Covid would start becoming endemic in India, told a health expert adding that a single variant can’t bring severe third wave. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Dr Sujeet Singh, the Director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said, “This pandemic has defied most of our predictions but in the next six months, we will approach endemic status”.
Dr Singh further said that the virus would gradually become manageable and easier on the health infrastructure, like the flu.
“If the mortality and morbidity is under control, then we can manage the disease,” he said
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He further said that vaccination is the biggest protection against the global pandemic and in India, it may become endemic because of a successful vaccination drive.
He added, “75 crore people have been vaccinated. If vaccine effectiveness is 70 percent, then around 50 crore people in India have got immunity. A single dose gives 30-31% immunity. So the 30 crore people, who have received a single dose, are also immunized.”
He further warned that people must follow Covid appropriate behaviour, including wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing etc, even after vaccination. This is because, as per some scientists, the effect of vaccination starts dropping after 70 to 100 days of administration.
According to the health body chief, there is no new variant in India. The C1.2 and Mu strains that are currently raising concern have not been found in the country.
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“Just a new variant cannot cause the third wave. The factor will be a mix of behaviour and antibodies. There is some worry because of the festival season,” Dr Singh informed.
On Thursday, as per the data by the Union health ministry, India registered 30,570 new Covid-19 cases and 431 deaths due to the infection in the last 24 hours. According to the data, on Thursday the country reported 12.5 percent higher cases as compared to Wednesday.