Covid second wave 'less severe': ICMR DG
Dr Balram Bhargava
New Delhi: Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) chief Dr Balram Bhargava said on Monday that India's second wave of coronavirus disease is less severe than the previous one in as far as fatalities are concerned.
Establishing the contrast, the ICMR Director-General said that the only difference is shortness of breath which is higher among the patients this time as a higher requirement of oxygen was found in this wave.
"Very clearly, we find that the symptoms are much less. As I mentioned that the symptoms of joint ache, fatigue, muscle ache, loss of smell, or sore throat are much less compared to the first wave. However, shortness of breath is higher in this wave," Dr Bhargava said.
However, the ICMR DG said there is no difference seen in the rate of fatalities between the first and the second wave.
Pointing out at major loopholes in India's fight against the viral contagion, Dr Bhargava said, "We have had a tremendous amount of laxity and Covid-19 inappropriate behaviour was seen."
It is not yet clear if the surge in infection spread and cases is the result of the double mutant found in India or the higher rate of transmissibility, the ICMR chief said.
He also stressed that the RT-PCR is a gold standard test that measures two or more genes in the body, and there is no chance of missing the detection of a Covid-19 mutant through the test. "I would like to emphasise that the RT-PCR test that we are utilising, they measure two or more genes and they never miss a test... We have always used two or more genes for testing and therefore missing is absolutely impossible... It can find any kind of mutant because it measures two or more genes at different sites," he said.
Just when people thought the worst was over after the gloom and doom of 2020, a fresh wave of Covid roared back in India, as all of us were caught unawares. Hope has turned into despair in no time. Worse, children largely unaffected in the first wave have not been spared this time, as the mutants worked their way.