23 out of total 29 coronavirus patients in Gautam Budh Nagar fully vaccinated

Of the 29 active cases, 26 are in home isolation and three -- among the fully vaccinated ones -- are being treated at a private hospital in Noida, said officials

Officials of the district health department said on Monday that 23 out of the total 29 Covid-19 patients in Gautam Budh Nagar -- as of Sunday (November 14) -- are fully vaccinated.

Complete vaccination does not guarantee that the person will not get infected with Covid-19, said Gautam Budh Nagar chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma. (Sunil Ghosh/HT)

Of the 29 active cases, 26 are in home isolation and three -- among the fully vaccinated ones -- are being treated at a private hospital in Noida, they said. Out of the remaining unvaccinated individuals, two are children -- on whom the vaccination status is not applicable. Of the total 29 Covid-19 patients, 15 have a travel history to other cities and states including Delhi, Haryana (Gurugram), Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai.

“Over 80% of the fully vaccinated individuals, who have been infected with Covid-19, are immunocompromised patients above the age of 40-45 years. Three patients, who are undergoing treatment at the hospital, are senior citizens,” said a health department official, requesting anonymity.

Of the total cases, two children and 10 adults tested positive following a routine RT-PCR test which they needed for travelling out of station, he added.

Following this development, Dr Sunil Kumar Sharma, chief medical officer (CMO), Gautam Budh Nagar, said, “Complete vaccination does not guarantee that the person will not get infected with Covid-19 again. However, it does help in lowering the severity of the disease and chances of death. Most of the patients have comorbidities, and the rate of infection is higher among them, even after double vaccination”.

Dr Ishwar Gilada, secretary general of Organised Medicine Academic Guild (OMAG), said that breakthrough infection -- people getting infected with Covid-19 two weeks after vaccination -- is not a major cause of concern. “None of the vaccines promise 100% protection against Covid-19. Both the vaccines in India have shown a 70-80% efficacy against the virus. In fact, Covaxin and Covishield have also shown a 70-80% efficacy against the delta variant of the coronavirus. Apart from this, the vaccines provide a 93-94% protection from hospitalisation and a 98% protection from death,” said the infectious diseases expert (IDE).

“The breakthrough infections we are seeing now mean that they are in the remaining 20-30% category of efficiency of the vaccines. Since most of these patients are mildly symptomatic, and the rate of death is minimal, this is not a cause of concern,” Dr Gilada added.

At 29, Gautam Budh Nagar has the highest number of active Covid-19 cases in Uttar Pradesh as of Sunday. So far, the district has reported 63,366 cases, of which, 62,894 have recovered. The death toll stands at 467.

“There are a lot of migrants in Gautam Budh Nagar, and many people travel across the district during the festive season. This may have led to the increase in the Covid-19 infections. However, it is too soon to say that there is a rising trend of Covid-19 cases as the situation will only be clear in the next one week, as cases may go down again,” said Dr Sharma.