A man waits inside a COVID care centre set up amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, December 21, 2021. (Source: Reuters)

Indians are crowding markets and taking packed flights to holiday destinations again despite calls from authorities urging restraint and caution amid rising cases of the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

In the coastal state of Goa, hugely popular as a tourist destination for its beaches and offshore casinos, hotels are running at nearly 90 percent occupancy, with some 90 flights landing in the western state daily, pushing air traffic volumes back to pre-pandemic levels.

"For a year people haven't celebrated anything. This year we have holiday-makers as well as people celebrating their milestone birthdays and weddings. In terms of occupancy, we are back to pre-COVID levels," Nilesh Shah, who heads a top travel body in the state, told Reuters.

Shah estimated that more than a million tourists had entered Goa in December alone as COVID-related restrictions eased in most of India and coronavirus cases hit a year-and a half low.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has warned states not to let their guard down as cases of the Omicron variant jumped to 358, although no deaths have been reported so far.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Indians flood markets, tourist spots despite Omicron concerns

In the coastal state of Goa, hugely popular as a tourist destination for its beaches and offshore casinos, hotels are running at nearly 90 percent occupancy, with some 90 flights landing in the western state daily, pushing air traffic volumes back to pre-pandemic levels.

A man waits inside a COVID care centre set up amidst the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Delhi, India, December 21, 2021. (Source: Reuters)

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