The third wave of corona may come in the country in the next two-three months
Delhi AIIMS director Randeep Guleria said that the third wave of corona in the country may come in the next six to eight weeks. He said that the lockdown has been removed from a large part of the country. He said that the main challenge of the country is to vaccinate a large population. On the issue of increasing the interval between two doses of CoviShield vaccine, he said that this is being done in an attempt to provide protection from the vaccine to as many people as possible. Talking about the new Delta Plus variant of Corona, he said that India will have to develop a new frontier in the fight against COVID.
He said that we have not learned from whatever happened during the first and second wave of Corona. Once again, after being unlocked, the crowd of people has started increasing. People are gathering. It will take some time for the cases of corona to increase at the national level. The third wave is sure to come and it may knock within the next six to eight weeks. Or it could be a while. Dr. Guleria said that it depends on how we proceed in terms of corona protocol and prevention of crowding. About 5 percent of the country’s population has been given both doses of the vaccine. The government aims to vaccinate 108 crore people of over 130 crore people in the country by the end of this year.
The AIIMS chief said that vaccination is the main challenge. It can usually take up to three months for a new wave to arrive, but it can take much less time depending on various factors. Apart from the covid protocol, we need to keep a strict vigil. Last time we saw a new variant which came from outside and developed here, due to this the cases of corona increased rapidly. We know that the virus will continue to mutate. Strict monitoring is needed in hotspots. He said that in any part of the country where the positivity rate is more than 5 percent, there will be a need for mini-lockdown. Until we do not fully vaccinate, we will remain at risk in the coming times. He has emphasized that the focus should be on testing, tracking and treatment in hotspots.
Guleria stressed that we need to do the unlocking in a sequential manner and also take human behavior into account while doing so in the UK which is facing a third wave of the Delta variant outbreak. He said that the virus is still mutating, we need to be careful. Dr. Guleria said that the distance between the new waves is getting shorter and this is worrying.
