Second wave not yet over, Delta plus may not be dangerous: NTAGI chief
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Jul, 2021 10:51 AM
New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) India is still witnessing the second wave which is not yet over as northeastern states and some parts of south India are still battling it, a member of the government's Covid expert panel said on Thursday.
Talking to IANS, Covid-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) Chairman N.K. Arora said: "Second wave is not yet over..."
He also contended that the Delta Plus variant is "not going to be that disturbing or harmful" while the Delta variant infection is still in some parts of the country.
Some experts suggest that there may be possible third wave at the end of August but it may not be as devastating as the second wave was during April to June.
Experts also stress that adherence to Covid protocols is mandatory to curb the infection and vaccination is an important tool to fight the pandemic.
The Indian Council of Medical Research's Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division head Samiran Panda has said that the vaccines available now largely are effective against the new variants, but the efficacy may differ for different strains.
Vaccines are not infection-preventing, but disease-modifying, he added.
Officials from India and Pakistan today discussed the technical modalities of the Kartarpur corridor for the Sikh pilgrims, the first meeting after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status leading to fresh tensions between the two countries.
When it comes to happiness, Indians consider good financial conditions and physical well-being among the top-most reasons to remain joyous, a new survey said on Friday, adding that India ranked ninth on happiness index among 28 global markets.
The decision has been taken as some foreigners, who are already in India on valid visas, were facing difficulties in availing medical treatment in the event of their falling sick during their stay.
In a piece titled "The World Can't Ignore Kashmir. We Are All in Danger", Khan says that "if the world does nothing to stop the Indian assault on Kashmir and its people, two nuclear-armed states will get ever closer to a direct military confrontation".
Actor and BJP MP Sunny Deol said that he doesn't pay attention to people's reaction about “his fledgling political career because he believes in quietly doing his work”.