In an interview that will be very reassuring, virologist Gagandeep Kang has said that the rising number of COVID-19 cases in India is not a matter of concern but part of a pattern we should expect to see. Asked if the rising cases are a matter of concern, Kang replied: “Not really. It’s a part of a pattern we should expect to see … it’s the shape of things to come.”
In a 21-minute interview with Karan Thapar for The Wire, Kang, a professor at Christian Medical College in Vellore and a member of the government’s Covid Working Group, was asked if it would be right to describe the present situation as the onset of a fourth wave. She replied this is “definitely not the start of a fourth wave”. She said “we will see surges and declines varying by geography”. This is what is happening at the moment. “Cases in south India went up earlier now they are going up in parts of north India.”
In the interview, Kang speaks about the BA.2.75 Omicron variant that is presently the dominant variant in India. She says its more transmissible than BA.4 and BA.5 and considerably more than the original Omicron variant. However, although hospital admissions and deaths have risen a little in the last two weeks they are nowhere near levels that should cause concern.
She also points out that her inference is that India’s two principal vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, remain effective against Omicron in terms of protection against severe disease, which is, of course, the main concern. No vaccine has so far been particularly effective in preventing infection.
However, what Kang does reveal is that India has not interlinked the data it has to be able to say authoritatively how effective these two vaccines are against Omicron. The data is available but it hasn’t been correlated. She hopes that the government will do this now, even if belatedly, because this information is important to study the effectiveness of Indian vaccines rather than rely on studies done internationally.
The interview also discusses whether India needs an Omicron specific vaccine and whether the Moderna Omicron specific vaccine should be acquired for two sections of the population i.e. the elderly, who are vulnerable, and people with comorbidities. The interview also discusses how the 18.2% who have taken their boosters can be increased to a far higher number.
Finally, Kang is asked whether in the present circumstances, we need to get back to a more stringent enforcement of mask-wearing. She doesn’t believe that is important for ordinary people. She says: “Masking is a question of your individual desire of doing so.” She recommends it for people who are vulnerable but adds, “for the general population it does not make sense to wear a mask in every situation”.
It might be worth doing so in crowded locations like buses – because masks can also protect you against flu – but, she adds, because we have reached a different level of concern about COVID-19, these are now choices individuals can make for themselves.
