Note: At present, India is witnessing Covid third wave. So, this article is no longer relevant.
- At present, India is witnessing the second wave of COVID-19, which is more severe than the first wave. It is predicted that covid third wave is inevitable if we do not take strong measures.
How to prevent COVID third wave in India:
- The pace of vaccination should be faster. At the current pace, it would take eight months approximately to vaccinate all the adults (94.4 crore adults according to government statistics). This is due to the low supply of vaccines. So, the government is planning to improve the supply of vaccines and is aiming to vaccinate 1 crore people every day from mid-July or August. The faster the vaccination drive, the probability of the third wave of COVID in India will be lesser.
- When the cases started declining after the first wave, many people returned to pre-covid behaviour due to pandemic fatigue. It is also because many people thought that the pandemic phase is over. This behaviour of common people is also one of the reasons for the COVID second wave. So, even after the second wave is over, we should follow covid appropriate behaviour by wearing masks, maintaining social distance to prevent the outbreak of the third wave.
- There should be more COVID testing centres to avoid the crowd. At present, some people are not getting tested for COVID fearing they may contract the virus at the testing centres. This may lead to a fewer number of known cases and hence a false sense of assurance. So, more testing centres and better facilities should be opened to prevent the third wave.
- Access to healthcare services should be improved, so that covid affected people can immediately take treatment, thus can prevent further spread.
- At present, there is a scarcity of healthcare professionals. Moreover, doctors and other healthcare professionals are facing burnout due to overwork. Overwork and exhaustion can lead to reduced quality of care. So, steps should be taken to increase the number of professionals in the healthcare sector.
- Washing hands is very essential to prevent the spread of the virus. But still, in many areas, people are struggling with water scarcity. So, the government should work on increasing water availability.
The government and the common people together should work on preventing the third wave of COVID-19. We should also be prepared to tackle the third wave so that we can reduce the impact if the covid third wave comes.