New Delhi: The Government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that some of the mutations reported on the spike gene of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 "may decrease" the efficacy of existing vaccines.
Replying to questions raised by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) MP Vaiko, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya said that there is no evidence that existing vaccines do not work against Omicron.
"While there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on Omicron, some of the mutations reported on Spike gene may decrease the efficacy of existing vaccines," he said.
The Health Minister also said that so far there is no data and peer-reviewed evidence on vaccine efficacy against Omicron.
"However, vaccine protection is also by antibodies as well as by cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better preserved. Hence vaccines are expected to still offer protection against severe disease and, vaccination with the available vaccines remains crucial," said Mandaviya.
During the day Minister of State (MoS) Health Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar said in the Upper House that as on December 20, 161 cases of the Omicron variant have been recorded in 12 states and union territories in India while 96 countries have reported the variant.
"Owing to high number of mutations, the variant carries higher risk of transmission. The currently available RT-PCR tests for COVID-19 as validated and approved by Indian Council of Medical Research continue to detect Omicron variants. Confirmation of Omicron variants in the country is carried out by whole genome sequencing." the MoS said.
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