Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Hyderabad, July 26

Telangana is ready to face the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over 60 per cent population, including children, had acquired immunity against the virus through vaccination or contracting the virus. This has been claimed in a sero-surveillance study, whose report was released here today.

A combination of Covid vaccines and natural immunity acquired by 60 per cent against the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 would be enough for Telangana to sail through a possible third Covid wave smoothly, the study by Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) has stated.

Dr A Laxmaiah, Head, Public Health, NIN has said the third wave may not happen due to overall immunity, but Telangana will sail through quickly even if it does. “The impact will not be as intense as the second wave,” the report suggests.

“Natural immunity and vaccination can act as community barriers and won’t allow the SARS-CoV-2 virus to spread. There were reports that the third wave could impact children in large numbers. There is no such evidence, and our sero-surveillance has indicated that a considerable younger population has also acquired immunity,” says Dr Laxmaiah said.

The NIN study, which included children for the first time in Telangana, has indicated that about 55 per cent of kids between 6 years and 9 years had developed antibodies.