The unsettled issue of the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against new variants has returned to the centre stage of pandemic discourse in India with the detection of two Omicron cases in Karnataka and 12 suspected cases in Delhi. The spread of the 'new variant of concern' to several countries, including South Africa that first reported the new variant, indicates it is more infectious than the Delta variant. However, there has been no indication of infection caused by the new variant being more severe than the delta variant that seemed to have lessened worries of the scientific community. There has been a broad consensus among scientists the world over that the available vaccines will continue to protect against the severity of infection. The special vaccination campaign- Har Ghar Dastak of a door-to-door motivational drive launched by India to ensure that no one is left behind without at least the first dose of vaccine is a timely intervention and the right strategy. The Central government advised all States and Union Territories to saturate the population of eligible vaccine beneficiaries with the first dose and increase the pace of vaccination to ensure coverage of all beneficiaries due for second doses. Assam has set December 5 as the target date to achieve 100% vaccination of the entire eligible population above 18 years with at least the first dose of vaccine. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has stated that while there is no evidence to suggest that existing vaccines do not work on omicron, some of the mutations reported on spike genes may decrease the efficacy of existing vaccines. This, however, does not necessarily mean that existing vaccines will not provide any protection. The Ministry has clarified that vaccine protection is also by the antibodies as well as cellular immunity, which is expected to be relatively better preserved and hence vaccines are expected to still offer protection against severe disease and, vaccination with available vaccines is crucial. The most important step, the ministry advises people, to avoid the generation of variants is to curb infections. Apart from vaccination, wearing of face mask and maintaining physical distances remains the most effective strategy to curb infection or reinfection. Karnataka has imposed new COVID curbs and has ordered the prohibition of all functions, events in educational institutions, and banning unvaccinated people from public places such as multiplexes, malls and cinema halls following the detection of omicron cases. This has triggered speculations of stricter curbs returning and yet another bout of disruptions in national and state economies and offline classes in educational institutions in different states in the event of a rise in omicron infection. With the majority of the healthcare workers getting involved in the special drive in the door-to-door campaign, the daily testing figures have come down in the state which is an area of concern as ramping up testing and tracking contacts and treating the infected remains the key strategy advised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for early detection and isolation of the infections. Health experts have expressed apprehension that the new variant might have already been circulated and it is just a matter of time, so it is important to ramp up testing for quick detection. Even if the infection is not severe, the spread of the infection will give the virus an edge to mutate into many more new variants and it is not possible to predict if new variants will be less virulent. If physical classes get disrupted due to the spread of omicron there will be further loss of learning. Surveys and studies have bought to light that the poor and marginalised have been more affected by the loss of learning due to the closure of educational institutions during the two waves of a pandemic. The resumption of offline classes has brought respite from such loss of learning and hence the academic community need to contribute to the awareness drive on vaccination and COVID appropriate behaviour to curb infections from spreading. Even though daily positivity cases have declined, the spread of the omicron variant in South Africa and some other countries reminds us to learn from past experiences of the exponential rise in COVID-19 infection within a short span. There is no room for complacency, and the government must enforce mask-wearing, maintenance of hand hygiene, and ensuring that only vaccinated people are allowed to the public congregation in limited strength for better COVID management. While the citizens are also expected to learn from their experience and strictly adhere to COVID-appropriate behaviour, the government taking steps to enforce the Standard Operating Procedure becomes necessary if people become complacent. The new variant has put industries, markets in wait and see mode before venturing on new projects, plans for the states that unlocked to near pre-COVID level in India. All stakeholders are keeping their fingers crossed as scientists are trying to decode the new variant.