Omicron most infectious variant, say experts

Srinagar, Jan 13: Omicron is the most infectious variant of the Covid-19 so far which has triggered a surge in cases in the rest of the world along with Jammu and Kashmir, experts said on Thursday.
Renowned Gastroenterologist and Chairman Covid Advisory Committee Jammu and Kashmir Dr M S Khuroo said that Omicron is four times more infectious than Delta and has potential to infect persons who have either recovered from Covid-19 or have taken both sides of vaccine.
Khuroo said that Omicron has a shorter incubation period and infects the upper respiratory tract that is the nose and lungs, however, disease behaves milder and chances of death are less than Delta.
Dr Nisar Ul Hassan, President Doctors Association of Kashmir and flu expert while talking with KNO said that Omicron is the most infectious variant of Covid-19 found so far and once any variant is so infectious it spreads swiftly and involves a large section of the population in a week or few days.
“Covid-19 behaves differently at different places and in different individuals. We are still learning about this and we have to see how it behaves in elderly and Immunocompromised people besides that in the unvaccinated section of people that are children below 15,” he said.
“Omicron is so infectious that it won’t spare anybody and we should presume that it will infect everybody but the good thing is it has a mild impact among around 95 percent of the people infected,” Hassan said.
“Most people have hardly any symptoms or mild symptoms, otherwise the positivity rate at this stage will be more as compared to the official figures,” he said.
Hassan said then when a mild variant is replacing the one which was causing severity, “it may change Covid-19 from pandemic zone to endemic zone.”
Hassan said that the third wave has erupted and being more infectious we will have a peak, plateau and decline in just a few weeks time unlike delta which took time in reaching peak and then decline.
He said that symptoms of Omicron include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat congestion or runny nose nausea or vomiting, diarrhoea, hoarse voice and even laryngitis.
“People must continue with CAB, and go for vaccination and booster doses,” he said.