Amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on Friday informed that even if the third wave comes in the country, its intensity will be low.
Dr Shekhar C Mande, Director-General, CSIR, said, "We have been able to get a large population vaccinated with the first dose and even with the second dose. Our vaccines do prevent the disease to a large extent. If tested positive after being jabbed, the severity of COVID-19 is also reduced. Even if the third wave comes, then the intensity will be low and much less than compared to the second wave."
On Thursday, the Union health ministry allowed door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination for people belonging to the differently-abled category and those with restricted mobility.
Earlier, Manindra Agrawal, a professor at IIT-Kanpur, had said that the emergence of another wave depends on the emergence of a more infectious strain.
Ms Agrawal was part of a three-member team of experts that predicted almost an accurate date of arrival of the peak of the second wave in India.
Many experts had predicted the likely arrival of the third wave of coronavirus in India. In an exclusive interview to ANI, Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India said, "The third wave will come if we invite the third wave to come. It is all about the human behaviour and the virus behaviour."
Dr Samiran Panda, head of epidemiology and communicable diseases, ICMR also said, "States/UTs like Delhi and Maharashtra should not see any upsurge in cases because they have already seen widespread and intense second wave."
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases rose over 30,000 cases in the last 24 hours. As per the data released by the Union health ministry, the country recorded 31,382 new cases in the last 24 hours.
The second wave of COVID-19 swept across India in April-May this year with coronavirus cases breaching the four-lakh mark per day. Several states imposed lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly pathogen.
The hospitals in Delhi saw cases spilling out with authorities swinging in action to build make-shift hospital facilities.
Several experts over the past few weeks warned of a third wave looming, expressing concerns that it may affect the children specifically.
The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has warned of a third COVID-19 wave peak in October in its recent report to the Prime Minister's Office.
The NIDM's report quoted the Reuters' opinion survey of 40 experts that predicted that the third wave of the pandemic is likely to hit India between July 15 and October 13, 2021.
Emphasising the effect of the potential third wave on children, the report said the Indian Academy of Paediatrics found that there is no biological evidence that the current and the new Delta Plus variant will affect children more than adults.
The report further said that Lancet COVID-19 Commission India Task Force concluded there is no current evidence that an anticipated third wave will target children specifically. However, concerns remain.
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