The current increase in COVID-19 cases is not a sign of a new wave, but an “expected fluctuation” during the endemic spread of the virus, news agency said. PTI Quoted by experts.
It has also been emphasized by experts that people who have not worn face masks or have not taken a dose of booster vaccine, may be due to bounce Unlike a wave, it is not evenly distributed over all regions.
“Some states lead, others are not. In those states, the phenomenon is primarily a large city picture, not widespread. This pattern is not a harbinger of a new wave but rather expected during spatial spread. There’s ups and downs,” said noted virologist T Jacob John.
“One wave should have consistently higher numbers than the previous day – that’s not the case for us now,” he said.
He said that people ignoring safety protocols is the main reason behind the spike in cases. He also denied claims that newer versions were responsible for the surge.
“Who ordered that people were no longer required to wear masks? Who advised that people should continue to wear masks in places where people gather indoors? Only a behavior to explain the gradual increase in cities Only enough is enough,” said John, a former director of ICMR’s Center of Advanced Research in Virology.
The other hurdle, he said, is people not taking booster doses.
“The higher the booster dose coverage, the lower the number of infections; the lower the number of infections, the lower the number of cases,” he said, pointing out that less than five percent of people had taken their boosters.
“Who is responsible for this low coverage? I understand that people are not trusting the government about vaccine safety and the government does not care about it either.”
John’s statements were echoed by Dr Chandrakant Laharia, physician-epidemiologist and infectious disease specialist.
Laharia said the Omicron variant is the flagship in India and even though its two newer sub-lineages, BA.4 and BA.5, are said to be slightly more permeable, they are barely present in India and not enough to be a flagship fuel. Huh. spike.
“There is no evidence of a new form of anxiety emerging. Putting all this together, it is reasonable to conclude that the current localized surge is not the beginning of a new national wave,” he said.
To put the boom in context, he said two things are worth remembering. “One, neither the earlier SARS CoV2 infection nor the Covid-19 vaccination (at least the ones being used in India) are known to prevent subsequent infection,” he said.
“Second, now SARS CoV2 is present in all settings and is likely to last for a long time. Also, with COVID-19 being an infectious disease, the rise and fall in cases is going to be a regular process. What do we see in this? The selection of Indian cities and states is on expected lines in case of spike in Covid-19 cases,” he said.
The coming months may see an increase in additional cities and states, but with every increase “we should not jump to the conclusion that this is a new wave”, he said.
This comes as seventeen districts in India, including seven in Kerala and five in Mizoram, are reporting weekly Covid-19 positivity rates of over 10%. In 24 districts, including seven in Kerala and four each in Maharashtra and Mizoram, the weekly positivity ranges between 5 and 10%.
With inputs from agencies.