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    Tuberculosis and cancer have higher mortality rates than Omicron. But, why do we fear the virus more?

    Synopsis

    Dr. Habil Khorakiwala says there is a need to disassociate fears from the current pandemic.

    ​ Tuberculosis alone has three times more mortality rate than Omicron​. Yet, we fear the virus more.iStock
    Tuberculosis alone has three times more mortality rate than Omicron. Yet, we fear the virus more.
    Risk assessment experts claim that we are passing through a phase called ‘the boring apocalypse’ – the droning of endless news cycles with tidings of Covid-related deaths, the unsaid goodbyes to the loved ones whom we lost , and a string of ‘variant(s) of concern’ have numbed our senses. While some of us have become incapable of accessing real risk, without tinting the situation with our fears and paranoia, others have become callous and irreverent to the ongoing pandemic.

    As Omicron emerged, and India hurtled towards a third wave, the reactions have been extreme at both ends. While some have shown utter disregard to Covid-appropriate behaviour (especially during the year-end celebrations), and shunned vaccines, others have only retreated more into their homes, reinforcing their sanitisation drills of grocery supplies with surplus vigour, buying masks and cleaners like they are the only weapons to fend off this ‘apocalypse’ causing virus.

    Wockhardt Group Founder, Dr. Habil Khorakiwala, says there is a desperate need to disassociate the fears and paranoia from the current wave of pandemic, and assess its real risk empirically and factually. Omicron’s manifestations are milder, its mortality low, and these are blessings that people who dealt with the Delta variant during the second wave did not have. While that does not mean we do not pay heed to the new variant, there is a need to understand ‘real concerns’.
    In a five-minute-long video, titled ‘Demystifying Covid-19 - Is Omicron really Dangerous?’, the doctor gives an explanation of why Omicron summons such intense fears in many of us and how we should deal with our worries.

    Dr Khorakiwala propounds that a simple shift in perspective will help us cope with the pandemic better. In the video, the doctor says, “There are many other common killer diseases, with far higher mortality rates. Take cancer for example, with only a few forms of cancer curable, the survival rate of the majority of cancer patients are poor. According to the WHO and Indian government data, tuberculosis which is also a common disease today causes about 1,200 deaths daily. Compare these numbers to Covid-19 or the latest variant Omicron, which accounts for approximately 400 deaths daily. This means tuberculosis alone has three times more mortality rate than Omicron.”

    He further states that chronic lung diseases account for almost 2400 deaths daily, again a higher mortality rate than Omicron. Heart diseases which are also common result in over 4000 deaths every day. Even brain strokes, which have dangerous side effects, have a high mortality rate of two thousand per day.

    All these diseases are far more dangerous than Omicron and yet, the kind of fear we feel for the virus is much greater. Why?

    The primary reason is perhaps the contagious nature of the virus. Cancer, and heart diseases do not spread from contact, and tuberculosis, which was feared as god’s wrath in previous decades and people who suffered from the disease were often discriminated against, have finally become endemic although not before claiming many lives, including those of some famous writers and inventors. Omicron, in fact, is far from reaching that curve, when it becomes a normal disease like the flu.

    However, Dr Khorakiwala explains that what people need to keep in mind now is that our healthcare sector is far more equipped and prepared than it was during the second wave. Therefore, unnecessary fear which increases anxiety levels, sends people into the throes of depression should be avoided at all costs.

    The doctor also points out that this virus is a far milder variant, compared to its predecessors. Therefore, while mortality rate will continue to remain low, people who get infected by the virus need to pay attention to recovery. A good diet, and appropriate rest is obviously necessary, but what also helps during recovery is to remain stress-free.

    “The stress of the pandemic results in lack of sleep and anxiety, and is taking a very heavy toll on our mental and emotional wellbeing. Our own changed behavior with our colleagues, friends, and family make us susceptible to a greater risk of our own ill health,” said the doctor.



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