The pace at which the vaccinations are happening in India is so slow that it cannot save the nation from the upcoming third wave, as per some experts in the field.
“Vaccine coverage of the population is a critical issue, but in India, the numbers are so huge that a mere 30-40 percent of the population being covered may not be enough to contain the virus. Earlier, it was thought that 60-70 percent population coverage would work, but now it seems, 85-90 percent of the population needs to be covered," Gagandeep Kang, microbiologist and virologist, told Moneycontrol.
On the other hand, there are many suppositions from different corners of the nation that the third wave is inevitable and more aggressive when compared to the second wave. Worries are surrounding the spread of the new Delta Plus variant.
It is evident that only 4.1% of the Indian population is completely vaccinated with both the doses while around 19% are jabbed at least once (source: covid19india.org).
The population above 18 years of age in India is around 82 Crore. That is around 16 Crore population are given at least one dose of the vaccine as on today.
As quoted by Bloomberg some experts at Standard Chartered Plc state that over 60% of the adult population in India can be vaccinated only by March 2022. That means, it takes more than a year to see completely vaccinated adult India.
How to cope with the third wave in this situation is the million dollar question. What can be earned from the worst experience of the second wave? What are the alternate measures taken by the government if the hospitals get overwhelmed with the serious Covid patients again?
AIIMS has already said last week that if the Covid appropriate behavior is not followed by the people, the third wave is certain to strike the nation in another 4 to 6 weeks.
