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Omicron is the newest variant of concern of the SARS-CoV-2 which has spread to over 75 countries across the globe and has displayed increased transmissibility as evident by the rapid increase in number of cases. This variant was rst reported in South Africa, and later spread to Europe and India by international travel, but now signicant community transmission is underway. While the hospitalization rate is lower overall, there is an increase in hospitalization rate seen in pediatric patients with Omicron as compared to the previous strains. The severity of disease caused by this variant is still unclear as South Africa reports decreased hospitalization and mortality while India reports a spike in the case fatality rate. The vaccine efcacy has also decreased in preventing infection, but it might still offer signicant protection against severe disease, and individuals taking a booster dose remain as protected as against the other strains. While India has fully vaccinated 40.9 % of its total population, only 26.5 % of the population has taken both the doses in South Africa. We compared the most vaccinated province and the least vaccinated province of South Africa and the data supported the belief that vaccination did not protect people from contracting the Omicron infection. A comparison between South Africa and India, a country where Omicron is starting to gain a stronghold, is also done and the early data shows a higher increase in the number of deaths in India after the introduction of the newest variant. |
