(10 Jan 2022) FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4360691
Healthcare and front-line workers along with people above age 60 with health problems waited Monday at vaccination centers in India to receive a third dose as infections linked to the omicron variant surge.
The doses, which India is calling a "precautionary" shot instead of a booster, were given as new confirmed coronavirus infections surged to over 179,000 on Monday, nearly an eightfold increase in a week.
Hospitalizations, while still relatively low, are also beginning to rise in large, crowded cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
India is better prepared now than it was last year when the delta variant overwhelmed hospitals.
When cases spiked in March last year, not even 1% of its population of nearly 1.4 billion was fully vaccinated.
India's creaky medical infrastructure meant millions likely died.
Since then, the government has bolstered health care, built oxygen plants and added beds to hospitals.
About 47% of the population is now fully vaccinated and many have antibodies from previous infections.
Although the omicron variant seems to cause less severe illness than the delta variant, India's massive population, crowded cities, and understaffed hospitals mean that health systems may still become strained.
Elections may further spread the more infectious variant, allowing it to infect vulnerable people that previous variants didn't reach.
The omicron variant spreads even more easily than other coronavirus strains, and has already become dominant in many countries.
It also more easily infects those who have been vaccinated or had previously been infected by prior versions of the virus.
However, early studies show omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous delta variant, and vaccination and a booster still offer strong protection from serious illness, hospitalization and death.
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