Don’t be complacent after vaccines, antibodies: Bengaluru Omicron patient

The case of Bengaluru’s third Omicron patient who was recently discharged shows people should not be complacent after two mandatory vaccine doses and developing antibodies after a bout of Covid.

Vinod (name changed), 34, contracted Covid in April and was tested positive to the Omicron variant after he returned from South Africa following a two-week stay. Vinod got second jab only in October.

Vinod went to South Africa on November 14. “When I was there, the country reported only 600-odd cases,” Vinod, discharged from Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, told DH. “The South African government declared the Omicron variant on November 26. I was supposed to return on November 27, but my flight got cancelled. On November 29, I took a flight to Qatar via Ethiopia and then to Bengaluru.”

Noting that he went to the airport twice, Vinod said people get infected on the flight despite wearing a mask. “If someone seated next to you on the flight has the infection, you’ll invariably get it,” he added.

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Fatigue, itchy throat

During his second bout with the Omicron variant, Vinod felt slightly more fatigued, besides having itchy throat for four to five days. “I was asymptomatic at Bowring and was injected with precautionary antibiotics,” he said.

But when he was infected in April, before vaccination was even available for his age group, Vinod had a different experience. He was on home isolation and took Ivermectin, Vitamin C and Zinc, and precautionary antibiotics, all of which were prescribed to him on tele-consultation.

“My oxygen saturation dipped a bit and I had frequent coughing fits,” he said. “This time around, it felt like common cold. I had very mild symptoms.”

Home isolation

Although his wife and seven-year-old daughter had contracted Covid in April, Vinod took care to isolate himself this time and saved them from contracting the Omicron variant. “Despite testing negative at the airport, I isolated myself when I had itchy throat. So, there’s no chance of them getting it,” he said.

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Four negative results

The BBMP tested Vinod’s wife and his daughter four times — the day he tested positive, on the seventh day of his infection, and again on days 11 and 14. All those tests turned negative.

“Vaccination saved me from getting serious. So, get fully vaccinated,” he said. “I had Omicron despite two vaccine doses and developing antibodies from my previous infection. If you’re traveling from Omicron-infected countries, get yourself isolated at home at least for three to four days even though there’s no institutional quarantine.”

He cautioned that testing negative at the airport cannot be the reason for complacency. “Omicron’s symptoms are mild. So, don’t neglect even mild common cold symptoms,” he added.

Seven-day isolation

Still under seven-day home isolation, Vinod has no office in the city and therefore would not have to worry about meeting colleagues in person.

“The BBMP conducted the RT-PCR test twice. I was also tested for inflammatory markers in my blood, apart from getting an x-ray before I got discharged. Despite that, there’s a stigma in the gated community I live in. This happened in April as well. If I invite anyone to my house, they won’t come for two weeks,” he said.

Vinod’s independent villa was sealed and the seal containing message that it was a containment zone was removed on Thursday as per home quarantine rules.

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