The scary situation in China has forced countries around the world, including India, to reinstate precautionary measures to prevent a similar outbreak.
Here’s what the global Covid situation looks like …
A whopping 250 million people in China may have been infected by Covid-19 in just 20 days after the abrupt end of the strict Covid zero policy which had kept the pandemic in control for the last 3 years.
According to radio Free Asia citing leaked government documents circulating on social media, about 248 million people in China were infected from December 1 to 20.
The pandemic in China is expected to last for another few months as the country forces itself to live with the virus after actively avoiding it for years.
Though the official numbers don’t show it, the situation seems bad enough from the sheer number of hospitalizations in the country and social media posts about people falling sick.
Meanwhile, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) stopped publishing daily Covid-19 data on Sunday, amid doubts about their reliability.
Vaccination concerns
Unlike the previous Covid waves, the world is sufficiently protected this time due to high rates of vaccination, booster doses and herd immunity.
Notably, China has among the highest vaccination rates in the world despite being the most populous country.
However, many people are still vulnerable to infection, especially the elderly.
The country has exclusively used domestically made vaccines, which rely on older technology than the mRNA vaccines used elsewhere that have shown the best protection against infection.
A study conducted in Hong Kong, which has administered both an mRNA vaccine and Sinovac’s CoronaVac, suggested that CoronaVac requires a third shot to provide comparable protection, especially for the elderly.
An ordinary course of the vaccine is two shots, with an optional booster later.
Older people are especially likely to have not had a booster vaccine. Over 9 million people older than 80 have not had the third vaccine, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency.
Global situation
Covid cases across the world have risen marginally, mainly due to the outbreaks in China, Japan US, France, Greece, Italy and South Korea.
However, most countries where Omicron-driven cases had exploded earlier, are yet to witness a similar wave of the pandemic.
Nonetheless, countries like India have started reimposing some restrictions such as mandatory wearing of masks in public and random screening at airports.
While cases have marginally risen around the world, the death rate appears to be static.
This could be due to factors like vaccination and herd immunity. Moreover, the new variant does not seem to be causing serious illness in patients, despite its high transmissibility.
Covid situation in India
In India too, the Covid situation seems to be under control with the country appearing fewer than 200 daily cases.
Though some cases of BF.7 variant has been found in India too, it has not currently led to a spike in infections.
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned people against complacency and urged them to wear masks in crowded places, while also directing officials to strengthen surveillance measures, especially at international airports.
At a high-level meeting, PM Modi reiterated that “Covid is not over yet” and advised states to audit Covid-specific facilities to ensure operational readiness of hospital infrastructure, including oxygen cylinders, PSA plants, ventilators and human resources.
He also urged that precaution dose may be encouraged especially for vulnerable and elderly groups.