Pune: With a recent projection that the third wave of the Coronavirus pandemic can hit anytime between September and October, the Indian Medical Research Council (ICMR) project that it could be even worse than the second wave recently.
Dr.
Samiran Panda, ICMR Head of the Epidemiology Division and Infectious Disease (ECD), said that no one could predict the third wave for the whole country.
“Now it will make sense only if the district or country-specific data is used for certain projections.
The wave might be behind his head only if countries remove premature restrictions and there are new-efficient transmission variants that can change the cause of a large increase in case load, or there is a clear violation of the Covid protocol at the population level, “said Dr.
Panda.
He further said the important factor for waves that decreased natural immunity or vaccine caused, the emergence of new, more deadly variants such as Delta, relaxation without covid-appropriate behavior or insufficient vaccine coverage.
“Districts where low deployment during the second wave may note the current increase in cases, while the district that reported a high level of infection might not witness a high case,” he said.
He further said this theory was supported by the ICMR and the Imperial College of London chromate models.
“Delhi, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh should ideally see swooping in case, or at least it won’t hit badly,” he said.
He strongly urged the countries to allow mass meetings.
“In the intensified vaccination and following the Covid protocol is the only forward way,” he said.
“We have confirmed that vaccines will not prevent infection, only reducing severity.
Vaccination also prevents death.
This in turn will help reduce the burden on the health system, “he said the reason that the third wave will be less severe is because of the immunity obtained from natural infections and / or post-vaccination, which will ensure that the number of cases of symptoms will be less, he said.
In the wake of Kumbh testing fraud, Panda said the state must monitor the laboratory carrying out the test.
“If they report to us with adequate evidence to delete facilities from the approved laboratory list, we will act accordingly,” he said.
The third wave is likely to be less severe, ICMR said
