Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday (November 23) said that the third wave of Covid-19 will hit Maharahstra in December. Tope, however, noted that the COVID-19 third wave will be milder in nature if the vaccination drive against coronavirus continues at the same speed. “Third wave of covid is waiting and is expected to hit next month due to which Maharashtra has recommended vaccination for children aged 12-18”, Tope told a leading news channel.
Meanwhile, several doctors in the state have suggested that healthcare and frontline workers should be given a booster dose to protect them against the deadly virus. “The count of antibodies in people, who have completed their vaccination some six to eight months ago, is declining”, Dr Gautam Bhansali, consultant physician of Bombay Hospital was quoted as saying by India.com.
On the other hand, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria on Tuesday hailed the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive and said that no booster dose is required in the country as of now.
Speaking at the launch of a book “Going Viral: Making of Covaxin – The Inside Story”, authored by ICMR Director-General Dr Balram Bhargava, Dr Randeep Guleria said, “It is unlikely that a third wave of COVID-19 of a magnitude comparable to the first and second will hit India. With time the pandemic will take an endemic form. We’ll continue to get cases but the severity will be highly reduced.”
Dr Guleria also praised India’s progress in terms of medicine and said, “When H1N1 had hit India, vaccines were imported from foreign countries. From importing vaccines to manufacturing our own indigenous vaccine, we have come a long way. Today, our COVID-19 vaccines are being exported to other countries.”
