A day after reporting 2 cases of the coronavirus Omicron variant, the union government has written to states asking them to be "extra vigilant."
The union health secretary has asked state governments to spruce up surveillance. In the letter he also added that evidence indicates fully vaccinated individuals are protected from severity of the disease.
The union government's top genomic monitoring agency INSACOG has recommended COVID vaccine booster shots for those above 40 years, especially the high-risk and high-exposure population. INSACOG said low levels of neutralising antibodies from current vaccines are unlikely to be sufficient against Omicron and booster shots will likely reduce the risk of severe disease.
To discuss the Omicron challenge, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Dr. Jayaprakash Muliyil, Chairman of Scientific Advisory Committee at the National Institute of Epidemiology.
Watch video for more.
First Published: Dec 3, 2021 7:24 PM IST
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