It seems the worst is over for India as the COVID-19 pandemic infections across the country are currently on a steady decline.

The country witnessed 9,283 new cases in the last 24 hours, India’s health ministry said Nov. 24. The active cases in the country of 1.3 billion people stand at 111,481, lowest in 537 days, the ministry added.

Randeep Guleria, director of state-funded premier medical institute AIIMS, ruled out a third wave of a magnitude comparable to the first two in India.

“There is no surge of Covid-19 cases as of now. So, there is no need for a booster dose in India for now,” Dr Guleria said at a book launch in New Delhi Nov. 23.

As of Nov. 24, India has administered over 1.18 billion vaccine doses with the country witnessing a recovery rate of 98.33 percent, the highest since March 2020, according to official government data.

As a follow-up to the achievement of the billion-plus doses, the federal government Nov. 20 launched a digital platform that allows third parties like travel agencies and institutions to verify an individual’s vaccination status.

The WHO said India has reported 34,526,480 infections till Nov. 23 with 466,147 deaths.

Medical experts said that the country has fully vaccinated only 40 percent of its adult population and nearly 20 percent of adults have skipped the vaccination altogether. The vaccine hesitancy is catching up and the complacency is emerging, they warned.

The festival season crowd-pullers like Durga Puja and Diwali where many Indians gather, did not result in a surge in infections this time despite warning of a third wave peaking during October and November.

Despite the festive season, raging air pollution, and falling temperatures, India seems to have staved off a third wave unlike Europe which is coping with the fourth wave.

The rise in infections in Europe is an issue of concern for the country as India has followed Europe in the first and second wave of the outbreak. No wonder a few medical experts are still skeptical about the third wave wrecking havoc on India.

Europe has returned as the COVID-19 pandemic’s epicenter with the fourth wave this winter.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that Europe remains “in the firm grip” of the pandemic and the total number of death could top 2.2 million this winter going by the current trends.

Another 700,000 Europeans will die by March 1, the WHO warned Nov. 23.

According to the world health body, COVID-19-related deaths rose last week to 4,200 a day, doubling from 2,100 deaths a day in September-end.

Europe’s return as the pandemic epicenter has been blamed on a sluggish vaccine distribution, the contagious Delta variant, colder weather conditions and easing of the curbs.

Hans Kluge, regional director for WHO Europe, said Europe and Central Asia “face a challenging winter ahead.”

The surge in cases has forced Austria to impose lockdown and make vaccination mandatory this week, while Germany and the Netherlands are expected to come out with new curbs.

Though the 27-member block European Union has fully vaccinated 67.7 percent of the population, the figure varies widely between countries. Only 24.2 percent of Bulgarians are administered the vaccine compared with 86.7 percent in Portugal.
Germany’s worst-hit regions have ordered the closure of Christmas markets and Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the EU member country was not doing enough to curb the fourth wave of the pandemic.

The winter has proved bane for Europe will it be a boon for India?