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Learn lessons from the breakthrough infections.

Q: Do you know a lot of people who have or had a breakthrough case of COVID?

Krishna: Not a lot of people . A few people don’t develop immunity despite taking vaccines. This happens because of

Poor nutrition
Old age and reduced immunity
In immunocompromised people who have diseases like HIV, diabetes. And people who take cancer treatments as some cancer treatments weaken your immune system as they destroy cancer cells. People who have had organ transplants are more susceptible to infection in the first weeks after a bone marrow transplant because you don’t have many white blood cells. If you’ve had an organ or bone marrow transplant, you also need to continue to take medication to suppress your immune system. These kinds of medications, also known as anti-rejection drugs and immune suppressants, help your body accept the new cells and prevent the new immune cells from attacking your normal tissues.
Some medicines
Bad storage conditions of vaccines
Getting infected with different strains than the one against vaccine ‘s given
Lots of time gap between vaccine and infection
Viral load
Auto-immune disorders
Gender
Genetics
Other known and unknown variables

Don’t blame vaccines for all these things. Vaccines work well in the right conditions. Each person differs in his or her immune development. Majority of the people develop at least some sort of immunity. And this protects you against covid-19.

I know a person who took both the doses of vaccine in the initial stages about 9 months back. He ‘s 60 plus, had diabetes and BP. He ‘s overweight too. What ‘s worse ‘s he became reckless after taking the vaccine and stopped using masks. As he worked in a shop where it gets crowded sometimes, he caught covid-19, hospitalised and died too.

This person ‘s in the high risk group as he was immunocompromised because of his age, and had comorbidities like sugar and BP.

He didn’t use a mask and visited crowded places daily where one might get infected with high viral loads. And there was a 9 month gap between vaccination and infection.

Good situation for a disaster!

I am not surprised at all. Learn lessons from these breakthrough infections.

Q: Are plane journeys dangerous in the present pandemic era?

Krishna: The risk of contracting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during air travel is lower than from an office building, classroom, supermarket, or commuter train. Why?

The virus that causes COVID-19 is emitted when someone talks, coughs, sneezes, or sings, mainly in droplets that can be propelled a short distance, and sometimes in smaller aerosol particles that can remain suspended and travel further. Another person can be infected if these particles reach their mouth or nose, directly or via hands. Transmission via surface contact is also important in some cases.

Air enters the cabin from overhead inlets and flows downwards toward floor-level outlets. Air enters and leaves the cabin at the same seat row or nearby rows. There is relatively little airflow forward and backward between rows, making it less likely to spread respiratory particles between rows.

The airflow in current jet airliners is much faster than normal indoor buildings. Half of it is fresh air from outside, the other half is recycled through HEPA filters of the same type used in operating rooms. Any remaining risk to be managed is from contact with other passengers who might be infectious. Seat backs provide a partial physical barrier, and most people remain relatively still, with little face-to-face contact.

Despite substantial numbers of travelers, the number of suspected and confirmed cases of in-flight COVID-19 transmission between passengers around the world appears small (approximately 42 in total). In comparison, a study of COVID-19 transmission aboard high-speed trains in China among contacts of more than 2300 known cases showed an overall rate of 0.3% among all passengers. Onboard risk can be further reduced with face coverings, as in other settings where physical distancing cannot be maintained.

Steps being taken at airports and on board can include temperature testing and/or asking about symptoms (fever, loss of sense of smell, chills, cough, shortness of breath); enhanced cleaning and disinfection; contactless boarding/baggage processing; use of physical barriers and sanitization in airports; physical distancing in airports and during boarding; use of face coverings or masks; separation between passengers on board when feasible; adjustment of food and beverage service to reduce contact; control of access to aisles and bathrooms to minimize contact; limiting exposure of crew members to infection; and facilitation of contact tracing in the event that a passenger develops infection.

Additional steps being studied are preflight testing for COVID-19 and adjustments to quarantine requirements.

You too can take some of these precautions to minimise the risk: Wear a mask, don’t travel if you feel unwell, and limit carry-on baggage. Keep distance from others wherever possible; report to staff if someone is clearly unwell. If there is an overhead air nozzle, adjust it to point straight at your head and keep it on full. Stay seated if possible, and follow crew instructions. Wash or sanitize hands frequently and avoid touching your face(1).

Footnotes:

1. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2771435

Q: How is the Omicron variant different from the Delta variant and why is there so much concern about it?

Krishna: Omicron was first identified in Africa while Delta was first discovered In India.

Both Omicron and Delta are variants of the original SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Genome sequencing reveals that the Omicron variant is more heavily mutated as compared to the Delta variant. It is said to have over 30 mutations in the spike protein itself as compared to the 18 found in the Delta. Experts say that Omicron has a few key mutations that could potentially make it able to outcompete Delta.

And - this is based on preliminary information obtained till now and can change as new data arrives - symptoms caused by omicron are mild (like fatigue, body ache and "scratchy" throat rather than sore throat. Less cases of stuffy, clogged nose, and those affected by this variant have also not complained of high temperature ) and even hospitalizations are less and deaths are rare when compared to delta variant. Delta variant can also trigger mild symptoms, with fever, fatigue and cough being some of the most common signs, there was a large population who came down with extremely severe symptoms, some needing hospitalization, and ICU care.

As the Omicron variant has a “large number of mutations,” and it seems to be more likely to reinfect people who have previously had COVID-19.

But we should accept we don’t know much yet to say anything confidently.

The reason people are nervous about omicron is because of those high number of mutations. But are the mutations setting things up to go in a bad direction or will they cancel each other out? We just don’t know yet.

Will highly contagious and milder Omicron end the pandemic and take us towards the endemic phase like scientists predicted? We don’t know yet.

Wait for more data. Wait for scientists’ analyses.

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