Editorial: Tackling Covid resurgence

It is essential to go for genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants or sub-variants.

Hyderabad: China was the epicentre when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out nearly three years ago. It has again come into global focus with a massive resurgence in infections. The partial unlocking that began recently following widespread public protests against Beijing’s draconian zero-Covid policy has overwhelmed the healthcare system, with hospitals running short of beds and medicines. Experts fear the situation may worsen in the coming weeks, even as authorities are being accused of undercounting the fatalities. The Omicron sub-variant BF.7, which is driving the current surge in China, has the strongest infection ability since it is highly transmissible, has a shorter incubation period, and a higher capacity to cause reinfection or infect even those vaccinated. This sub-variant has already spread to several other countries, including the United States, the UK and European nations such as Belgium, Germany, France and Denmark. At least four cases of the BF.7 have been detected in India so far. There are lessons to be learnt for the rest of the world from China’s flip-flops in handling the pandemic. From what is available in the public domain, three key factors are responsible for the pathetic situation prevailing in China: Its ‘zero-Covid’ policy has spectacularly backfired leading to mass protests; local vaccines have proved to be ineffective compared to the vaccines made in other countries; poor vaccination coverage. According to some estimates, up to one million people in China could die from Covid over the next few months. The Covid crisis in China is causing widespread concerns across the world.

India, like other countries, has decided to step up surveillance. Though there is no need for panic, Covid-appropriate behaviour — wearing face masks in public places and maintaining physical distance — must be enforced in view of the rapid spread of the new variants. It would be a mistake to think that the pandemic is behind us. It is also essential to gear up for the whole genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the variants or sub-variants. Ever since Omicron arrived in November 2021, it has been giving off branches which divide into smaller branches. Reports about a few cases of BF.7 being detected in India leave no room for laxity. The Central and State governments need to work in close coordination to plug the gaps and ensure that India is well-prepared to handle any fresh outbreak. Though the number of daily cases in India has dropped to just 100-odd, the pandemic is not yet over. India has done reasonably well in handling the pandemic but the vaccination coverage still needs to be stepped up. So far, 68.2% of the country’s eligible population has been fully covered while 73.7% has received at least one dose of the vaccine.