With a rise in the number of Covid-19 cases reported globally, India is gearing up its fight against the new variant of Omicron, the Omicron BF.7.
The resurgence in Covid cases through this new Omicron variant was first witnessed in China, with cases then spreading across Japan, South Korea, Brazil, US, Mexico, France and then globally.
To bolster its fight against the rising cases and spread of the new Covid variant in India, the Indian Government issued the first nasal vaccine against the virus, called the INCOVACC, manufactured by Bharat Biotech.
Since this variant of the Covid-19 virus is different, its symptoms are slightly different too, compared to the previous symptoms of the virus. Some of the symptoms now include gut-related sickness, sore throat and sneezing.
According to the health research project of British company Zoe Limited, ZOE Healthy Study, the symptoms of the Omicron variant as reported at most include:
- blocked nose
- sore throat
- sneezing
- cough with and without phlegm
- headache
- muscle aches
- hoarse voice
- altered sense of smell
“This is a sub-variant of Omicron. Main features will be like Omicron except some small changes, there is no big difference. Most of us have gone through the Omicron wave. So, we don’t have to worry about it. Essentially, it is the same virus,” stated experts.
The Indian government stated on Friday, Dec 23 that the new nasal vaccine, INCOVACC will be included under the Centre’s vaccination program for Covid-19 starting Friday, meaning it will be made available on the Cowin platform.
Regarding the benefits of INCOVACC over its injectable peers (vaccines), the former is more convenient and is known to be cost-effective than the peers, not to mention that its easier to store, administer and distribute.
The nasal vaccine is reported to be stable for storage as well as distribution at temperatures of 2-8°C, which is the basic refrigerator temperature range.
