Coronavirus Infection In India May Be On Its Way To Becoming Endemic. Know What It Means

Corona infection in India is moving towards 'endemicity'. The vaccine expert warned that the third wave of corona is likely to occur if we did not change our attitude in view of the festivals.

New Delhi: Top virologist and vVaccine expert Dr Gagandeep Kang has made a big point amid fears of a possible third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. She said the Covid-19 infection in India could be moving towards 'endemicity'.

In an interview to PTI, Kang estimated that the infection would gain momentum locally and spread across the country to take the third form of the pandemic, but the severity of the wave would not be the same.

There is a difference between pandemic and endemic. In the pandemic stage, the virus dominates people and effects a large population, while in the endemic stage, the population learns to live with the virus and is very different from the epidemic. When the pandemic enters the endemic stage, the circulation of the virus is controlled, but the disease does not end. Mostly diseases does not end but enter to the endemic stage.  

'Corona Infection On Its Way To Become Endemic In India'

Kang discussed the Covid-19 situation in India and said that nearly one-third of the country's population has been affected after the second wave. He said, "Will we be able to find the same figures and the same pattern in that third as we saw during the second wave? I think there is a less possibility of this. We will see the infection gaining momentum locally which will spread across the country in its small form." He warned that it is likely to become the third wave if we did not change our attitude in view of the festivals. But the scale is not going to be as much as we've seen before.

'Develop Better Vaccines To Deal With Covid' 

On being asked if Covid is on way to reach an endemic stage in India, Kang, a professor at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, said, ''Yes. When you have something that is not going to end in the near future, then the endemic situation is moving. At the moment we are not working with the goal of eliminating or eliminating the SARS-COV2 virus, which means it has to become an endemic.''

She explained that there are many endemic diseases such as influenza (flu), but there is a risk of an epidemic as well as endemic disease. For example, if there is a new form (of corona virus), which our body does not have the ability to fight, it is likely to become an epidemic again.'' Kang emphasized on developing a better vaccine to deal with Covid-19.