Srinagar: Senior medico in Kashmir on Tuesday said that as of now there are no indications of second wave of Covid-19 in J&K, but people must follow Covid SOPs in letter and spirit.
Dr Naved Nazir, Head of the Department Chest Diseases, said that as of now he can’t say whether vaccine will be effective against new Covid strains as research on the issue is going on.
“At the same we don’t have any indication of second Covid wave but Covid-19 outbreak started in India, the cases were found in Kerala and Maharashtra first and then it reached here and second wave has also started and there are chances it may reach here but there is no surety,” he said.
Naved said that Covid is not going to “leave us so soon and there is need to adhere to protocols for our benefit along with the benefit of our others.”
“Virus can change gene structure and can emerge in new form anytime so we have to remain cautious,” he said, adding that to check whether is it its mutated form, “we send samples of high risk patients and persons with a travel history of such countries where mutations have been found, their samples are being sent for gene sequencing along with some random samples to keep continuous check on mutations.”
Asked about re-opening of schools, he said that children have been safe always and no complex case of Covid-19 was found among children and if school authorities, parents and children will follow advisories, then there is nothing wrong in opening schools.
About the efficiency of the vaccine, he said the drive has just begun and “we can’t say anything about its efficacy yet, however, no major case of side effect of the vaccine has been found as of now.”
He said that if every single person will get a vaccine shot, there are still chances that new strains may emerge. “So people must follow advisories in letter and spirit,” Naveed added. (KNO)