Genome scientist declares an end to third wave in Indian metros

India’s top genome sequencer on Wednesday declared an end to the third wave of COVID-19 in the country’s metros.

The director of CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Dr Anurag Agarwal, said there were no reasons to expect a further jump in the number of cases unless the virus showed any further mutations.

“The likelihood of any major change in India’s COVID-19 scenario seems low, but as we know that the virus is circulating in the environment, it will keep mutating and dodging the immunity,” Agarwal said.

“The chances of causing severe disease are low. However, following basic COVID-19 appropriate behaviour remains advisable, especially in a poorly ventilated environment.”

On January 10, Omicron coverage in India had exceeded 90 per cent and by February, Delta must have reduced to just a few per cent across cities in India, at most, he claimed. “Very little Delta variant is left in circulation in India.”

With chances of infection going down, the scientist said the requirement of booster doses in the current situation was low.

“Also, boosters are not required for everyone. Those who were in need of urgent boosters, the high-exposure health care workers, the vulnerable population above 60 years, have already been getting the doses.”

He said boosters were given to reduce the risk of infection as well as severe disease. “However, right now, with the number of cases going down, many people have already recovered from Omicron, and with no new variant in sight, the risk of infection and disease is already low.”