An ICMR study has demonstrated that individuals infected with Omicron have a significant immune response which could neutralize not only the Omicron but also other variants of concern, including the most prevalent Delta variant. It suggests that the immune response induced by the Omicron could effectively neutralize the Delta variant, making the re-infection with Delta variant less likely, thereby displacing the Delta as dominant strain, the study said emphasizing the need for Omicron-specific vaccine strategy. The study was conducted on 39 individuals, of which 25 had taken both the doses of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, eight people had taken a double dose of Pfizer jab, while six were unvaccinated.

Also, 28 of these 39 were mainly foreign returnees from the UAE, South/West/East Africa, Middle East, the US, and the UK, and 11 people were their high-risk contacts. All these individuals were infected with the Omicron variant. The study assessed the IgG antibody and Neutralizing Antibody (NAb) response in people with breakthrough and natural Covid-19 infections.

India reported 2.85 lakh (2,85,914) new Covid-19 cases and 665 deaths in the 24 hours ending 9 am Wednesday. The country has 22.23 lakh active cases, 5.55 percent of its caseload. The daily positivity rate is 16.16 percent, while the recovery rate is 93.23 percent. In the last 24 hours, 17.69 lakh tests were conducted. And, India has administered 163.58 crore vaccine doses so far. While a few cities recorded an uptick in infections, may saw a sharp fall as well. Today’s Covid-19 numbers from the major metro cities are: Mumbai (1,858 cases), Delhi (7,498 cases), Bengaluru (22,427 cases), Kolkata (654 cases), and Chennai (5,973 cases)

Source: The Indian Express