Not Just Children, Covid '3rd Wave' May Hit Others Too: Director, ILS

Bhubaneswar: If a third wave of Covid pandemic breaks out, it might still be as severe as the second wave  as it will not only hit the children but others as well, the Director of Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar Ajay Parida informed today. 

To support his calculations, Parida elucidated that any chance of resurgence in another wave of the pandemic will broadly depend on three important factors -  vaccination, mutation of virus and adherence to Covid protocols. If such a situation erupts, it will not only hit the children who might be the most vulnerable but will also affect the others. 

At present, the B1.617.2 strain of virus is most prevalent in India and is supposed to have infected around 60% of the total cases. In Odisha too, the same situation has led to an outbreak of the cases. Earlier during the first wave of the pandemic, the B1.617.1 strain of the virus was responsible for the cases but it has now become ineffective. 

The ILS Director stressed that Odisha government has already initiated preparations to tackle any outbreak of the third wave of the infection.

Parida also said that the cases of re-infection with Covid-19 in Odisha has been witnessed in a very marginal number of patients. Re-infections have been witnessed in mostly healthcare workers who are more exposed to high load of infection. 

He, however, cautioned that despite the assuring fact, Covid should not be taken for granted, especially in case of already infected people. The only way to avoid infection is to wear mask and follow appropriate Covid behaviour.

In several cases it has been seen that people are getting infected even after vaccination. The government is looking closely towards such cases. In some others, it has been witnessed that people are not developing anti-bodies. It is believed that such situation depends on the immunity power of the patients.

The top health expert explained that Odisha stayed in the peak of the Covid curve between May 15 and 25, but since then the graph has been steadily declining. In places like Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal, the infection cases are higher but it is hoped that the situation may improve in the next 10 to 15 days. 

As far Covid deaths are concerned, the situation in Odisha is better than the national average. With the fatalities due to the viral disease being on a steady rise, the ILS Director clarified that co-morbidities are one of the major reasons behind the spike in deaths. In many other cases, carelessness is also another important cause behind this. It has also been witnessed that people with Covid infection seek medical attention quite late, so by that time they go into critical stage of the infection.

On the Centre's claim on ramping up the production of vaccines, Parida said that the government has set a target to complete the universal vaccination drive by December 2021, which is possible given the fact that companies like Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute have augmented their production. The government has also started bringing in other major players like Russia's Sputnik into the field.