New Delhi: Dr. VK Paul, a member of the country’s Corona Task Force, has said that the exact timing of the next wave of the epidemic cannot be told. He said that it would not be rational to fix any time of any next wave as the behavior of Corona is uncertain. He said that there is a need to continue taking effective steps against the epidemic.
Amidst concerns about the new Delta Plus variant of Corona, VK Paul has said – so far there is no scientific data that proves that the new variant is more infectious or reverses the effect of the vaccine.
The effect of the third wave of corona will depend on many reasons
In an interview given to news agency PTI, Dr. Paul said that how big the next wave of corona will be, will depend on many reasons. Like the corona-related behavior of the people, the number of testing, the containment strategy, and the number of vaccinations will be important aspects. Apart from this, the erratic behavior of the virus can also be a big reason.
Regarding the immunity of Covaccine and Covishield against Delta Plus of Coronavirus, Paul said that according to the scientific assessment of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), both vaccines are effective against different forms of Coronavirus including Delta Plus.
Responding to another question, he said, “Discussions are on to pave the way for internationally developed vaccines in India. There are many dimensions to this issue and we are trying to find a way out at the earliest, which is agreed upon by all.
“We are trying to expedite the matter in every possible way,” Paul said.
Asked about Bharat Biotech’s obtaining the Emergency Use List (EUL) certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO) in the Covaxin application case, Paul said the process is progressing very well.
“The company has submitted additional documents last week. We want to see an early review of the data and hope a decision will come very soon.”
No evidence of a serious effect on the lungs
Earlier, Dr. NK Arora, head of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization’s COVID-19 Working Group (NTAGI), had said that the ‘delta plus’ form has been found to be more associated with lung tissue than other forms of coronavirus. This does not mean that it will cause serious disease or that it is more contagious.
Research continues on the effect of the vaccine on the delta variant
ICMR DG Balram Bhargava had said on Sunday that Covishield and Covaxin have been effective on variants like Alpha Beta, Gamma, and Delta, which were found before Delta Plus. He said that we are currently testing it to see how much effect the corona vaccine has on this variant. We are waiting for the results of the laboratory. Its results will come in 7 to 10 days.
