India now records a six-figure addition throughout the day, while daily deaths also move above the 800-point mark.
This alarming increase in numbers – very serious and rapid than that encountered during the first wave – surprised everyone. Especially when it turns out that the country successfully brought the situation under control just a few months ago.
But what led to this frightening increase? Is it numbness by citizens? Are there new and very contagious variants on the agenda? Did we open too soon?
Here is what the government and experts believe …
What Center says
The center gave three main reasons for the continued increase in numbers: lack of compliance with Covid norms (wearing masks and social distance), pandemic fatigue and the lack of effective implementation of controls at the field level.
In his interaction with prime ministers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned how people as well as governments have become comfortable in their fight against coronavirus which possesses a long and fierce fight against the pandemic.
The government has repeatedly said that people do not follow Covid-appropriate behavior in public, which could be a major reason for the boom.
It is mostly related to the pandemic fatigue because people feel motivated about the recommended behavior to protect themselves and others from the virus.
Experts weigh in
Experts also believe that lack of Covid-appropriate behavior may be the primary culprit behind the boom.
Virologists Shahid Jameel and T Jacob John agree that the Covid-19 protocol is not followed, including informing people that they should continue with precautions even after being vaccinated, and that a slow vaccination is responsible for the boom.
In an interview with PTI, Jameel said that the interaction between mutants and vaccines over the next few months will also determine the future of Covid in India and the world.
“The intensity of the boom also indicates that there were a large number of susceptible people after the first wave,” the director of the Trivedi School of Life Sciences at Ashoka University in Haryana told PTI.
The fact that people dropped the guard and did not follow Covid protocols after the first wave was over is “definitely a valid statement” for the boom, Jameel said.
“Everything starting from the levels before Covid and behaviors that were no longer risk-averse exposed the susceptible population in a big way. A new factor is the emerging mutants – both imported and homemade,” the leading virologist said. added.
John, professor of virology at Christian Medical College (CMC) in Tamil Nadu, agrees with Jameel and says that he does not follow the Covid-19 protocols is partly to blame for the new wave.
“The reduction of the guard was led by the central government and followed by all political parties, all religious groups and the general public. Schools and colleges were opened without vaccinating all staff. This partly explains the second wave,” John said. told PTI.
“Wherever infection increased, stricter discipline had to be introduced, but with the election ahead, no leader wanted it. The election during pandemic had to be carefully planned,” the famed virologist told PTI.
Dr Gauri Agarwal, founding director of Genestrings Diagnostic Center, told ANI that the violation of Covid norms is currently prevalent across the country.
“The primary reason for the increase in cases is an unlawful violation of Covid protocols. From the end of last year, we have seen how people are careless in following protocols, and this increase in cases is no surprise.
“The variants are also to blame”
The scientist also agrees that variants are the other reason for the second wave, adding that it was too late for India to look for mutants.
“The two factors came together and we were leaderless in response to the critical time. The speed of the spread in the second wave is twice as fast as in the first wave. Partly due to variants and partial reduction of the guard, “John explained.
Referring to an information session from March 24 to March 24, Jameel noted that the British variant now appears in about 80 percent of the cases from Punjab.
“A new double mutant has emerged in India that is reported in 15-20 percent of the cases analyzed from Maharashtra. If this percentage rises further, it will be a clear indication of its role in the Maharashtra. boom, “the virologist said.
Dr Aggarwal said an in-depth understanding of mutations is needed.
“The other factor (behind surge) may be the different mutations of the virus, some of which were more transmissible than others. A more in-depth understanding of the mutant strains and their virulence is needed by genome sequencing of more samples,” he said.
In India, variants were found that were first identified in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil.
The government has said it is difficult to link the current boom to mutant strains found in the country. and said that the relationship between the two remains ‘speculative’.
In late March, the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) announced that a new variant had been identified in saliva samples taken from people in Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab.
The genome sequence performed by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Consortium on Genomics (INSACOG), a consortium of ten laboratories in India, identified two major mutations in the variant as ‘double mutant’.
Jameel explained that the British variant is known to be about 50 percent more contagious, and one of the two mutations in the double mutant was also found in California, USA, where it is associated with increased transmission.
Inenting row
The experts also discussed the country’s vaccinations.
According to John, the government started too late and no vaccination target was set.
“India started making a slow vaccination in the third week of January, but it was first a reward for health workers who were vaccinated, even when there was no need – and we wasted a lot of vaccinations,” he said.
“Were pre-orders given to vaccine companies to speed up production during last year before approvals were obtained?” Asked John.
Jameel said there has been a “bad communication” by officials to people who have been vaccinated about how to proceed with precautions such as masks and social distance. Jameel described the Covid-19 situation in India as ‘curious’, saying the country was in a declining curve of daily infections when vaccinations began in mid-January.
“For various reasons, those who qualified, including health care workers and front-line workers, were reluctant to get vaccines. Those over 60 also did not show enough eagerness, although cases began to increase in early March.
“Now we are on a very fast rising curve, with only 0.7 percent of Indians receiving both doses and only about five percent receiving one dose. It is too low to make an impact,” he added. .
The council for health care and pharmaceutical president, Dr Gurpreet Sandhu, told ANI that the vaccination of substances in India needs to be addressed.
“Despite the best efforts of the authorities, the ongoing pandemic has highlighted some of the inequalities in healthcare access that continue to plague our country. In the meantime, the hesitation of vaccines in various parts of the country needs to be addressed. revitalizing our efforts to spread the ‘good word’ about vaccines in every corner of the country, it can also help bring about health care in the country, with vaccination a certain degree of overconfidence and negligent conduct is evidence, ‘he said.
However, India’s vaccination drive is slowly picking up when the country eased the age limit to 45 last month.
The Union’s Ministry of Health said on Saturday that India had become the fastest country to reach the 100 million mark of vaccination, reaching the milestone in just 85 days.
But the vaccination program still faces several challenges, such as the shortage of doses in several countries that have been hit hard and the spillage of vaccines.
(With input from PTI, ANI)