As India celebrates the 75th Independence Day, we must look at the struggles and milestones we have achieved during our prolonged battle against the novel coronavirus. As President Ram Nath Kovind said during his address to the nation, we must exercise extreme caution against the very unpredictable virus. Talking about the virus, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria has once again said that the country may not see the rerun of the second wave horrors if we practice Covid-appropriate behaviour. In terms of achievements, one of the key milestones that the country has seen is the new coverage level in the national vaccination programme. As per the current data, around 46 per cent of the adult population in India has received at least one dose of the vaccine. In terms of fully vaccinated people, the figure stands at 13 per cent. At the start of the pandemic, there was a lot of buzz about herd immunity. But with new Covid variants being detected now and then, the concept may just remain a concept. Newer variants are far more transmissible and can escape the immunity provided by the Covid vaccines.
With Delta variant, which was first detected in India, shutting down cities across the world, there is a new cause of worry with fresh advances of Delta Plus in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Karnataka has ruled out any state-wide lockdown as of now. Instead, local, district-level officials have been authorised with deciding on micro curfews. The state would go for gradual unlock in areas with less than 2 per cent of the test positivity rate.
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