A senior doctor of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said there were early indications of a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in some states that did not experience the severity of the second wave of the viral disease that wreaked havoc in several places across the country, including Delhi.
Dr Samiran Panda, head of the ICMR’s Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases, said many states had imposed restrictions early, learning from the crisis witnessed in Delhi and Maharashtra earlier this year. “So, they did not see many transmissions,” Dr panda was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
He further spoke about the fourth national serological survey that revealed more than 50 per cent of children in the country were infected by the virus, a figure slightly less than adults. Amid widespread fears of an imminent third wave hitting the younger generation hard, Dr Panda said there was no need to panic unnecessarily. “States have that examined their epidemiology and vaccinated their adults can slowly open schools,” he added.
The country registered 42,909 new cases on Monday, taking the cumulative infection tally has risen to 32,737,939.
A lot of states have gradually started resuming physical classes for students even as concerns over transmission of the virus remained high.
Several experts have predicted a peak in the third wave between October and November this year and cautioned against relaxations of curbs, while calling for preparing the healthcare infrastructure to deal with the crisis if it arose.
India has so far administered 64 crore vaccines against the deadly virus with more than 14,74,02,213 crore eligible adults having received both doses of the jab. Besides Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin and Serum Institute’s Covishield, Russia-made Sputnik V has been administered in small numbers, while Johnson & Johnson and Moderna Inc are negotiating for legal indemnity.
The government recently approved the emergency use of Zydus Cadila's vaccine, ZyCoV-D children above 12 years of age and the doses are likely to become available by October.
