Strengthening vaccination coverage by the end of May will help verify the spread of Covid: Expert

Strengthening vaccination coverage by the end of May will help verify the spread of Covid: Expert

Hyderabad:

The spread of COVID-19 in the country would remain at low levels if vaccination coverage were significantly expanded, possibly by inoculating people over 30 and without comorbidities, by the end of May, an expert said. .

While there has been an increase in the number of cases in some states, overall they have remained much lower despite elections being held in some states, GVS Murthy, director of the Indian Institute of Health Public Health Foundation in Hyderabad, set up under the auspices of the Public Health Foundation of India, said.

“A sudden increase in cases has not been observed although civic polls have taken place in Hyderabad and local elections have been held in neighboring Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

The infection spreads, most likely after those leading protected lives were exposed as they left their homes and mingled with others, he said.

Citing the recently announced seroprevalence reports in Hyderabad, he said that 54% of the city’s population are believed to have antibodies against COVID-19 (up to 70% in some neighborhoods), which means that many people have been infected in the past six months without realizing it. he.

Observing that the protection stays in place for about five to six months if a person is already infected, Mr Murthy said it was a good sign that spikes were not being seen.

If the vaccination campaign accelerates even among people over the age of 30 without comorbidities, it would help stem the spread of the virus, he said.

“If we can push vaccination coverage to a high level by May, based on the volume of vaccines available in the country, the situation in India will remain at low levels,” Murthy told PTI.

After the launch of the national vaccination campaign covering health professionals and other front-line workers in January, the country started immunizing people over the age of 60 and over 45 from March 1. suffering from comorbidities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking the first vaccine that day.

Mr Murthy said that while the pandemic might not end immediately, the situation would be under control as there has been an increase in immunization coverage.

According to the information available, the antibodies (in those infected) have been around for about seven months and there is a possibility that they will get them again if the antibodies decrease, he said.

Since the highest number of cases in the country was seen between August and September last year, those infected could then run the risk of finding it by April-May, he said. .

Therefore, people over the age of 30 or 40 can be covered if the vaccination campaign is stepped up towards the end of May, he said.

This can be achieved by giving the private sector a greater role in promoting immunization, he said.

Increasing vaccine coverage would provide protection to more people and it would also be difficult to infect others, he added.

Mr Murthy said the medical management of COVID-19 cases had improved since the start of the pandemic with an effective reduction in deaths and that the combination of vaccination and better medical management would be of great benefit to the patient. virus management.

However, precautions against COVID-19 such as wearing masks should be continued until the vaccination campaign reaches the next stage and also because the effectiveness of the vaccines would be around 70 to 75%, did he declare.

“It is still not time to give up protection like masks. Such a situation might not happen this year,” he added.

The practice of wearing masks would have other benefits such as reducing tuberculosis, pneumonia and infections.

“We have to see what is the benefit to society on a larger scale,” added Mr. Murthy.

(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)