With Covid cases surging again in China, the US and some other countries, the Indian government is taking necessary measures to ensure that the virus spread can be tackled from the start. Meanwhile, BF.7, the variant that is behind the current surge in China, has also been detected in India. However, experts are of the opinion that even though the strain has managed to create havoc in China, the severity won’t be as fatal in India. Here are the 3 reasons why:
India’s vaccines work better than China’s
A large portion of the Indian population is vaccinated with Covishield formulated by Oxford/AstraZeneca or Bharat Biotech Covaxin, while CoronaVac and Sinopharm were the main vaccines used in China. According to an AstraZeneca study, unlike CoronaVac, CoronaVac was found to be less effective against severe infections in older people.
CoronaVac provided up to 60% coverage against severe disease to people under the age of 79, compared to 76% for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. But in people over 80, CoronaVac, the most widely used vaccine in China, is only 30% effective at protecting people against severe disease and 45% effective at protecting people against death, compared to 67% and 85% respectively for the Oxford vaccine.
A population in India has already had Covid
A large part of the Indian population has already had Covid, thanks to which it enjoys some natural immunity against recent infections.
In China, there have been about 2 million cumulative cases of Covid-19. In comparison, forty-five million people in India have had Covid. This translates to 1,348 infected people per million in China, to 32,819 in India. according to population projections for 2021.
It’s also that, in terms of COVID, India has already experienced what China is experiencing lately.
Omicron BF. 7 has been in India since July
Omicron BF. 7, the subvariant of China’s Covid wave, has been in India since July.
According to data, the variant was first detected in India in July. The most recent series in India (samples from 30 November) showed no presence of BF. 7.
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