To beat the virus, people must live healthy and boost their immunity
The exponential rise in Omicron cases is being dubbed as the ‘third wave’ of the pandemic. Indeed, the health of people should be the foremost priority of the Government. It should act and take all preventive measures against the spread. Having said that, the situation needs to be analysed from the right perspective. Though the cases have been rising and the national tally is showing an upward trend, the number of fatalities is low. This logically means that it is not as fatal as the earlier waves. The reason cited for it by scientists is that it is a highly mutated variant of COVID-19. It would spread fast, but it would not be as fatal as the earlier variants. Dr M Vidyasagar, professor at the IIT, Hyderabad, is on record saying that counting daily cases means nothing because they don’t mean anything. According to him, the sheer number of those who test positive, in the context of Omicron, is not an appropriate measure to highlight the intensity of the situation. Dr Vidyasagar is the head of the National COVID-19 Supermodel Committee. He says the heavily mutated Coronavirus escapes vaccine-induced immunity and infection-related immunity. He is of the view that ending the virus spread is impossible as it dodges immunity. So the closure of schools, offices or lockdowns will not work. The cases will go up as people have no defence against it but won’t result in severe disease.
The supermodel committee, headed by Professor Vidyasagar, also comprises Professor Manindra Agrawal of IIT-Kanpur and Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar, the deputy chief of the Army Medical Service. It was formed by the Modi Government to make projections of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recovery rate depends directly on the immunity of a person. This indeed must be very relieving for the authorities and help them resort to more appropriate response mechanisms for fighting the 'third wave’. In this scenario, lockdowns and closure of schools and offices is not a solution; rather it disrupts normal life. People have suffered for almost two years now. It has tested their patience and financial resources are at an all-time low. Making policies that would hamper their economic activity at this stage would indeed be catastrophic. This is not to suggest that we should let down our guard. COVID-related precautions must continue but, at the same time, people should be made aware of the need for boosting their immunity and following a healthy lifestyle which would automatically retard the growth of COVID-19.