We should be prepared for the new wave, says Centre

As India grapples with the second wave of Covid-19, the government on Wednesday warned that a third wave is “inevitable”.

During a press briefing, the principal scientific advisor to the Centre, K Vijay Raghavan said, “Phase three is inevitable given the higher levels of circulating virus, but it is not clear on what time-scale this phase three will occur. We should be prepared for new wave.”

Raghavan further pointed out that vaccines are effective against the current variants. “New variants will arise all over the world, as well as India, but variants that increase transmission will likely plateau,” he said, adding that immune-evasive variants and those which lower or increase disease severity will arise going ahead.

“Scientists in India and all over the world are working to anticipate these kinds of variants and act against them rapidly by issuing early warnings and developing modified tools,” he said.

On being asked if a nationwide lockdown was the only solution to rise in cases, NITI Aayog member Dr V K Paul said there was already a guideline issued to states to impose restrictions to suppress the chain of transmission. He added that more options will be discussed in case of a necessity.