homehealthcare NewsOmicron threat: Fortis Healthcare, Narayana Health say India better prepared; oxygen infra ready
Omicron threat: Fortis Healthcare, Narayana Health say India better prepared; oxygen infra ready
Omicron threat: Even as experts suggest cases of the new COVID-19 strain are going to rise significantly, Fortis Healthcare and Narayana Health say India is better prepared to deal with a fresh wave if any.
At a time when the number of cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant has surged past 40 in India and several experts suggest the cases are going to spike further, two major hospital companies Fortis Healthcare and Narayana Health are of the view that the nation is better prepared to deal with the fresh wave, if any.
Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, MD and CEO at Fortis Healthcare, told CNBC-TV18 that he is not witnessing any increase in the number of cases as of now. He said that non-COVID occupancies have gradually improved and are near normal levels. Nonetheless, oxygen infra has been prepared and the availability of drugs and pharma is better too, he said.
Viren Shetty, ED and Group COO of Narayana Health too said he is not seeing many COVID-19 patients as of now. However, there have been a lot of queries on booster doses.
Earlier on Tuesday, a large-scale analysis in South Africa was released, according to which a two-dose Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination provides just 33 percent protection against infection by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, but 70 percent protection against hospitalisation.
Speaking about vaccines, Shetty said some people who have recently travelled have got booster doses. However, it is likely that a large number of people have antibodies to fight the disease.
Raghuvanshi, on the other hand, reflected on the business aspect of vaccines and said that revenue from vaccination has been low. He acknowledged that the immunisation campaign was a social programme and not necessarily a revenue driver.
Watch the accompanying video for more details
(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)
First Published: Dec 15, 2021 1:45 PM IST
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