The Union Health Ministry said that there is no evidence that the Covid vaccines will not work against the Omicron strain of coronavirus. 

101 Omicron cases in India, no evidence for now that our vaccines won't work

The Union Health Ministry on Friday said that there is no evidence that the vaccines will not work against the Omicron strain of coronavirus.

The government said, with the coronavirus' Omicron variant spreading very fast across Europe and other parts of the world, people need to avoid non-essential travel. They must also avoid mass gatherings, and new year celebrations need to be at low intensity, the government said.

At the press briefing, Balram Bhargava, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said, "At this moment we have found they are to be given in early stages of the infection. The scientific data is still not supporting in such a big way. But we are watching it closely."

Reiterating Bhargava's statement, Lav Agarwal said, "Right now there is no evidence that our vaccines will not work. People who contracted the infection even after being vaccinated have reported mild symptoms. He emphasised the need to get vaccinated.

While in response to a question about the community spread of Omicron, Agarwal said, "Most cases of Omicron are reported by people with an international travel history. Contact tracing of such cases is also being done."

On Friday, ten fresh cases were reported in Delhi, two were detected in Telangana. India's total tally rises to 101 with Maharashtra reporting 32 cases, Delhi 22, Rajasthan 17, Karnataka 8, Telangana 8, Gujarat 5, Kerala 5, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal one case each.