India may well be reaching the endemic phase of covid-19, says Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist of WHO. But what does that mean for the country? Essentially it means that the country’s population has learned to live with a virus. The case is the same with India concerning coronavirus.
She added that India would see almost the same situation as today in the coming months. While cases might go up and down, people still need to follow restrictions and get themselves vaccinated. Owing to the homogeneity in the Indian population and their immunity, Dr. Swaminathan said that there would be a low level of covid disease transmission.
Additionally, she also informed that being vigilant will always be the need of the hour. Covid cases could surge amongst groups less or not affected by the virus during the earlier phases. Besides, low vaccination coverage could also be one of the reasons behind the increase in cases, if there is any.
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Endemic Phase Of Covid Can Turn Into An Epidemic If Care Is Not Taken
In simpler words, in an endemic phase of covid-19, India will not see a massive increase in the number of cases. However, that does not mean in any way that there will be no case at all, as explained by Dr. Lalit Kant, an epidemiologist.
India suffered heavily during the second covid-phase in April and May. But Dr. Swaminathan has said that it is unlikely that the same would happen again. However, she also mentioned how difficult it is to predict any situation, especially during such times. The news of the third wave being around the corner is still uncertain. She said that the effect of the third wave is still not figured out.
India is not the first country to reach the endemic phase of the covid-19. Countries like Australia, Thailand have already entered this phase. People of these countries have started to adjust their lives and live with the virus.
India currently has more than 3 lakh active cases in the country. Hence, the situation is still not the best. Additionally, some states like Kerala are still seeing more than 30,000 cases in a day. The delta variant is still causing trouble in some parts of the country, and how India will deal with it is the main question.
Dr.John said that getting 2019 back is impossible, and an endemic disease can become an epidemic in no or negligible time.
