PremiumYet, as vaccine protection is known to vane and the virus can mutate, it’s best not to declare another premature victory. Such an error in early 2021 had grievous consequences, as our worst outbreak caught us with guards down.
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Another sigh of relief in our long battle against covid can be indulged, with the number of fresh cases across India dipping below the 1,000 mark on Sunday for the first time in about two years. The country’s seven-day rolling average of daily infections also looks set to slip under that level in a few days. A tally this low was last recorded in April 2020, before our first wave. It’s true that past dips proved deceptive in their respite. Before the second wave, our week’s daily average fell to the low five digits. Late last year, we saw high four digits on the eve of a third wave. But a three-digit count will be refreshingly new.
That a large portion of adults has gotten vaccinated is cause for comfort, with nearly 1.9 billion doses given. Also, the covid immunity that natural exposure may well have given us. Today’s most infectious pathogen is also milder. Yet, as vaccine protection is known to vane and the virus can mutate, it’s best not to declare another premature victory. Such an error in early 2021 had grievous consequences, as our worst outbreak caught us with guards down. Other Asian countries are struggling to quell a resurgence. Yearn as we do for normalcy, this pandemic won’t be over till it’s over.
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