Sudden uptick in India's Covid cases could be start of 'mini-wave': WHO Chief Scientist
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After weeks of relief, India is yet again witnessing an uptick in daily Covid numbers.
The Covid-19 cases seem to be on a rise in various parts of India probably driven by the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5. Now as per a report by Indian Express quoting World Health Organization (WHO) chief scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the surge in cases could be the start of a mini-wave.
According to Dr. Swaminathan, there is a likelihood of waning immunity as the sub-variants that are emerging are more transmissible than the original Omicron BA.1.
She also stressed the importance of tracking the variants apart from taking all Covid-appropriate precautionary measures as there is a possibility of mini waves every four-six months or so.
The WHO chief scientist also felt that due to home-based self-testing, numbers could also be underestimated.
She also added that the Centre should ensure the vulnerable group who are 60 years and above get their booster doses.
Referring to the recent fifth Covid wave in South Africa that was led by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5, Dr. Swaminathan said it was a smaller one. According to a WHO report (June 2), new cases had decreased after four consecutive weeks of increase across Africa, signaling the possibility that the latest surge had reached its peak.
Meanwhile, Dr. Sanjay Pujari, the technical expert with ICMR's Covid-19 task force, told Indian Express that it would be difficult to say that this is a wave pan-India as there are regional spikes across various hotspots.
"However, these spikes need to be observed. For instance, the United States had a spike in cases in the last four to six weeks and now have reported showing a decline in the last two days," Dr. Pujari said. To term it a wave would also essentially mean the number of infections impacting the healthcare systems, and not just the numbers but also the cases with severe illness, he said.