Coronavirus In India: The increasing cases of Kovid-19 in China and the horrifying pictures coming from there have shocked Indians once again. About how much this is a matter of concern for Indians, ‘Padma Shri’ Raman Gangakhedkar, former head of the Department of Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases in the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), spoke to Bhasha.
Question: The picture of Kovid-19 coming from many countries of the world including China, Japan and South Korea has scared the countrymen. How worrying is this for India?
answer: We do not have to be afraid, we have to be alert. We have to understand one thing. China had adopted ‘zero covid policy’. He suddenly stopped it and the result is in front of everyone. Talking about Japan, it has recently lifted restrictions on international movement. We are all aware of the situation there.
What had we done? We had removed the restrictions gradually, not all at once. Because of this, the advantage was that less population came out and the infection spread less. The quality of China’s vaccine is also not good. Very few people have been given booster dose there. There is also a high population of elderly people, so there is a high possibility of mortality.
Raman Gangakhedkar further said, “If we compare this with our country, then our population of people above 65 years is only six percent. Be it China or Japan, this population is three times more here. You will see more figures here. Whether it is of infection or of death. We do not have to be afraid by seeing these figures. We do not need to worry now, rather we have to be cautious. The situation in China today will create a crisis in the whole world, such I do not think so.”
Question: In China at this time corona virus The form that is spreading is being called BF.7, a subform of Omicron. Will the new form of the virus mutate fast and how dangerous can it be?
answer: There is no doubt that this format spreads rapidly. The fifth form of Omicron also spread rapidly in our country, but it also ended quickly. BF.7 will also end soon, in China too. It doesn’t seem like there will be any new mutation, because it’s been 11 months, Omicron is spreading all over the world. 11 months is a long time. He has not been able to create any new form in such a time. Some new form will come, this is the fear of our mind. According to science, it seems a bit difficult to be.
Question: The government is monitoring the current situation. Advisories have been issued to the states and many more steps are being taken. How prepared are we for the possibility of a new wave?
answer: Our hospitals are well experienced, have a good number of beds available. Awareness has also come among the people here and they are also using masks. We have vaccinated more than 90 percent people. The government is trying its best for the precautionary dose as well. The government has now approved the nasal vaccine as well. There is complete preparation for this too. We can take it as a booster dose. This is a big achievement. The government is emphasizing on genome sequencing. If any new form comes, we will come to know about that also. There is no reason to fear. The government has made all out efforts.
Question: The demand for a ban on flights coming to India from abroad is rising fast, but the government has denied it for the time being. Is RT-PCR test of two percent people enough?
answer: Absolutely, if you remember the old times then let me tell you… When the first wave of Kovid-19 came, we had banned the movement of planes. Citizens coming from abroad were also being investigated. Despite doing all this, were we able to stop the spread of Covid-19? No, it happened that our economy was negatively affected.
The present form of Covid is also being found in China, South Korea, Japan, Britain and America. So have these countries banned the movement of aircraft. In fact, this form had already come in our place too. Although its number was less. The truth is that elections were held here and festivals like Diwali and Dussehra were also celebrated, but despite this, there was no major increase in the cases of infection. There is no need to stop the movement of planes. We can ban the entry of foreigners but can we stop Indians returning from abroad. We have to understand this also.
Question: Questions are being raised on China’s zero covid policy. He is also treating death due to Covid as the same, in which cases of pneumonia or cases in which respiratory disease is involved behind the death. This method is different from the World Health Organization’s method of measuring death from corona. What will you say?
answer: During the delta form, the number of people who died of pneumonia was more. Omicron form does not go into the lungs. It will not cause pneumonia by going inside the throat but will cause other problems. So to say that those who died of pneumonia had covid was correct for Delta Swaroop but it is not correct to say this in Omicron. omicron I am not getting the exact number of deaths due to heart attack or other reasons. Anyway, everyone knows that the people of China do not tell the truth. Therefore the question is bound to arise.
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