20-05-2025
'Covid Now Endemic, No New Threat From Singapore Surge': Ex-ICMR Scientist Explains Why Virus Keeps Returning
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Government sources said India's current Covid-19 situation is stable, with only 257 active cases nationwide as of May 19 – all mild and not requiring hospitalisation
Amid reports of a Covid surge in multiple Asian countries, India's top epidemiologist Dr Raman Gangakhedkar has said there is no need to panic unless there is evidence of an increase in hospitalisations or deaths.
According to Singapore's health ministry, the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the country has been caused by the LF.7 and NB.1.8 variants. These two are the dominant variants circulating there, together accounting for more than two-thirds of locally sequenced cases.
'Both LF.7 and NB.1.8 are sublineages of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Specifically, they are descendants of the JN.1 variant, which itself is a sublineage of Omicron BA.2.86," former Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Dr Raman Gangakhedkar told News18.
Earlier, the WHO had noted that JN.1 and its descendants – including LF.7 and NB.1.8 – exhibit immune evasion properties. Current data, however, do not suggest that these variants cause more severe disease compared to earlier Omicron subvariants.
Dr Raman Gangakhedkar said India has a vaccine targeting the Omicron variant, developed by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals. This mRNA-based vaccine, GEMCOVAC-19, is the first such developed in India.
'If there is an unusual surge in cases, India can increase production. However, as of now, there is nothing new or alarming," he said. 'We must accept that Covid-19 has become endemic. The only caution for the elderly and immunocompromised individuals is to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour like maintaining hand hygiene, wearing masks, and avoiding crowded places."
Government sources told News18 that India's current Covid-19 situation is stable, with only 257 active cases nationwide as of May 19 – all of which are mild and not requiring hospitalisation.
Dr Gangakhedkar, who has led many assignments on behalf of the ICMR including Kerala's Nipah outbreak, said the world is witnessing 'convergent evolution" – where organisms evolve and produce different variants in response to drugs and/or the body's immune pressure, including vaccines and past infections.
'Science is governed by the theory of 'survival of the fittest.' The virus has adapted; it survives not by killing the host, but by infecting them, replicating rapidly, and moving on to the next host. This is how the virus evolves," he said.
He explained that it is an RNA virus – smart and capable of developing its own strains. 'We already know that the coronavirus can spread quickly. Other countries have identified these Omicron-lineage variants in circulation," he said.
'There is no need to panic unless the virus shows increased pathogenicity – meaning a rise in deaths or a significant increase in disease severity leading to hospitalisations," he said. 'Until then, the surge in cases being reported holds limited significance."
DO WE NEED BOOSTER SHOTS?
In short, Dr Gangakhedkar said no. He advised that unless there is a clear threat from the circulating variants, there is no need for booster doses – not even for the vulnerable or the elderly.
'So far, we lack strong scientific evidence and sufficient data to recommend booster doses for the elderly," he said.
He further said there is no need for genome sequencing yet. 'Genome sequencing is an expensive process," he said. 'The government should only allocate funds for large-scale sequencing if there is a noticeable trend indicating an increase in hospital admissions or deaths due to respiratory illnesses."
He added: 'We have encountered Omicron-lineage variants before and have seen that they do not significantly increase the risk of morbidity or mortality."
First Published:
May 20, 2025, 07:00 IST
