The absolute number of people infected with COVID-19 in India may never be known but much of the scientific community agrees the downward trajectory of the disease is real and can likely be attributed to ‘localised’ herd immunity and a younger population.
As scientists attempt to understand India’s sliding COVID count, the country on Tuesday recorded 16,375 new COVID-19 cases, more than six times lower than the highest daily spike of 97,894 on September 16 and the lowest in six months. While there is a glimmer of hope and India’s COVID-19 numbers are on a definite decline for a combination of reasons, a vaccination programme continues to be important, particularly given the presence of a mutant, more transmissible strain, several experts said while cautioning against infection upticks ahead.
“It’s not the absolute numbers, but the trajectory that is important,” said Shahid Jameel, director, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, looking at…