CHANDIGARH: Even as there is no end in sight to
Punjab’s worsening Covid-19 situation, cases of people again contracting the infection after recovering from it have further raised the alarm in different parts of the state.
About 16 cases of reinfection — 10 in the last three months — have been reported in different districts, including Bathinda, Fazilka, Ludhiana and Mohali. In these cases, the recovered patients developed symptoms and were tested positive for Covid-19 and had to undergo the treatment again. No death among such patients has been reported in the state.
Samples of patients catching the infection for a second time have been sent for genome sequencing to ascertain whether they were carrying the old virus or some mutant strain.
Along with the highly contagious UK variant, other mutations of concern have been reported in Punjab. Of the 874 samples sent for genome sequencing, 411 samples out of 588 examined so far have been found positive for the UK variant (B117) and two samples positive for the South African variant (N440K).
Explaining the reasons for recovered patients again catching the infection, Punjab Covid-19 nodal officer Dr Rajesh Bhaskar said the virus had strange phenomena that in some cases recovered patients do not develop its antibodies at all. This happens mostly among people with low immunity levels.
“It has been found in a large number of recovered patients, who underwent antibodies test, that they did not develop any protective antibodies. It means that they did not develop immunity against the virus and are vulnerable to catching the infection again,” said Dr Bhaskar. He urged people to continue taking precautions – wearing masks, maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene – even after recovering.
According to health experts, even in the recovered Covid patients who developed protection, the protective antibodies were not likely to remain in the body for more than six months. The antibody levels in the blood of recovered patients drop rapidly after the virus is cleared from the bodies.
Society for Promotion of Ethical and Affordable Healthcare president Dr Ram Kumar said protection was still the best “shield” and people should continue taking precaution even after recovering and taking the Covid vaccine. Dr Kumar did not rule out the possibility of a high reinfection rate among the recovered patients as it has been over a year since the pandemic broke out.
A lot of stress is being given on vaccinating vulnerable population as immunisation is being considered the key to suppressing the pandemic. Even as the pace of vaccination is slowly picking up in Punjab, it is yet to reach the desired level. As on April 1, the state administered 3.1 doses per 100 against the All-India average of 5. The performance of neighbouring state of Haryana is at par with the national average while states like Kerala, Rajasthan and Karnataka administered 7.2, 7 and 5.6 doses per 100. In Punjab first dose has been administered to 8,10,535 beneficiaries and the second dose to 1,11,633.