are increasingly being reported from countries outside of South Africa and given its characteristics, it is likely to spread to more countries including India. However, the scale and magnitude of rise in cases and most importantly the severity of disease that will be caused is still not clear. Further, given the fast pace of vaccination in India and high exposure to Delta variant as evidenced by high seropositivity, the severity of the disease is anticipated to be low. However, scientific evidence is still evolving."
