Amid mounting concern over cases of the new variant of concern Omicron detected in some countries, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on Saturday said there is no need to panic and instead urged people to not delay their second dose of Covid vaccine besides ensuring preventive measures.

“The structural changes detected in the virus may not necessarily give rise to a functional change of concern. It may not necessarily be lethal or result in severe form of disease. There is no such data, as of now. Of course, we have to wait and see,” says Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases, at ICMR.

According to Panda, the structural changes or mutations found in SARS-COV2 through genome sequencing in the lab are indicative but do not necessarily mean the new variant is highly transmissible. However, active vigilance and preventive measures are important, he said.

“There is no need to panic. We need to ramp up vaccination immediately. If larger proportion of people will be covered with two doses of vaccine, that will be a great public health move. Besides, there is need to strengthen genome sequencing among international travellers,” Panda said.

Underlining that even if the mutation is serious, the mode of transmission remains same and therefore, vaccination and other public health measures such as proper use of mask, avoiding mass gatherings and hand sanitisation are crucial to combat the situation.

The WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution on Friday assessed the new variant B.1.1.529, which was first reported to the UN health agency from South Africa on November 24.

“This variant has a large number of mutations, some of which are concerning. Preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs. The number of cases of this variant appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa,” WHO said while designating Omicron as ‘VOC’.

Apart from South Africa, Hong Kong, Botswana, Israel and Belgium have reported Covid-19 cases due to Omicron.

Panda said the alarm has been raised because cases have been found in multiple countries though not all countries have reported many cases.

“International travellers need to be under surveillance because the cases have entered other countries due to movement of people globally. In many countries the number of cases due to this mutation are few. Then, how can I say it is more transmissible. We are deliberating on it and time will only tell,” he said.

While India has not yet reported any case of Covid-19 due to the new mutant variant, this might be an opportunity to ramp up vaccination coverage and implement stringent public health measures to avoid any surge in cases.