India has stepped up surveillance after a spike in cases in neighbouring China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People travelling from China and four other Asian countries now have to produce a Covid-19 negative test report before entering India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Tuesday, drills were held to check if hospitals could handle a surge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to government data, India currently has only around 3,400 active coronavirus cases. But reports of the surge in China and the memories of two deadly Covid waves in 2020 and 2021 in India have made many people fearful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But experts say there is no reason to worry right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe infection surge in China is on expected lines. If you have a susceptible population that is not exposed to the virus, cases will rise. Nothing has changed for the rest of the world, including India,\u201d says Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, an epidemiologist and health systems specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China has been struggling with a rush of Covid cases after it started moving away from its so-called zero-Covid approach which mandated strict lockdowns, quarantining and closed borders. The country is now trying to ramp up vaccinations for its vulnerable elderly population as the case surge strains healthcare systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The surge has also led some experts raising doubts over whether the main vaccines used in China \u2013 Sinovac and Sinopharm \u2013 can provide long-term immunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPeople are getting infected because BF.7 [the Omicron subvariant that reports say is driving the surge in China] is highly infectious and escapes all previous immunity. If you don\u2019t have immunity, you get more diseases which will affect the elderly and immunosuppressed populations,\u201d says virologist Dr Jacob John.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the past few months, India reported four Covid-19 cases caused by BF.7 \u2013 all the patients have recovered, health officials say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCovid is still around, people are still getting infected and getting admitted to hospitals. So it\u2019s not that we\u2019re free of Covid, but it\u2019s become like another upper respiratory tract infection, like influenza,\u201d says epidemiologist Dr Lalit Kant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The low caseload in India can be largely attributed to the immunity Indians have already gained over the past three years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr A Fathahudeen, a prominent critical care expert who has treated thousands of Covid patients, says that India\u2019s \u201chybrid immunity wall\u201d against Covid-19 is \u201csatisfactory\u201d as a majority of people have either taken two doses of the vaccine or gained natural immunity from contracting the disease earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also points out that the vaccines used in India are \u201cmore efficacious than the ones used in China\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India has administered more than 2.2 billion doses of the Covid vaccine so far, including for both doses and the booster shot, which India calls a \u201cprecaution dose\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He says people should take the booster dose if they haven\u2019t already \u2013 only around 27% of the population have got it so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s an appeal that other experts broadly agree with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith time, the level of antibodies go down. So a third shot is always beneficial and will increase the level of antibodies,\u201d Dr Lahariya says, adding that it\u2019s good for people above 60 years of age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAmong the 18-59 year age group, those who are high-risk can get boosters. For others, it\u2019s a personal call,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts also agree with the government\u2019s decision to step up genome sequencing which allows scientists to identify new strains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe current testing strategy of random genome sequencing of 2% of international travellers is enough to pick up any new variant,\u201d says Dr Fathahudeen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr John says that the best mantra for the government and ordinary people to follow is \u201cexpect the best and prepare for the worst\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMake it a habit to wear masks in crowded places \u2013 watching a football or cricket match, or on a crowded bus or train,\u201d he says, adding that he recommends creating \u201clong-term, sustainable behavioural changes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
India had relaxed its mask-wearing rules earlier this year after a drop in infection levels, and it\u2019s now common to see people in crowded areas without any precautions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bottom-line is \u201cbe cautious, wear a mask and watch the news\u201d, Dr John says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Fathahudeen agrees, saying unnecessary crowding should be discouraged and people should wear masks if large gatherings can\u2019t be avoided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
India has stepped up surveillance after a spike in cases in neighbouring China. People travelling from China and four other Asian countries now have to produce a Covid-19 negative test report before entering India. On Tuesday, drills were held to check if hospitals could handle a surge. According to government data, India currently has only […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n