WHO chief: Covid wave looms large as India's herd immunity level decreases

Decreasing levels of immunity in our population may trigger new Covid waves and to tackle this India needs strong disease surveillance along with high vaccine coverage WHO Regional Director SouthEast Asia Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh has stressedIndia is currently seeing a surge in Covid19 cases to levels last seen during the Omicron wave in early 2022India on Saturday recorded 6155 fresh Covid19 infections while the number of active cases increased to 31194 according to the Health Ministry dataDaily cases have crossed the 6000 mark for the first time since September 16 last yearA total of 14 deaths three in Maharashtra two each in Karnataka and Rajasthan and one each in Delhi Haryana Gujarat Himachal Pradesh Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab have been reported One death was reconciled by Kerala according to Union Health Ministry dataIn an interview Dr Singh stresses upon the need for people to take booster vaccine doses and to follow Covidappropriate behaviour to tackle the surge in infectionsHere are excerpts from the interviewAre we going to see a new Covid wave even as India is currently seeing the highest surge in infectionsSingh Over the past six months we have been seeing surges in infection in some countries that have not been associated with a rapid increase in the need for hospitalisation intensive care or an increase in fatalitiesAs the virus continues to circulate and evolve we will continue to see waves of infections While these waves are not likely to be as large as before as we have populationlevel immunity that has increased around the world from vaccination and prior infection we should by no means downplay the threat from Covid19 and become complacent We must reduce risk to ourselves and to others from Covid19We can also expect new waves of infection as our immunity wanes We can contain the impact of this with strong disease surveillance high vaccine coverage and making our health systems more resilientWe also need to strengthen our capacity to track the virus and urgently address any gaps in the health systems As we continue to do all this we need to transition to longterm control of Covid19 and other respiratory diseasesAdoption of the second and third doses of Covid vaccines in India has been very less compared to the first dose What is your takeSingh Vaccination is an important tool in our fight against Covid to prevent severe disease and death Even in communities that have experienced high Covid19 infection rates vaccination and boosters provide an additional layer of protection against the future trajectory of the diseaseIndia has already administered more than 22 billion doses to date an impressive feat given the size of the country While the vaccine rollout started at a slow pace it picked up speed with the country crossing a billion doses in October 2021 and crossing the two billion mark in a record 18 months in July 2022In April 2022 India also rolled out booster doses in a phased manner for those who had completed their primary series with a focus on the elderly those with underlying medical conditions and frontline workers which were gradually expandedWhile vaccine coverage and prior infections have provided populationlevel immunity globally the effectiveness of vaccines wanes over time and it is important that the primary series should be followed by additional booster doses especially for those at the highest risk of severe disease and deathHow can we tackle the rising infectionsSingh We should isolate if we have a fever or symptoms and follow medical advice Even individuals without infection must continue to follow protective measures to reduce transmission which include maintaining safe distance practising good hand and respiratory hygiene wearing wellfitting masks and avoiding crowded and poorly ventilated places where possibleBooster doses provide additional protection against infection and severe disease beyond the primary series Persons at high risk of developing severe Covid19 disease should continue to be prioritised for the booster doseShould children under 11 years of age be vaccinatedSingh Children and adolescents are generally at low risk of infection and in case they do get infected it is likely to be a mild disease in most instances However children and adolescents with comorbidities or obesity are at a higher risk and must be vaccinated and should receive primary series vaccination and one booster doseVaccination of healthy children and adolescents could be considered by individual countries based on disease burden other health or programmatic priorities and opportunity costs Achieving high vaccination coverage with primary series and boosters in the atrisk population groups remains a priorityWhen can we see Covid turning into an endemicSingh We are in a decisive phase of the battle against Covid19 and now more than ever we need to work together to be able to end the pandemic and put the virus behind usNext month the IHR Emergency Committee on the Covid19 pandemic will meet and assess the situation and risk and make recommendations and advise the WHO Director GeneralAlso Read How Covid leads to organ damage in adultsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever