With new strains of the coronavirus emerging in India, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Chief Dr Randeep Guleria told NDTV on Saturday that herd immunity is a myth, as at least 80% of the Indian population would need to develop effective antibodies to combat the virus.
He added that the newer strains of the virus are “highly transmissible and dangerous,” and could cause re-infection for coronavirus patients who have developed antibodies already. Guleria said that the risk of reinfection comes from the “immune escape mechanism” in variants of the virus.
He advised the public to follow safety guidelines and to get the coronavirus vaccine inoculated, adding that the vaccine will help control the severity of the virus if infected. The vaccine may also be less effective if a person gets infected after receiving doses of it.
Dr Guleria indicated that the way forward is to regularly test, isolate coronavirus infections, and to conduct contact tracing. He added that as time progresses, vaccines may need to be altered to fit the conditions the new mutations will have created.
A government official in India reported that there are around 240 new strains of the coronavirus, and that there is no need to panic as protocol is already in progress to contain the virus in India. The ICMR is closely surveying new developments in the country. India reported 10,977,387 confirmed cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, according to the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 13,992 of the cases were reported in the 24 hours, making it the highest one day spike in cases since January 29.
The report comes along with increased cases of mutations in India, including four cases of the South African variant, and 187 cases of the UK variant of the virus.