With the new variant of COVID-19 creating panic in the country, there are a lot of rumors, and fake information spreading across social media, and alongside, people too are aware yet careless. While the government is stressing more on strictly following the safety measures to curb the spread of the virus, crowded places, not wearing a mask or wearing it under the nose, and vacationing are some common sights we are seeing today. People are not ready to acknowledge the severity of the disease, which is continuously making the curve go up. ETV Bharat Sukhibhava was in conversation with Dr. Rajesh Vukkala, MD (General Medicine), Consultant Physician at VINN Hospital, Hyderabad, we got answers to some of the common questions arising in everyone’s minds regarding the new strain of coronavirus.
How is a new strain different?
Our expert says that the new variant of the virus has been seen to be very virulent or more severe as compared to the previous one. It is spreading much faster. I have seen all the family members being affected by the virus, despite one exposure, which was not seen in the earlier case. Even before a person can socially isolate himself/herself, the virus is already spread among all the family members and symptoms are present.
Are the cases more severe?
Now that we have lived more than a year with this fatal disease, we have more insight on how to approach a critical scenario. Therefore, we are now able to bring out the patients even from the critical stage. But on the other hand, the number of admissions has comparatively increased as a result of this mutation. Although the people are rather aware now and medical teams know how to cope up with the virus, we are able to save more lives now.
What are the new symptoms?
Including the previous symptoms, people infected with the mutated coronavirus are showing more symptoms of diarrhea or other gastrointestinal issues and cold, which earlier used to be a lesser form of the problem. The intensity of fever is less. Other areas of concern are body ache and fatigue. These are the prime differences we have noted in terms of clinical presentation. However, it is also seen that a lot of people who have tested positive are asymptomatic as well. Which is more worrying because they can be the carriers of the virus.
Also Read: Peltzman Effect: Why COVID Cases Are Soaring After Jabs
What can be done?
Early intervention is very important to prevent the condition from getting severe. As soon as you see any symptom, get yourself tested and immediately isolate, so as to not spread it to anyone else.
If your test result is positive, continue home isolation and take the prescribed medicines regularly. Monitor yourself, keep checking your oxygen levels, body temperature, etc., and pay attention to any new symptom presentation. If you think the symptoms are getting severe or your oxygen level is dropping, consult your doctor immediately to know if you require hospital admission so that better care can be provided.
Apart from this, the guidelines laid by the health authorities and ministry need to be followed more strictly than before. Avoid going to crowded places, stay home as much as possible, mask up, and follow proper hygiene.
Why is it affecting children too?
Since the virus has mutated, i.e. the virus has changed its nature. In other words, it is a new variant of the same virus and is rather virulent. Therefore, it is now affecting even those who were not much at risk in the previous scenario, like children.
Why are people with a second dose of the vaccine also getting infected?
I have seen people of all kinds, post COVID-19 recovery, post the second dose of the vaccine, and people with adequate amounts of antibodies from the first infection or vaccine are also being infected with the new strain. Although we do not have much data to conclude how the virus is exactly affecting them. But the patients I have observed are having lesser and milder symptoms.
Therefore, the new strain of COVID-19 in India has posed many challenges but our medical authorities are sound enough to deal with them in an excellent manner. However, it is extremely necessary to take all the precautions, to lessen the burden of admissions in the hospitals. Also, since there is no curative treatment yet, getting yourself vaccinated is highly recommended, because even if you get infected after vaccination, the virus will not have adverse effects.
