A long race

The possible detection of Omicron's XE variant in a Mumbai woman with a travel history to South Africa may not be a great cause of concern but it certainly is a gentle reminder that humans have no other option than to start living with the virus. It also tells us that emerging out from the pandemic-hit world is a long game, or perhaps without closing ends. XE variant — a 'recombinant' sub-variant of Omicron — was first traced in the United Kingdom in January and has spread across countries like France, Belgium etc. Primarily, among the two prominent sub-variants of Omicron — BA1 and BA2 — the former is on a decline of sorts and the latter has dominated the spread of Omicron, particularly in India. The XE variant is learnt to have the mutations of both BA1 and BA2 variants — making it almost 10 times more transmissible than the BA2 variant. There are two factors that limit the severity of the XE variant in India. In the first place, the variant has profound similarities with the sub-variants of Omicron against which the population has been developing its immunity for the past couple of months. Second, it may be inherently weak as the countries like the UK, France and Belgium have not witnessed any severe fallouts over the past months. Given the global spread of the Coronavirus over the last two years, the ground is very fertile for yet newer variants to emerge. The real challenge, however, will be the emergence of a mutant virus that would be very dissimilar in its characteristics to the strain dominating presently. As per the present evidence, the XE variant doesn't fall into this category. However, complacency is the last thing to resort to when it comes to controlling the pandemic. Thanks to its impressive vaccination figures, India has managed to come out of the third wave of the pandemic quite comfortably after an absolute collapse during the second wave in 2021. The safe spot we are into, provides for building up a resilient health infrastructure to prepare the country for whatever shocks that may come it's way. The buffer time must be directed more towards carefulness rather than carelessness. At the leadership level, apart from vaccination, the government must focus its attention on long-term scientific research and develop infrastructure that could readily respond to any new threat posed by newer forms of viruses. These steps are the need of the hour but won't be sufficient to provide foolproof protection to the citizens. The real solution lies in the manner in which people behave in months and years to come. History is evidence that diseases like smallpox, measles etc. have not been eliminated from society completely. The adjustments we make in our lives at this juncture — not just to ward off immediate dangers but to realign our lives to new realities — will determine the ease and comfort with which we can progress in the future. The country is at a point in time where public behaviour will determine the safety of society and the resilience of the economy. It is all about shifting towards a safer lifestyle where masks, sanitisers and physical distancing are not seen as inconveniences, but rather as new habitual attributes demanded by time. It must also be noted that all sections of society are not equally positioned to respond in the same manner to the changing realities. Governments and public health experts have an onerous challenge to recalibrate their social messaging in a manner that would provide a flexible information space for different sections to organically find their way out. It is pertinent here to point out the disturbing defect in political messaging with the government claiming victory over the pandemic! Dealing with the pandemic is a long race, and there could be no victory in the short-range. It is a known fact that messages from leaders shape public behaviour to a great extent, and such messaging must be carefully crafted in the discussed context. Aware individuals also need to carry out interpersonal communication with each other in the larger pursuit of realigning society with new-age realities. XE is not verified to be very threatening but is an indication that greater threats may come. We must be prepared in a systematic manner to deal with it.