An aggressive, liberalised vaccination program is key to preventing another surge of COVID-19, say health experts, warning that pandemics often persist for years presenting in-surges.
“We have to accept that COVID is here to stay and that we have to work at long-term management of the virus,” say doctors.
The warning comes even as India has so far managed to vaccinate just over 21.20 crore of its population (including those that have got the first dose and those with two shots) till Sunday morning.
The Health Ministry on Sunday announced that to hasten the vaccination drive, nearly 12 crore vaccine doses will be made available for June.
Giving the break-up Health Ministry said that for June, 6.09 crore doses will be supplied for vaccination of priority group of Health Care Workers (HCWs), Front-Line Workers (FLWs) and persons aged above 45 years as free supply from the Centre. In addition, more than 5.86 crore doses will be available for direct procurement. For May, 4.03 crore doses were made available by to States, free of cost, in addition to 3.90 crore doses for direct procurement.
‘Persisting pandemics’
Meanwhile, doctors stating that liberalised vaccination, making masks mandatory, following strict norms of social distancing are vital to prevent another surge said, “pandemics often persist for years.”
Sanjeev Bagai, Chairman of Nephron Clinic adds that it is also important to protect the vulnerable and immune-compromised, and make health insurance mandatory. “Public awareness on prevention is vital,” he said.
Puneet Nigam, senior vice-president, medical services at Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. said that creating the right infrastructure, making available equipment, consumables, drugs is key in the preparation of another surge. “Tele-consultation, to the needy can reduce load on hospitals and only moderately or severely sick should be hospitalised,” he said.
‘Highly mutagenic’
Cautioning that a third wave is likely, Monalisa Sahu, consultant, Infectious Diseases,Yashoda Hospitals, Hyderabad said the possibility of a third wave of COVID is high because the virus is highly mutagenic in nature.
“Elders in the family should follow strict COVID appropriate behaviour and get vaccinated at the earliest. As no vaccine in India is approved for children, it makes them more vulnerable to contracting the infection from their family members. The third wave can be prevented to a great extent by observing COVID appropriate behaviour, even months after we get over the second wave. Achieving a good level of herd immunity by adequately vaccinating a majority of the population can serve as a game-changer,” Dr. Sahu said.
Speaking about the possible vulnerability of children during the third wave Lokesh Mahajan, HOD, Pediatrics, QRG Hospital in Faridabad explained that with many mutant strains emerging, it is necessary to follow all protocols and take precautions to keep children safe.
“In the first wave, less than 1% of the children were infected but in the second wave, the infection rate among children increased up to 10%. Hence we have to work on keeping our children safe by following COVID appropriate behaviour and boosting their immunity. Train your children to follow good hygiene practices and don’t send them outside if they have a fever or any other illness.”
“People have to accept and understand COVID 19 is here to stay in our lives,’’ added Vikas Maurya, Director, Pulmonology at Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh. He said that vaccinating people, encouraging all to stay away from crowds, testing-isolating-treating, building hospital infrastructure and providing robust surveillance is the way forward.
