Covid-19 now just like any other respiratory illness, predominant in India after recent surge: Expert

Soumya Swaminathan, a former Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO), has said that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease, is now just like any other respiratory virus and there is no need to panic at the moment.

In recent weeks, Covid-19 cases have risen in India. As per the latest information, there are 3,961 active Covid-19 cases in the country, with 203 new cases and four deaths being reported in the previous 24 hours.

In an interview with CNN-News 18, Swaminathan said that the SARS-CoV-2, just like any other virus, is bound to periodic surges every six to eight months and the ongoing spike in cases is a result of such a periodic surge. She went on to compare it with influenza virus.

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“It has been around now for five years. It is of course constantly mutating and changing like other viruses. And, just like we get every year a spike of influenza cases at certain seasons, we have also now started seeing that periodically, maybe every six to eight months or so, there is a rise in Covid cases,” said Swaminathan, who also served as the Director General of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) during 2015-17.

Swaminathan further said that there was no chance of another catastrophic wave of Covid-19 like the Delta variant’s wave of 2021.

Swaminathan noted that influenza virus was the predominant respiratory infection for most of the year and it was only in April and May that Covid-19 over influenza. She said that it is likely to happen now as Covid-19 has become just another viral infection now.

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Swaminathan said, “It’s likely that every few months or once a year, we will see this type of thing happening in the future. The good thing is, of course, that we all have immunity now, both from vaccination and from natural infections that many of us have had in the last few years. And, so, what you’re seeing now is a mild disease mostly, even though people are testing and reporting positivity, you find that hospitalisations are very few.”

While there is no need to panic, people with higher risk of sickness should take the usual precautions, said Swaminathan.

Those with higher risk include people with compromised immune systems, pre-existing health conditions, and older people, according to Swaminathan.