Vaccination not enough to contain Omicron

The Government of India has emphasised that “vaccine alone is not sufficient to contain the pandemic” and reminded that the use of masks and surveillance is key to breaking the chain of transmission, according to an analysis of 183 Omicron cases in India.

At least nine among 10 persons getting infected by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of Covid-19 are fully vaccinated, the analysis showed.

The analysis, released by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, showed 27 per cent of the cases did not have a history of foreign travel — indicating the presence of Omicron in the community.

It also shows that 87 persons were fully vaccinated (91 per cent) of which three had received booster shots too; and only seven among the 183 persons were unvaccinated while two were partially vaccinated. The Centre also informed that the vaccination status of 73 of those analysed was not known and 16 were not eligible for vaccinations.