Summer Vacations, Get-Togethers & Lowering of Guard: Urbanites to Blame for Covid Surge, Says NTAGI Chief

Holiday season, get-togethers and lowering of guard — the recent surge of Covid-19 infections in India should be blamed on urbanites, the head of India’s top panel on coronavirus vaccines told News18.

India on Friday continued to register an upward trend in new Covid-19 infections, with the country recording 7,584 new cases and 24 deaths. With this, active cases rose to 36,267.

According to Dr NK Arora, head of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) — an apex panel that takes critical decisions on use and deployment of coronavirus vaccines in India — there is no need to cause panic, considering that “no new variant is at play.”

The top official, however, blamed summer holidays due to which travel and social get-togethers are on the rise.

“The better-off urbanites are responsible for driving an increase as they are traveling and organising more get-togethers due to ongoing summer holidays. Across different states, metros and big cities are seeing an upsurge. If we recall, six weeks ago, several schools in Noida and South Delhi – relatively well-off geographies in the metro – were reporting clusters of Covid cases. Following the same trend, the cases are going up due to increased mobility and letting the guards down,” he said.

The NTAGI chief urged the public to take their pending ‘precaution or booster doses’.

“You must take your precaution dose, especially if you have a certain co-morbid condition. Data shows that only 10% of people know that they are vulnerable. Even obesity will put us at risk of catching severe Covid-19,” he said, emphasising that taking a booster shot is an important life decision which shouldn’t be delayed.

The central government has re-launched part two of its successful door-to-door ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign to administer remaining vaccines and precaution doses.

The second leg of the campaign was launched on June 1 and its implementation will begin effective immediately till July 31.

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