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Out of 34 Omicron cases at Delhi hospital, 33 are fully vaccinated

All those confirmed to have Omicron had mild symptoms such as fever, sore throat and body ache. None of them was required to be put on oxygen or ventilator.

Written by Anonna Dutt
December 23, 2021 04:18 IST

People queue up to get a shot of a Covid-19 vaccine in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)

All but one of the 34 patients with the Omicron variant treated at Delhi government’s Lok Nayak hospital were fully vaccinated, with at least two persons having received a booster shot, top officials have told The Indian Express.

“So far, we have treated 34 persons with the new Omicron variant, 18 of whom have already been discharged. Except for one person, all others were vaccinated against Covid-19, meaning that the new variant is capable of infecting even those who have received their shots,” said Dr Suresh Kumar, medical director of Lok Nayak, which was the first hospital to be designated as the treatment centre for those suspected to be infected with the new variant.

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He said that at least two international travellers had even received an mRNA booster shot.

All those confirmed to have Omicron had mild symptoms such as fever, sore throat and body ache. None of them was required to be put on oxygen or ventilator, he said.

“The good thing about the variant is that we have only seen mild symptoms in the patients so far. However, it could also be because of vaccination. If the infection starts spreading in the community, the fear is that those who remain unvaccinated might get severe symptoms,” said Dr Kumar.

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He cautioned that with three of the persons admitted with Omicron not having any travel history, the new variant may have already started to spread in the community.

Five of the 34 patients admitted to the hospital with confirmed Omicron infection were citizens of European and African countries, while the remaining 29 were Indian citizens. At present, with 57 patients, Delhi has the highest number of confirmed Omicron cases in the country, followed by Maharashtra.

Explained

Concern, reassurance

Three of the 34 Omicron patients at LNJP had no history of foreign travel, suggesting that the new variant is in the community. The encouraging observation is that like elsewhere, these patients have shown mild symptoms — though this could be due to vaccination.

The other patients in Delhi have been admitted to private hospitals such as Sir Ganga Ram, Max (Saket), Fortis (Vasant Kunj), and Batra hospital (Tughlakabad), which have also been designated as treatment centres for the new variant.

Fearing a surge driven by the new variant, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday said that no event or gathering to celebrate Christmas and New Year will be allowed in the city.

This comes a day after the Centre directed states to impose strict restrictions in districts reporting high positivity rates, stating that the Omicron variant is at least three times more transmissible than the highly transmissible Delta variant that drove the second wave of infections in the country.

The national capital recorded 125 Covid cases on Wednesday, at a positivity rate of 0.2%.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

First uploaded on: 23-12-2021 at 04:18 IST

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