China Covid wave unlikely to happen in India, says Dr Nageshwar Reddy

The Covid positive cases may rise a bit in the coming months but by March, everything will be normal, said Founder Chairman, AIG.

Hyderabad: The BF 7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 has triggered a huge wave of Covid infections in China but that is unlikely to happen in India. Even if there is a rise in infections, it will be not be as intense as previous Covid waves that people in India witnessed.

The Covid positive cases may rise a bit in the coming months but by March, everything will be normal, said Founder Chairman, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), Dr D Nageshwar Reddy.

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The public health specialist from Hyderabad while interacting with presspersons on Friday said, “till December 7, there were severe restrictions due to zero Covid policy in China. The society there has just started to open up and the wave of Covid infections is natural. Moreover, 70 per cent of vulnerable population in China is unvaccinated, which is driving the Covid wave. In quite contract, India is far better positioned,” he said.

Nearly 85 per cent of eligible population in India has received at least one dose and 75 per cent have received second dose of Covid vaccines. Along with vaccines, the exposure to SARS-CoV-2 has also helped the India population to build natural immunity. As a result, India is far better placed than China in managing any rise in Covid infections in the coming months, he said.

Dr Reddy said there was no point in imposing air-travel restrictions because BF 7 sub-variant of Omicron was already reported in India. “BF 7 was reported a few months ago in India but strangely it did not get a foothold in the community. At this point, Omicron variants like XBB1 dominant in India,” he said.

Unlike the delta variant, the subsequent mutations of SARS-CoV-2 including Omicron and its sub-variant BF 7 and XBB and XBB1 were not impacting lungs. “There is no evidence that BF 7 is impacting lungs amongst typical healthy individuals. However, among immune-compromised individuals, the lungs are getting affected,” he said.