Telangana: Fresh Wave Of Covid In Remote

According to senior public health officials in Hyderabad, there were very few chances of a fresh wave of Covid infections in Telangana in the coming months due to Omicron variants despite geneticists reporting yet another BA.5 positive case.

One case each of BA.4 and BA.5 variants of the Omicron that are largely responsible for triggering fresh Covid waves in South Africa, Europe, and the US, have been reported by genetic researchers from the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG), in Telangana.

The INSACOG data has indicated that Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Gujarat have reported BA.4 and BA.5 variants so far. While Tamil Nadu and Gujarat reported 1 each case of BA.4 and BA.5, according to INSACOG, a case of BA.4 and another case of BA.5 were reported in Telangana in May. 4 patients of BA.4 sub-lineage and 3 cases of BA.5 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been found.

Despite the presence of BA.4 and BA.5, which have growth advantages over BA.1 and BA.2 variants of Omicron, senior health officials here said that there are no signs of the new variants of the present coronavirus getting any foothold among the community.

“It is becoming clear the immunity gained due to natural infection and vaccines has worked. The vaccine-induced immunity has helped us to get over the 3rd wave in a matter of 2 months. On Sunday, there have been no fatalities related to Covid infections since the past 3 months,” Director, Public Health, Telangana, Dr G Srinivasa Rao, said.

Overall, Telangana has done well in combating the Covid pandemic by not imposing extreme lockdown strategies. As a result of such measures, which included avoiding the imposition of night curfews for a long time, Telangana achieved herd immunity against SARS-CoV-2, especially against the Omicron variants.

“There could be sporadic cases, but overall, the situation of Covid infections is under control, and people should not worry about new variants of Omicron,” said Dr. Srinivasa Rao pointed out.