Recently, five states in India that includes Maharastra, Kerala, Madya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Punjab have been experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases. According to the director of AIIMs Dr Randeep Guleria, new Indian strain is expected to be more dangerous and transmissible that has been found in Mahasrastra. On the occasion, he has also said that the herd immunity is a myth as minimum 80% of the people need to have antibodies in order to protect the entire population. Experts have been also saying that the new strain is capable of developing even among the person with the virus antibodies.
Over the span of last week, a sudden spurt has been noticed. Centre has been planning to vaccinate 3 crore healthcare workers as well as frontline workers. Post vaccination of healthcare workers. 27 crore people over the age 50 is expected to be vaccinated. People with co-morbidity falls under this list also.

Herd Immunity

Giving some details on why it is not possible to achieve herd immunity, Dr Guleria has explained that variation or mutation of the virus can avoid immune mechanism successfully. Therefore, immunity achieved through vaccines may suffer also. As a result, chances of re-infection may increase.
Dr. Shashank Joshi of Maharastra COVID-19 task force has said that more than 240 new strains have been found in India already which has caused the surge in the coronavirus cases in the last few days.

Vaccination Drive

Regarding the effect of vaccination on the new coronavirus strain found in India, Dr Guleria has said vaccines may be effective. However, lesser efficacy may be observed on the occasion. It may not be possible to avoid the disease completely. However, severity of disease may not be seen. Mild version of coronavirus may be experienced on the occasion. So, it is a must to get the vaccine.

Can lockdown be a solution?

Lockdown can be looked as a draconian measure. On the occasion, efficacy may be limited as well to curb the spread of virus. Experts have been promoting the idea of double masking. In addition, strategy of micro-containment zone can be effective also.
According to Joshi, decentralization of coronavirus vaccine distribution may be helpful as well. Issues have been seen with the CoWin app. As a result, vaccination drive is going on a slower pace. If more power is given to the state then more people can be covered and benefitted at the same time.
More than one crore people have been vaccinated in India so far. Serious complications have not been seen in most cases.