Will China Covid-19 crisis affect India? Here's a variant, commentary analysis

 

• Experts predict more than one million deaths in China after the government lifts its zero-covid policy. Will India be in trouble?

A significant jump in COVID-19 cases in China has sent shockwaves around the world. Even Indian officials have swung into action, with the Center issuing advisories to states and the health minister writing to Rahul Gandhi to stop the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Even though precaution is better than cure, should India hit the panic button? Should we be gearing up for a 2021 redux?

There is no need to panic, assures Adar Poonawalla, founder and CEO of Serum Institute of India, which manufactures the widely used Covid vaccine Covishield. He tweeted, “The rising cases of Kovid from China are worrying, we need not panic considering our excellent vaccination coverage and track record. We must continue to believe and follow the guidelines set by the Government of India & @MoHFW_INDIA."

China is battling the worst phase of the Kovid virus. According to news reports coming out of the country, the virus strain affected is BF.7, a sub-variant of Omicron. This is something that has been in vogue for more than a year now. A report in Live Science states that BF.7 is an abbreviation for BA.5.2.1.7, a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5. BF.7 is considered the most virulent of all variants, including BA.1 and BA.2.

Covid Data Analyst, Vijayanand claims, “China Covid Crisis, the current variants in China are only Omicron Sublineages BA.2.75, BA.5, BQ.1, XBB, all these variants found in the rest of the world. So this crisis in China will not have any impact on India or rest of the world. So there is no reason to worry or panic."

As per reports, India is tracing these strains and data from the SARS CoV 2 Genomic Surveillance Program of India, or INSACOG. BF.7 is here for more months.

The situation in China is worsening since the withdrawal of the zero covid policy and the lifting of the lockdown, the death toll on December 20 has risen to 5241 and experts predict that the situation will worsen. To rescue the embattled economy, it has ended mass lockdowns, lifted travel restrictions and even allowed people with SARS-CoV-2 to isolate at home rather than in centralized facilities Is. Even testing is now voluntary. Hesitancy about the vaccine is another cause for concern. Airfinity, a British scientific information and analytics company, said in late November that 1.3 million to 2.1 million people could die if China lifts its zero-Covid policy because of low vaccination and booster rates as well as the lack of hybrid immunity. Is.

Epidemiologist and health economist Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding attributed this to the quality of the Covid vaccine made in China, “A deeper problem lies in the weak CoronaVac (by Sinovac) and Sinopharm vaccines. Note that even with 3 shots of the main CoronaVac shot, the neutralization performance against the newer recent #Omicron variants is poor - this is poor. China is not using the bivalents yet."

According to the Y chart, nearly 90% of China's population has been vaccinated, but now the government is urging citizens to take a fourth dose to improve immunity. However, according to a report in Nature, of the more than 260 million people aged 60 and over in China, only 70% aged 60 and over, and only 40% aged 80 and over, received the third dose. Got it.