Third Covid-19 wave will come if we invite it: Dr Renu Swarup

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], August 23 : The third Covid-19 wave will come if "invited" by the human behaviour and that of the virus, said Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary of Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, on Monday.
"The virus' behaviour, we know, mutates. We don't have control over that. The more it gets into a larger number of infections, there is more the transmission. Human behaviour is in our control, which involves adopting Covid-appropriate behaviour, i.e. maintaining hygiene, wearing a face mask, following social distancing," Dr Swarup told ANI.
Several scientists and epidemiologists, over the last few weeks, have had expressed concerns over the third wave of coronavirus in India as more virulent variants of the virus, like Delta Plus, circulate.
"If we continue to do follow Covid-19 protocol and break the chain of transmission, we do not allow the virus to go from one host to the other," Dr Swarup added.
The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, has warned of a third Covid-19 wave peak in October in its recent report to the Prime Minister's Office.
The NIDM's report quoted the Reuters' opinion survey of 40 experts that forecasted that the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to hit India between July 15 and October 13.
Dr Swarup, however, asserted that the third wave is completely avoidable if Covid-appropriate human behaviour is strictly followed.
"There is clearly the human behaviour will overtake the virus behaviour, and I think if we allow it to be controlled, no way is the third going to happen," Dr Swarup told ANI.
The second Covid-19 wave swept across India in April-May this year with Covid cases breaching the four-lakh mark per day. Several states imposed lockdown to stem the spread of the deadly pathogen. The restrictions started easing up in a phased manner in June as fresh coronavirus cases began dropping and vaccination paced up. But the easing of lockdown came with people crowding hill stations and other public places. The government, in July, issued an advisory to states warning against "blatant violations of Covid norms."
The country has so far administered nearly 58 crore doses of three Covid-19 vaccines - Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V. Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson's was given emergency use approval in India for its single-dose Covid-19 vaccine, whereas Zydus Cadila was given a nod last week.