India is witnessing a sudden rise in new Covid-19 cases triggered by a new variant XBB.1.16, which is also known as Arcturus. New symptoms of Covid are emerging which were not seen during the earlier waves, said Dr Naresh Purohit, Advisor, National Communicable Disease Control Programme.
Voicing his concern on this issue, the noted Epidemiologist Dr Purohit told UNI here that hospitals have once again started getting pediatric Covid cases after a gap of six months. Some of the top symptoms include high fever, cold and non-purulent cough.
He added that many kids are reporting itchy conjunctivitis and sticky eyes, a symptom that was not seen in earlier waves.
Principal Investigator for National Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (NIDSP) Dr Purohit pointed that daily Covid cases have crossed the 6,000-mark for the first time since September 16, 2022.
He informed that a total of 14 deaths- three in Maharashtra, two each in Karnataka and Rajasthan, and one each in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala and Punjab have been reported.
The Infectious Disease Expert said as the virus continues to circulate and evolve; Indians continue to see waves of infections.
“New waves of Covid infection occur as our immunity wanes.” he cautioned.
He averred that we can contain the impact of this virus with strong disease surveillance, high vaccine coverage, and making our health systems more resilient.
Renowned physician stated that India needs to strengthen its capacity to track the virus and urgently address any gaps in the health systems. As we continue to do all this, we need to transition to long-term control of Covid-19 and other respiratory diseases.
He pointed out that vaccination is an important tool in the fight against Covid to prevent severe disease and death.
“Even in communities that have experienced high Covid-19 infection rates, vaccination and boosters provide an additional layer of protection against the future trajectory of the disease.” he observed
“India has already administered more than 2.2 billion doses to date, an impressive feat given the size of the country. While the vaccine rollout started at a slow pace, it picked up speed with the country crossing a billion doses in October 2021 and crossing the two billion mark in a record 18 months in July 2022.” he averred.
He said in April 2022, India also rolled out booster doses in a phased manner for those who had completed their primary series, with a focus on the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions, and front-line workers which was gradually expanded.
“While vaccine coverage and prior infections has provided population level immunity globally, the effectiveness of vaccines wanes over time and it is important that the primary series should be followed by additional booster doses, especially to those at the highest risk from severe disease and death.” he explained.
He emphasized that even individuals without infection must continue to follow protective measures to reduce transmission which include maintaining safe distance, practicing good hand and respiratory hygiene, wearing well-fitting masks, and avoiding crowded and poorly ventilated places, where possible.
“Booster doses provide additional protection against infection and severe disease beyond the primary series. Persons at high risk of developing severe Covid- 19 disease should continue to be prioritized for the booster dose.” he added
He said children and adolescents are generally at low risk of infection and in case they do get infected; it is likely to be a mild disease in most instances. However, children and adolescents with co-morbidities or obesity are at a higher risk and must be vaccinated and should receive primary series vaccination and one booster dose.
He urged that vaccination of healthy children and adolescents could be considered by individual countries based on disease burden, and other health or programmatic priorities and opportunity costs.
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