- After two years of relentless pounding on the economies, people, and their livelihood, the Covid-19 threat appears to be ebbing by the day looking at the confirmed infection cases being reported week on week in the country. Of course, few of the Western and European countries are still experiencing an uptick in the cases largely owing to the BA.2 Omicron variant. India, as a nation, has successfully thwarted the third Covid-19 wave from further wreaking havoc on the already battered psyche as well as economy by the two successive earlier waves. As we all experienced, the second wave proved to be devastating, to say the least.
PC: Dr. Samit Bhattacharyya
- Thankfully, the country is slowly reverting to pre-pandemic normalcy even as the Russian invasion of Ukraine is proving to be a great dampener leading to escalating costs. Since the infection rates are decelerating by the day, several states have largely relaxed Covid-related restrictions on mobility. For instance, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Telangana have de facto removed the mandate to mask up in public spaces by removing fines. For sure, all governments recommend that people follow Covid’s appropriate behavior sounding a mundane cautionary note to remind all of us about the lurking dangers.
- However, by watering down the requirement of vaccination and masking in public spaces, there is a clear signal that the threat of transmission has all but gone. As the political leaders go about their daily lives by not masking in public places, the optics on display is very clear for common people as well who will not mind following suit. The moot point to ponder over here is whether relaxations being announced by state governments on wearing a protective mask are premature. And the answer is a resounding yes. Such a move is not only unwise but also ignores the available research by epidemiologists on the likely trajectory of the pandemic.
PC: Schengenvisainfo
- Note that the World Health Organisation this week laid out three scenarios of the pandemic’s evolution in 2022. The most likely scenario is that the virus will continue to evolve but the severity of diseases will diminish. Nonetheless, in the worst-case scenario, a more virulent can emerge, which can undermine the efficacy of vaccination. This particular scenario should be kept in mind by the governments. Consider the current scenario being played out in Germany, among the more cautious EU countries in easing restrictions. It is recording daily about 3,062 cases per million people, as compared to barely one case in India.
- Understand that this has happened despite Germany fully vaccinating 75% of the population and providing boosters for 58 of every 100 people. In comparison and as per reports, India’s 60% population is fully vaccinated and less than two for every 100 have been boosted. Undoubtedly, states have done well to remove mobility restrictions and encourage quick normalization of social activity. But this needs to be accompanied by a masking mandate to minimize the risk of transmission and supplemented by a thrust on expanding vaccination coverage. Yes everyone should be boosted and without any further delay as well.
