On Wednesday, K VijayRaghavan, the government’s principal science adviser, cautioned that a third outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic is unavoidable. Vaccines must be “updated” to cope with current strains of the virus, he added, as well as increased monitoring.
VijayRaghavan talked about the prospects of the coronavirus epidemic at a press conference.
“A phase three is inevitable, given the higher levels of circulating virus,” he said. “But it is not clear on what time scale this phase three will occur. Hopefully, incrementally, but we should prepare for new waves. Previous infections and vaccination will put an adaptive strain on the virus, causing it to continue to escape with new mutations. We should be scientifically trained to deal with that.”
New strains, according to VijayRaghavan, are transmitted in the same way as the original strain. He went on to say, “It doesn’t have properties in new kinds of transmission.” “It infects people in such a way that it becomes more transmissible as it wins entrance, makes more copies, and spreads like wildfire.”
Vaccines, on the other hand, is successful against the varieties, according to the chief science adviser. “New variants will arise all over the world and in India too, but variants that increase transmission will likely plateau,” he said. “Immune evasive variants, as well as those that reduce or improve disease incidence, will emerge in the future.”
Scientists and experts are investigating the cause of the current increase in cases in India, especially if a variant named B.1.617, which was first discovered in the region, is to blame. Scientists in the United Kingdom have classified it as a “variant under investigation,” and it has been blamed in part for the rise in the number of cases in India.
“If something else is needed, those options are still being discussed,” VK Paul, NITI Aayog member and head of the National Expert Group on Vaccinations, said when asked if a nationwide shutdown was the only remedy to deal with the crisis. There is also a directive for states to enact limits to prevent transmission chains.”
Meanwhile, Lav Agarwal, Joint Secretary of the Union Health Ministry, said that a committee of senior officials was monitoring the relief materials arriving from abroad. He claimed, “Our technical wing has made recommendations to see what hospital the equipment will be best for.” “The equipment is being sent to hospitals where there is an urgent need.”
