Case surge
It is most alarming that a few States are again reporting a surge in COVID-19 cases. There seems to have been a false sense of well-being after a dip in cases. In fact after the unlocking, there seems to have been much carelessness and a lax attitude. Unless citizens cooperate again, there could be a second wave especially as the States affected do have large-scale movement to and from other parts of the country. The Central government should immediately start a mass vaccination drive.
J.P. Reddy,
Nalgonda, Telangana
I write this letter as professor and chairman of a biochemistry and microbiology department in a college of science and technology. The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over as seen by the spike in the number of cases in several States.With new mutant variants of the virus on the prowl, identification of active cases by RT-PCR is of prime importance. A review of the existing antigen and RT-PCR kits needs to be done and assessed for sensitivity in detecting these variants. New technology such as RT-LAMP assay, which is more sensitive and faster, must be standardised and used wherever possible. Data needs to be collected for the efficacy of the existing vaccines against the variants, and corrections need to be introduced in the basic structure of the vaccine. Remodelling vaccines, if necessary, and testing their efficacy against the variants should be the course of action. Strict adherence to protocols is mandatory.
Dr. Biju C. Mathew,
Thiruvananthapuram
Tennis and its duels
In these grim times, Novak Djokovic has scripted a remarkable piece of tennis history. It is astonishing to think that we live in an era where three legends have been able to reach dizzying heights in men’s tennis and still have utmost respect for each other, showing the world a perfect model of sportsmanship among rival stars. The triumvirate of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic will go down in the history of tennis as possibly the best of all time.
Sivakumar Kumar,
Chennai
