THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite a steady rise in the daily case count over the past few days, health experts have dismissed the chances of yet another Covid wave in the state. The spurt was caused by the sub-variants of Omicron as people lowered their guard in recent times, they pointed out.The number of fresh cases crossing 2,000 and the test positivity rate moving closer to 14% have raised concerns of another wave at a time when people are returning to normal life. The improvement in the Covid situation over the past few months had also meant that some people chose not to wear masks in public and even skipped the second dose or the precaution dose.
“The overall graph of Covid shows that it is in an endemic stage. One cannot call the recent spurt in cases a wave or the beginning of a wave,” said Dr T Jacob John, a leading virologist in the country and a former professor of clinical virology, CMC, Vellore.
“People have discarded all precaution, perhaps due to elections or other functions. The minimum non-pharmacological intervention we can do is to wear a mask. It doesn’t cost much,” he pointed out.
Dr Jacob advised people to complete the vaccination process, including the precaution doses, as it would also help in preventing the infection from spreading. Dr B Ekbal, head of the expert panel advising the state government on Covid, said the recent surge was expected, given the nature of most infectious diseases.
“There is no need for unfounded fears. We still have around 1,000 H1N1 cases every year despite the fact that we have vaccines and treatment for it. There is a need to adopt behavioural changes and complete the vaccination to limit the impact of Covid,” he said.But people should continue to be vigilant, Dr Ekbal pointed out. “A fever or Covid means staying out of work for four or five days. It creates a social problem,” he added.The experts have flagged the tendency to skip vaccine doses in recent times.
According to health department data, over 21 lakh people in the 18-44 age group and over 5 lakh people above 60 have not taken the second dose. “The ability of all Covid vaccines in preventing infection is limited, lasting only a few months. The virus is capable of overcoming the defence by changing its antigenic structure. The good thing is the severity of disease in those who have taken the vaccine is very low,” said Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, research cell vice-chairman with the Kerala chapter of the Indian Medical Association.
“There is very little published data on the additional benefit of booster doses in India, specifically regarding clinical outcomes. Although they are recommended for adults long past their second dose, it is impossible to give a more specific direction on the third dose in the absence of clear data,” he added.