The Sky Gets Dark Slowly in View of the Emergence of “The Super Omicron Variant”

Middle East Journal of Applied Science & Technology
Vol.4, Iss.4, Pages 53-59, October-December 2021
ISSN: 2582-0974 [53] www.mejast.com
The Sky Gets Dark Slowly in View of the Emergence of “The Super Omicron Variant”
Raghavendra Rao M.V.1*
, Mubasheer Ali2
, Yogendra Kumar Verma3
, Dilip Mathai4
, Aruna Kumari Badam5
,
Mahendra Kumar Verma6
& Vijay Kumar Chennamchetty7
1
Scientist-Emeritus and Director, Central Research Laboratory, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana,
India. 2
Consultant, Internal Medicine, Apollo Hospitals and Apollo Tele Health Services, Associate Professor Department of General Medicine, Shadan
Medical College, India. 3
Faculty of Life Sciences, Mandsaur University, Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, India. 4
Professor, Department of Medicine, Dean,
Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. 5
Associate Professor, Department of Respiratory Medicine,
ESIC Medical College, Sanathnagar, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. 6
Assistant Professor, American University School of Medicine, Aruba, Caribbean
Islands. 7
Associate professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Apollo Institute of Medical Science and Research, Hyderabad, TS, India.
DOI: Under assignment
Copyright: © 2021 Raghavendra Rao M.V. et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Article Received: 12 December 2021 Article Accepted: 20 December 2021 Article Published: 22 December 2021
Introduction
Omicron is a variant of nSARS-CoV-2 that has been identified initially in COVID-19 patients in Botswana and
South Africa. The risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is over 5-fold higher and seems to be no milder
than the Delta variant. Scientific advisers to Britain’s government said it was “almost certain” that thousands of
people were being infected with the Omicron variant every day and hospital admissions were likely to surge.
Make an appearance of authentication on the Omicron variant
December 2019, Wuhan, China, remains the source of viral break. WHO in November 2021 categorized B.1.1.529
variant of nSARS CoV2 as variant concern and labeled "Omicron variant" the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet.
Described as "Super variant'', Omicron is known to have "32 mutations". This innovative virus, discovered in 2019
and it is greatly mutated. The Omicron variant puts scientists on alert. Tolerance is a high priority for
this dangerous Omicron. “This variant is completely violent.” Many mutations are a serious threat. Omicron is
more infectious and more deadly. In three days, omicron spread to 24 countries. Regina Phelps expressed that in
a study says, Omicron variant infects 70 times faster than delta.
Genome progression of Omicron variant
The Omicron variant was sequenced from a viral isolate collected from Gauteng, South Africa in early November
2021. Name of various nSARS-CoV2 variants, their codes, and the countries where they were first detected as
listed below; (The variants were named by WHO according to the letter order of the Greek alphabet. The letters Nu
and X1 were not used):
U S-Epsilon (B1.249, B1.427 (March 2021) Iota (B 1.526) (March 2021)
ABSTRACT
The new Omicron variant of SARS-cov-2 speeding around the world may bring another wave of chaos. It is like walking on a tight rope. The earth is
brimming with viruses. The lungs are the paramount respiratory organs. Besides COVID-19, Omicron variant, pollution is another uninvited guest.
People are aggrieved by the recurrence of pollution every year. Delhi and most of the cities expressed air emergency. Nothing seems to change. Not
a soul is taken care of. The lungs are the organs most affected by COVID‐19. Virus-infected patients are suffering from air hunger. COVID-19 and its
variants are the lung annihilate viruses that traumatically lead to lung failure. COVID 19 pandemic sweeps across the globe, Co-infection with
respiratory viruses and SARS-CoV-2 and the mutant variants Omicron, raising danger bells around the world. Omicron is an exciting outstanding
pandemic co-infected with respiratory viruses, demands crucial public health Intervention.
Keywords: Omicron variant, Monoclonal antibodies, IL-6 antagonists, Covovax “NVX-CoV2373”, AstraZeneca, Nucleic Acid Amplification Test.

Peru (C 37)-(Lambda)
Columbia-August-2021(B1.621 (Mu)
Brazil--(March 2021) (P2) (Zeta) (January 2021) (P.1) (Gamma)
U K (Alpha) (B.1.1.7) (December 2021)
UK and other countries - (Eta) (B.1.525) (March 2021)
South Africa (December-2020) (B.1351) (Beta)
November (B.1.1.529) Omicron (Botswana and other countries)
April 2021) (B.1.6171) (Kappa) (March 2021) (B.1.617.2) (Delta) (India)
Philippines (Theta) (P3) (March 2021)
The Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus will spread rapidly in India, according to a forecast by Juliet Pulliam,
Director of South African DSI-NSF centre for excellence in Epidemiological modeling and analysis. And, told in
an interview that it would be wise to prepare for a worst case scenario in terms of hospital planning.
Omicron should not be dismissed as mild (WHO)
Countries can, and must prevent the spread of Omicron with the proven health and social measures. Our focus must
continue to be protecting the least protected and those of at high risk.
What do you know about the transfiguration so far?
A welcome change that could replace our dangerous delta variant. A pandemic ends after a series of mutations
causing herd immunity and weakens the virus severity. We have reached that change (Dr. Devasena
Radhakrishnan, Professor in Microbiology from Madras Medical College).
Are the vaccines operating well in opposition to the mutation?
End inequity, is the end of the pandemic. If the inequity continues, the pandemic continues. There appears to be an
increased risk of breakthrough infections with this variant; however, it is too early to tell whether those infections
are likely to lead to severe disease.
Do you think expounder shots will help to distribute with Omicron?
There is some early evidence from the UK that individuals who have received boosters with mRNA vaccines
(specifically Pfizer's) do appear to provide some level of protection against symptomatic diseases for this variant.
The variant is certainly spreading in children, and I think that vaccination of children with vaccines. Together, will
save the most lives. In most countries, those being hospitalized and dying are those who have not been vaccinated.
So the priority must be to vaccinate the unvaccinated, even in countries with the most access to vaccines.
Quick mind shows Omicron breaks through boosters
A small study from South Africa involving seven COVID-19 patients suggests that the Omicron variant can break
through booster vaccine shots, reported a researcher involved in the study. Seven German travelers who visited

Cape Town, aged 25 to 39 years, were infected in late November or early December with Omicron variant. All of
them had mild to moderate symptoms and none of them needed to be hospitalized.
Clinical Symptoms
Omicron is a blessing in disguise variant that causes mild infections like common cold with rapid spread and is an
indication for the end of Pandemic. The WHO experts are satisfied the new omicron variant is superior to mild.
Patients experience a severe headache, nausea, dizziness and high pulse rate, according to hospitals and medics
across South Africa.
It is fuzzy, whether infection with Omicron causes more severe disease compared to infections with other variants,
including Delta. Symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants. A preliminary
study from South Africa has suggested that the new Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant causes a three-time increase in
the chances of causing reinfection compared to the other variants of concern (VOC) such as the Beta and Delta
variants. Children, who contracted Omicron in South Africa, had sore throats unlike scratchy throats, which the
infected adults experienced, along with a high pulse rate of 100 to 115 beats per minute. Omicron will have a totally
different clinical picture that has no flu like symptoms. The headache and body pain can be “severe” if the patient is
unvaccinated. However, it is manageable at home with commonly used medicines.
How Omicron shake out?
The chief executive of South Africa-based Discovery Health recently said the most common early sign was a
scratchy throat, and Dr. Ryan Noach, noticed nasal congestion, a dry cough and myalgia manifesting in lower back
pain in patients.
Omicron increase exponentially faster in the bronchus than in the lungs
The new Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant can infect the airways “faster and better” than the lungs, according to an
experimental study. The researchers at Faculty of Medicine at The University of Hong Kong used the technique of
ex vivo cultures of the respiratory tract to study transmission of the Omicron variant and to find out differences, if
any, from the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 and the Delta variant including severity of infection.
The walk on part of Laboratory Test Stewardship
Effectiveness of current tests: The widely used PCR tests continue to detect infection, including infection with
Omicron, as we have seen with other variants as well.
Omicron variant gadgets
RT-PCR based Assay for screening of Omicron variant (B1.1.529.1) of SARS-COV-2 developed at IIT Delhi.
Currently, the identification or screening for Omicron is done world-wide using next generation sequencing based
methods, which require over three days. By using this RT-PCR based assay, it will be possible to test for the
presence of Omicron variant within 90 minutes.
Bharat biotechnology research centre (GBRC) has developed a PCR based method to detect the Omicron variant of
SARS-Co2 within 8 hours Whole genome sequencing can otherwise take up to 72 hours. Constant RT-PCR

Diagnostic Panel, a test that precisely identifies SARS-CoV-2 in respiratory examples. Right now, the Nucleic
Acid Amplification Test (NAAT)- based RT-PCR procedure is a highest quality level test utilized for routine
conclusion of COVID-19 disease. Research did at Imperial College London, UK propose that long COVID 19
could before long be analyzed by a straightforward blood test.
The innovation can recognize people tainted with the SARS-CoV-2 infection, and uninfected people, from personal
stench tests with up to 100% precision, as per this LSHTM News post. Individuals trying to be tried for COVID-19
by Amsterdam's Public Health Service were the first on the planet to be tried utilizing a breathalyzer that can track
down the sickness dependent on a blend of substance parts breathed out by the patient, reports AAAS Science.
Break through treatments
It was the initiator in human history where a clinical identification was executed very early in the case of a
pandemic. Several antiviral drugs, anti-inflammatory agents, immune modulators, and vitamins were used to
control COVID19 disease.
Therapeutics in clinical use for COVID19 management
Hitherto the treatment largely pinged hope on prevention and supportive medicine and arrangements, including
supplemental oxygen and mechanical ventilator support. Growing lists of antiviral drugs including remdesivir,
hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, lopinavir, umifenovir, favipiravir, and oseltamivir with supportive agents
including Ascorbic acid, Azithromycin, Corticosteroids, Nitric oxide, IL-6 antagonists are being used to cure
COVID19 patients.
The anti-inflammatory drugs and immune regulator agents are advantageous in lessening the effect of the cytokine
storm. Corona drugs are doubtful for the Omicron variant.
Covid-19 pill is near 90% successful-Pfizer
Covid-19 pill still showed near 90% efficacy in preventing hospitalizations.
The oral medicine was around 89% effective in preventing hospitalizations.
Pfizer says paxlovid is effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in risk patients.
Will the Vaccines Stop Omicron? Scientists are running against to Find Out.
Dr. Penny Moore, virologist at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, is working with
her team to test how vaccines respond to Omicron. She and her colleagues are preparing to test blood from fully
immunized people against a synthetic version of the Omicron variant (The New York Times).
Covid vaccines can be mixed for booster shots, says WHO's provisional report
Based on availability, mRNA vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna) can be used as subsequent doses after an individual has
been administered AstraZeneca's vectored vaccine as their first dose and vice versa, the WHO report said.
AstraZeneca and the mRNA vaccines can also be used after initial doses of Sinopharm's inactivated vaccine, the
global health body said. The WHO supports a flexible approach to using either homologous (single platform) or
heterologous (mix and match) vaccination schedules, the report said.

Needle - Free Air-powered Vaccine trial in UK
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have started a clinical trial of a needle-free air-powered COVID-19
vaccine, which could possibly help fight future variants. A powerful stream of air that delivers the vaccine dose into
the skin, has been developed by Professor Jonathan Heeney at the University of Cambridge and DIOSynVax.
Omicron bring down vaccine success, unroll faster-- WHO
According to the World Health Organization, the Omicron coronavirus variant is more transmissible than the Delta
strain and reduces vaccine efficacy.
What’s the Science behind Boosters for COVID-19 Vaccines?
Booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been approved in the U.S., but questions remain about how boosters
impact the trajectory of the global pandemic and herd immunity.
Published in the Journal of Virology, curators of ASM’s COVID-19 Research Registry present scientific evidence
to provide some perspectives on this topic.
The curators analyzed the known data about vaccine safety, immunology and epidemiology to provide a scientific
foundation when considering what groups should receive boosters and when. You can stay updated on the latest
research on boosters on the Registry’s Vaccine Boosters section.
COVID vaccines
With inputs from Dr Monica Vasudev, WHO approves Covovax Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. The World
Health Organization (WHO) has issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for Covovax “NVX-CoV2373” produced
by the Serum Institute of India under license from Novavax. Covovax requires two doses and is produced by
creating an engineered baculovirus containing a gene for a modified SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. "There is a
potential scenario that our vaccines may become ineffective in emerging situations”.
An expert panel of the World Health Organization has said that it is best to administer two doses of the same
COVID-19 vaccine; however, mixing and matching seems good for countries which face supply issues.
Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and that potentially serious complications, such as allergic reactions, are
very rare, might help to migrate misinformation and alleviate concerns among children, adolescents.
Productiveness of vaccines:
WHO is working with technical partners to understand the potential impact of this variant. Around 41 countries
have still not been able to vaccinate 10% of their populations, and 98 countries have not reached 40%. End inequity,
is the end of the pandemic. If the inequity continues, the pandemic continues.
Amalgamate COVID vaccines trigger powerful immune responses?
Researchers conducting a study in Spain have found that vaccinating people with both the Oxford–AstraZeneca and
Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines produces a potent immune response against the virus SARS-CoV-2,
according to Nature News.

Omicron may push Covid to turn endemic
The spread of the Omicron virus hold up, and then in the coming years, the SARS-CoV-2 virus could become an
endemic disease just like flu and common cold. Early data has indicated that it is less severe, which are ideal
conditions for any virus to transform from an epidemic to endemic stage” says Former Director, CCMB, Dr. Ch.
Mohan Rao, at Hyderabad.
Current Altercation
Daily cases in UK over 10K.Omicron deaths hit seven as overall infections stand above 90,000 (The UK Health
Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed. While Omicron numbers may increase, it may not necessarily cause a
heavy burden on the health care system.
Prophylactic Measures
 Maintain a safe distance from others.
 Using a face masks.
 Choose open, well-ventilated spaces always.
 Get vaccinated.
 Covering your nose and mouth with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
 Properly fitted masks can help prevent the spread of the virus from the person wearing the mask to others.
Summary
“As WHO early reports suggested that patients infected by the new variant of Covid-19 -Omicron had mild
symptoms raised hopes that this strain of Covid-19 will become less virulent as compare to delta strain of Covid -19
virus in future.
But scientists have warned that even if Omicron has evolved to spread more quickly than the Delta variant – which
was it highly transmissible – it does not necessarily mean it will become less deadly in the process and should not
be treated lightly until we have more information.”
Conclusion
On the suggestion of WHO's expert committee on virus evolution, it recognised a variant of concern and called it as
Omicron, on November 26, 2021. This conclusion was made based on data submitted that Omicron contains a
number of alterations that could influence how it acts, such as how fast it spreads or the severity of the disease it
causes. Omicron's effect on transmissibility is a source of worry.
Higher transmissibility is expected if the overlapping omicron mutations maintain their known effects, especially
because of mutations near the furin cleavage site. The greatest fears regarding omicron are whether it is more
infectious or severe than other variants, as well as whether it can overcome vaccine protection. Although clear
immunological and clinical evidence is still lacking, we can deduce from what is known about omicron mutations
to provide preliminary indications on transmissibility, severity, and immune evasion.

Declarations
Source of Funding
This research did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing Interests Statement
The authors declare no competing financial, professional and personal interests.
Consent for publication
Authors declare that they consented for the publication of this research work.
Ethical Approval
Ethical approval was given based on institutional guidelines.
Suggested Reading
[1]https://www.livemint.com/news/india/maharashtra-detects-4-new-omicron-cases-state-s-overall-tally-rises-to-
32-11639578893589.html
[2]https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/covid-task-force-chief-dr-vk-paul-pitches-for-quickly-adaptable-vaccine-pla
tforms-2651463
[3]https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-br
iefing-on-covid-19---14-december-2021
[4]https://www.news18.com/news/india/headache-body-pain-fatigue-mild-fever-omicron-symptoms-less-commo
n-with-delta-says-sa-doctor-4556162.html
[5]https://www.livemint.com/news/india/omicron-cases-rising-in-india-list-of-states-that-have-reported-new-covi
d-19-variant-11639363928383.html
[6] Reuters, Covid-19 pill is near 90% effective-Pfizer, The Hindu, December 15, 2021.
[7] China detects second Omicron variant case. Deccan chronicle, Hyderabad, December 15, 2021.
[8] Teena Thacker, Omicron variant will spread very rapidly in India: Juliet Pulliam-The Economic Times,
December 15, 2021.https://m.economictimes.com/news/india/view-omicron-variant-will-spread-very-rapidly-in-
india/articleshow/88247314.cms
[9] Gujarat biotech research centre, Method to developed to detect Omicron variant with in eight hours, Kit
soon-Express news service, Ahmedabad, December 14, 2021.
[10] Dr. Veena Aggarwal, Consultant Womens’ Health, CMD and Editor-in-Chief, IJCP Group & Medtalks
Trustee, Dr. KK’s Heart Care Foundation of India, 17 & 20, December 2021.
[11]https://www.indiatoday.in/coronavirus-outbreak/story/covid-vaccines-mixed-booster-shots-who-interim-repo
rt-1888749-2021-12-17
[12] Prof. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT, Delhi Educator, Researcher, Entrepreneur.
[13] M. Sai Gopal, Omicron may push Covid to turn endemic, Telangana today, December, 2021.

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