The second wave of the Covid virus rose high like a tsunami wave is fading now quicker than estimated. The number of recorded current daily cases of Covid-19 cases fell below the 1-lakh mark per the 7-day rolling average for the first time since the beginning of April, duration of close to 70 days. Daily deaths were also at their lowest level since mid April.
As per the new health guidelines of The Union health ministry said those who tested Covid positive should wait for three months after recovery to get vaccinated, as they have natural antibodies present. However, according to a recent group of public health experts, including doctors from AIIMS and members from the national task force on COVID-19 have recommended that there is no need to vaccinate people who had documented COVID-19 infection. In addition, they also stated that mutant strains may emerge in case of mass, indiscriminate, and incomplete vaccination. The Joint Task Force of eminent public health experts of India was constituted by the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA) and the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM) in April 2020 to advise the Government of India for containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Amid this crisis studies were conducted on several matters from among which AIIMS Delhi has conducted a study on breakthrough infection, infections after partial or full vaccination which reveals that vaccination stops the reinfection to become severe, but it does not guarantee protection from reinfection. According to the Indian experts’ report, there is not enough evidence that vaccine is beneficial after natural infection. “There is no need to vaccinate people who had documented Covid-19 infection. These people may be vaccinated after generating evidence that vaccine is beneficial after natural infection, the overall objective of vaccination should be the control the disease at the population level,” read the report.
“The present situation of the pandemic in the country demands that we should be guided by the logistics and epidemiological data to prioritize vaccination rather than opening vaccination for all age groups at this stage,” it further said.
The experts’ group also highlighted that opening all fronts simultaneously will drain human and other resources and would be spreading it too thin to make an impact at the population level. “Vaccine is a strong and powerful weapon against the novel coronavirus. And like all strong weapons it should neither be withheld nor used indiscriminately; but should be employed strategically to derive maximum benefit in a cost-effective way,” the report said. It added that people who have recovered from the COVID-19 infection should be low down in priority for vaccination. “Moreover, we can conserve considerable resources if we exclude adults who have recovered from natural infection, they said. The experts have therefore suggested repeated local level serosurveys in real-time at the end of the second wave to map the vulnerability at the district level to guide vaccination strategy. The experts’ group also pointed out that vaccination of young adults and children is not supported by evidence. According to the experts, inoculating children will not be cost-effective and that unplanned vaccination can promote mutant strains.
