3rd Wave Likely Either Due To Virus Mutations Or Susceptible Population: Centre

The Health Minister said vaccination protects from severe manifestation of the disease and improves herd immunity, and is accordingly likely to mitigate the impact COVID-19 may have with any future resurgence.

The third Covid wave may occur either because of mutations in the virus or due to the available pool of susceptible population, and is also dependent on various pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions for management of the pandemic, Lok Sabha was informed on Friday. In a written reply, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said vaccination protects from severe manifestation of the disease and improves herd immunity, and is accordingly likely to mitigate the impact COVID-19 may have with any future resurgence. Vaccines currently being utilised for immunisation offer substantial protection against the infection, besides reducing severity of the disease, hospitalisation and deaths, he said. On warnings by health experts and authorities about a probable advent of a third wave of the coronavirus in the form of its Delta variant, which is likely to affect children, Mr Mandaviya clarified there is no scientific evidence either in India or globally to show that children get disproportionately infected with COVID-19, including its Delta variant.