State to speed up second dose of vaccination
The Hindu
New variant Omicron has significant number of mutations and increased the risk of re-infections
In the midst of mounting uncertainties surrounding the new SARS CoV2 variant B.1.1.529, named Omicron and assigned the status, a variant of concern (VoC) by the WHO, the Health Department has been asked to improve the coverage of second dose of COVID-19 vaccination from the current 63% to 90% ‘expeditiously within the next two weeks.’
The review meeting called by the Chief Minister on Saturday to assess the new and emerging COVID-19 situation, in the light of the emergence of the new variant, pointed out that according to available information, Omicron seemed to have a significant number of mutations and increased risk of re-infections when compared to the other VoCs