In a recent interview, World Health Organization chief scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said India may be entering the endemic stage of Covid-19. Her statement came more than one year and a half after the world first experienced the coronavirus outbreak, which has taken about 4.5 million lives since then.

India is currently experiencing a dip in cases, compared with the start of the second wave earlier this year. However, while vaccinations are underway, the threat of the virus and its variants still looms large with the possibility of a third wave later on. According to Dr Swaminathan’s observation in her interview with The Wire, the virus is here to stay and its presence is going to be felt through “a few local ups and downs” but it will not be as severe as at the start of the second wave.