AMCH Principal airlifted to GMCH, experts raises question of declining immunity
STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Assam has started witnessing fresh cases of coronavirus infection among fully vaccinated health workers forcing experts to explore the possibility of declining immunity.
Principal-cum-Chief Superintendent of Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh Dr SanjibKakoti was on Saturday airlifted to the city here from Upper Assam after his health condition deteriorated. He was admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Gauhati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) on Saturday evening with severe Covid-19 complications including declining oxygen level.
Dr Kakoti tested Covid-19 positive recently and was undergoing treatment at the Super Speciality Block of the AMCH for the last few days.
Talking to The Sentinel, AMCH superintendent Dr Prasanta Dihingia said, "We have shifted Dr Sanjib Kakoti to Guwahati after his health deteriorated. As per the initial plan, Dr Kakoti was supposed to be shifted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) New Delhi but due to his deteriorated health condition, he was immediately shifted to Guwahati."
Dr Basanta Hazarakia, Pulmonologist-cum-State Covid Nodal officer has examined the AMCH principal and was of the opinion that Dr Kakoti's trend of Covid status is manageable at GMCH.
Sources in the Health department said there are fresh cases of coronavirus infection among fully vaccinated health workers in the State. Even though majority of the health workers are asymptomatic and self-isolating at home, few workers are in hospitals with high fevers and falling oxygen-saturation levels.
The development has forced experts to explore the possibility of declining immunity among health workers.
"Doctors, nurses and other health workers were the first ones to receive the doses of Covid-19 vaccines in the first part of 2021. Now, most of the vaccines that have been approved for use boast good efficacy rates and are capable of mounting high immune responses against the SARS-COV-2 virus. However, as we are seeing, the vaccines' efficacy rates have been found to come down as newer variants of the virus are being discovered.
Lowering efficacy, and antibody count is also making them susceptible to breakthrough infections," a researcher at Regional Medical Research Centre at Lahowal in Dibrugarh said.
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