Surveillance of omicron variant in Kangra District of Himachal Pradesh, India during the 3rd disease wave of COVID-19.

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) wave has fluctuated erratically around the globe over the past three years of the pandemic, sometimes declining and at other times surging. The cases of infection in India have remained low, despite the continued surge of Omicron sub-lineages reported in a few countries. In this study, we determined the presence of the circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) strains in the population of Kangra District, Himachal Pradesh, India.