810 of 1,022 deaths in Jan, Feb were of comorbidities: Health dept data

Dr Jayanthi Shastri, Professor and Head of Department of Microbiology at BYL Nair Hospital and in-charge of the genome sequencing facility at Kasturba Hospital, said that they had undertaken a study to understand the clinical correlation of Omicron and hospitalisation.

Maharashtra, Maharashtra latest news, Maharashtra covid cases, covid deaths, comorbidities, coronavirus pandemic, covid latest news, omicron, case fatality ratio, Dr Jayanthi Shastri, indian express

Special vaccination drive for students at a shool in Navi Mumbai on Tuesday. (Narendra Vaskar)

MAJORITY OF the deaths from Covid-19 reported in January and February across Maharashtra this year were of patients, who had co-morbid conditions like diabetes, hypertension and cardiac ailment.

In January till mid Feb this year a total of 1,690 Covid-19 deaths were reported. “We could get information about the medical history of the deceased for 1,022 cases and around 810 had comorbidities. Of these 311 had hypertension, 206 patients were diabetic and 109 had heart conditions. Others had different ailments while around 212 did not have any comorbidity,” Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer said. Of the 1,690 deaths a total of 848 deaths were in the 61-80 age group. The overall case fatality ratio (CFR) has been 0.15 per cent and in children below 10 years the CFR has been the least as low at 0.03 per cent, Dr Awate said.

Meanwhile at Mumbai and Pune state-run government, college genome sequencing laboratories experts have also assessed approximately 500 hospitalised cases of the omicron variant and said that being unvaccinated and suffering from comorbidities can put patients infected with Omicron at high risk of the severe outcome.

Dr Jayanthi Shastri, Professor and Head of Department of Microbiology at BYL Nair Hospital and in-charge of the genome sequencing facility at Kasturba Hospital, said that they had undertaken a study to understand the clinical correlation of Omicron and hospitalisation.

“This is an ongoing study and around 500 hospitalised cases have been included from four tertiary care and around 8-10 private hospitals in Mumbai. Initial findings do indicate that 52.13 per cent of the cases were unvaccinated. People, who have co-morbid conditions must be vigilant,” Dr Shastri said.

Their study also found that 44 per cent of the infections had the BA.1 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant while 49.65 per cent were infected with the BA.2 sub-lineage. “Those infected with BA.1 and BA.2 sub-lineage had the same range of symptoms. Adverse outcomes were mainly observed in the unvaccinated patients with co-morbidities,” Dr Shastri told The Indian Express.

While hybrid immunity (vaccination, rampant Delta wave infections) has ensured low mortality during the third wave, an initial study at Pune’s Sassoon general hospital also analysed 86 Omicron cases. “Our study is still underway, and we have written to private hospitals to also include their cases,” Dr Rajesh Karyakarte, Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology, B J Medical College and Sassoon general hospital said.

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B J Medical College had initially set up the genome sequencing facility in February last year and sequenced 2,233 samples to date.

Subsequently, as part of the memorandum of understanding with IISER, NCL and Pune Knowledge Cluster over 10,000 samples have been sequenced. Samples were also sent from the state to Insacog.

Dr Karyakarte who is the state coordinator for the genome sequencing project said, “We could conclusively give the information that Omicron had not landed in India in November. It was reported in the community in Mumbai from December 15 and then a week later in Pune. Our genome sequencing study proves that a new variant is responsible for a surge anywhere. So, we must be on an alert if the numbers keep increasing despite a lull,” Dr Karyakarte added.

“While virus variants will continue to emerge, we have seen past exposure to infection, immunisation, breakthrough infections, which have in a sense created an immunity wall that has been crucial in this Omicron wave leading to fewer hospitalisations,” Dr Sanjay Pujari, infectious diseases consultant added.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. ``Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) "Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. ``At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure "For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. ``Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions X (Twitter): @runaanu ... Read More

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