Adapting to Fall: On Improving Immunization and Treatment

There is reason for optimism in India’s fight against covid-19 pandemic. daily new coronavirus cases has fallen to a nine-month low. In the last 24 hours, 10,929 new cases were reported on Saturday morning. While the latest numbers on Monday show a slight increase at 11,451, major reason for optimism is that the country’s active case load stood at 1,46,950 cases, a low of 262 days, According to the Ministry of Health. Active cases accounted for 0.43% of the total caseload and the lowest since the pandemic began in March 2020. The last few times daily cases were below 10,000 on February 8, February 1 and before that on January 25. The number of Saturdays brings the country’s total number to 3.37 crore. However, optimism is a double-edged sword. The numbers may be at February’s levels, but let’s not forget that India was in the grip of a deadly second wave – led by a major delta variant – that saw daily cases climb to 4,00,000 in a day and several states The more deaths were several multiples of what was being reported by the government.

Globally also the infection has not reduced. The daily caseload has dropped by about a third since September, but the virus continues to infect 50 million people every three months. On Monday, the world crossed a milestone of 250 million cases since the pandemic began. However, the major difference between February and November is that of vaccination. Around 74 crore first doses of vaccine have been given, which is 56% of the population. About 34 crore second doses have been given, indicating that a quarter of the population has been fully vaccinated. Coupled with the results of serology surveys of states, which show that many more have been exposed to the virus than the official numbers, this gives credence that while the virus will continue to spread and infect, a small proportion of those infected are severely infected. will be ill. Future demand for vaccination may depend more on adoption in children, or on demand for booster shots from those concerned about weakened immunity. Queues at airports, crowds in tourist destinations and a rejuvenation of several indices of business and economic activity eased the haze of fear. Whether all this socialization – and the opening of schools individually – will mean a boom in the coming months remains to be seen. The government should not advocate for taking precautions to avoid another wave of infections while continuing to improve last mile delivery of vaccines. It should continue to facilitate up-gradation of hospital infrastructure in every district; It should also increase stocks of promising antivirals and ensure that vaccine companies increase supplies in line with their commitments.