New variants are not serious threats: Top Indian scientist amid Covid-19 surge
As India sees a rise in Covid-19 cases, leading Indian biologist Dr. Vineeta Bal has said that the new variants currently in circulation are not serious threats.According to Dr. Bal, former scientist at the National Institute of Immunology, while new mutations of the virus are emerging and spreading, they are not causing the kind of alarm seen during earlier waves like Delta.advertisementSeveral parts of India are reporting an increase in Covid-19 cases, largely due to new sub-lineages of the virus. However, experts believe that this uptick is not linked to a rise in severity of illness or deaths.
The majority of fatalities being reported now are in elderly patients or those with serious underlying conditions, particularly individuals who are still facing health complications from previous infections.THE VIRUS TODAY IS NOT THE VIRUS OF 2021Dr. Bal explained that the current wave of Covid-19 is very different from what India experienced during the Delta wave in 2021.'Back then, the virus was new to our immune systems, and the population had not been exposed to it before. That led to widespread severe illness and a major public health crisis,' she told IndiaToday.in.advertisementToday, the situation has changed drastically. Widespread vaccination and natural infections have helped build community-level immunity across most of the population.'Most people have either had Covid or received at least one vaccine dose, if not both. That has made a big difference in how the body responds to the virus now,' Dr. Bal added.COVID IS NOW LIKE THE FLUAccording to her, Covid-19 has entered a phase similar to seasonal influenza, new variants appear from time to time, but serious outcomes are limited to high-risk groups."We are now continuously managing new variants as they emerge. This doesn't mean the virus is gone or harmless, but the level of threat is quite low," she said.NO CAUSE FOR PANIC, BUT STAY ALERTDr. Bal highlighted that while the new variants are more transmissible, they are not currently causing large-scale severe disease."A new variant can still be virulent, but because our population has some level of immunity, the impact is much lower," she explained.She also stressed the importance of keeping high-risk individuals protected, including those with chronic conditions, seniors, and people who were severely affected in previous waves.LIVING WITH AN ENDEMIC VIRUSAs Covid continues to shift toward an endemic stage, Dr. Bal urged people to adjust their expectations and response. "If your community built immunity during 2020 to 2022, either through vaccination or infection, it is unlikely that any new variant now will cause major illness or high fatality rates," she said.advertisementIn a previous interview with IndiaToday.in, former AIIMS chief and renowned pulmonologist Dr. Randeep Galeria said that Covid is now endemic, meaning the virus is here to stay and will keep changing just like the influenza (flu) virus.Dr Rajiv Bahl, Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), said last week, that the severity of infections is mild and there was no cause for worry."People do not need to take any immediate action. They should follow normal precautions," he said.Tune InMust Watch
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