Report by Adiba Sami
There is hope for patients affected by the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron. Experts have suggested that Omicron can also lead to Covid-19 becoming endemic.
Covid can be endemic
As India is in the midst of third Covid-19 wave fuelled by the new Omicron Variant, it has been observed that while the novel Corona virus cases are soaring, individuals are mostly experiencing mild symptoms with faster recovery. Experts are terming it as more transmissible than the Delta variant but also less virulent. hey add that due to this new variant, corona can be endemic.
“In the case of any living organism, the ultimate idea is survival, propagation, and perpetuation of the species,” said Dr Niranjan Patil – Scientific businesses and head of Department for clinical Microbiology, infectious Molecular Biology and Virology at Metropolis Healthcare Limited, Mumbai.
Why can it happen
Elaborating why Covid-19 can become endemic, he explained, “The SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus and like other RNA viruses it replicates as well as mutates at a very high rate. But if the virus infection in its hosts is likely to be so lethal that it kills the host eventually the transmission may stop as there will be no susceptible/vulnerable host that will continue to exist for such a virulent pathogenic micro organism.
Dr Patil also shared that Omicron is less dangerous than previous SARS-CoV-2 variant. “As per the studies conducted in Hong Kong University and University College of London, the Omicron variant is less likely to affect the upper respiratory tract and spare the lungs thus less likelihood of progressing to COVID pneumonia and lesser requirement of oxygen thus lesser chances of hospitalization and ICU admission.”
(Adiba is student of BA-JMC first year from Maharishi University Of Information Technology, Noida)