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As reports of a new strain of COVID-19 in Maharashtra emerge, AIIMS Chief Dr Randeep Guleria on Saturday, said that herd immunity, especially in the case of the new Indian strains — found in Maharashtra's Amravati and Akola — is a myth because at least 80 percent of the population needs to have developed anti-bodies to fight the virus.
The doctor added that the new strain is 'highly transmissible and dangerous' and could cause re-infections for those who have previously developed anti-bodies. Guleria attributed the re-infections to immune escape mechanism of variants of the virus.
Guleria emphasised on the importance of getting the vaccine nevertheless, saying that although the person may not be immune to the new strain, they are likely to develop a milder version of it.
A Maharashtra government official had earlier reported that there are around 240 new strains of the virus. Besides Maharashtra, four more states — Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Punjab — have been witnessing a spike in numbers.
Explaining why herd immunity is not achievable, Dr Guleria said that mutations or variants in the virus have immune escape mechanism. They can threaten the immunity achieved by a person through vaccinations or the disease and cause reinfection. Regular surveillance data is the key to knowing if vaccines need to be modified to fight the new variant strains. In the coming months, there could be changes made to the vaccines.
So far, more than 1.07 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far to health workers and frontline workers for Covid, the Centre said on Saturday.
Source: thequint.com, ndtv.com
Written by Siddhant Sharma
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