India is currently facing the third wave of the pandemic and may see Covid cases like never before in the coming days, said the country’s vaccine panel head Dr NK Arora. In an exclusive conversation with News18, Dr Arora, the head of the National Technical Advisory Group of Immunisation (NTAGI), shared his views on the current state of the pandemic, ruled out lockdown as a solution to curb cases and spoke on how vaccines have turned out to be a bit ineffective against Omicron.
Here are the excerpts from the conversation:
Is there a third wave?
This is surely the third wave of Covid-19. In the last week, the fresh cases have increased, along with Omicron infections.
How long is the third wave expected to continue?
It will be difficult to say, but the cases will increase as never before in the coming days.
Does Omicron infection need hospitalisation?
In the last few days, the hospitalisation of patients has increased, still, around 90-95% of the beds are vacant. This time, the infection is asymptomatic and it doesn’t need hospitalisation.
During the second wave, more than 4 lakh cases were reported every day. What is the estimate this time?
It is difficult to estimate the number of cases per day. In North America, 10 lakh cases are being reported every day. In France, 2.5 lakh cases and in Switzerland 20,000 are being reported in a day. So we can’t say anything.
Is the delta variant still the reason for deaths?
Yes, right now, the deaths are being caused by Delta or Delta Plus variant. It doesn’t seem that Omicron has caused that many deaths so far.
The Omicron variant was first reported in foreign countries and then in India. Are vaccines becoming less effective?
Vaccines have turned out to be a bit ineffective and even the people with booster doses are getting infected with Omicron. Around 28 vaccines have been made across the world and our scientists are working on them.
Will lockdown be imposed once again?
It will not be the right decision to impose a lockdown. Instead, containment zones can be made and some restrictions must be brought in.
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