All About The Second Wave Of Coronavirus
We are still trying to fight the first wave of the infection. But what about the second wave and what do we know about it?
What Is A Second Wave?
According to the BBC, there is no formal definition for this question. However, in the media, the term “second wave” has been frequently used to refer to a potential resurgence of COVID-19 cases. For a second wave to start, a country would require a continued surge in infections.
Does The World Have A Second Wave Already?
YES. Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said that Canada has entered a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, warning that the country was on the brink of a rise if people did not know public health guidelines.
As per CNN, Europe is now in the middle of a second wave as it moves into winter. The UK, Czech Republic, France and Spain have reported a high number of cases in the past couple of days. British PM Boris Johnson announced tighter restrictions for England, which could last for six months.
In one major French city, CNN reported this week that hospitals were close to running out of ICU beds.
However, in the case of India, it is said that our country is still struggling with the first wave since India’s coronavirus curve never flattened even once. But Delhi, the capital city of India, has entered the second wave, meanwhile, according to an India Today article, it is not as lethal as the one the city saw earlier.
Comparing With The History
Before COVID-19, the influenza pandemic of 1889–1890 and the influenza pandemic of 1918–1920 saw three waves of infections and the second ones were the most severe ones. The same infection recurred several other times too.
The SARS epidemic of 2002–2003, which is also caused by coronaviruses also saw too small waves of infections. The MERS -CoV also witnessed multiple small waves.
The thing to note here is that the coronavirus causing COVID-19 has not behaved like the SARS and MERS coronaviruses. It has infected significantly more people and resulted in many more deaths, in spite of having a lower fatality rate.
The Vaccine
We understand. The second wave sounds scary. But look at the bright side — We are getting closer to the vaccine. Sources told PTI that the King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital in Mumbai has begun phase II and III trials of the Oxford Covishield vaccine on Tuesday. The Mumbai-based BYL Nair Hospital also has received approval for conducting trials of the vaccine.
The Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the vaccine candidate and it is developed by the University of Oxford, UK. Johnson & Johnson has entered the final Phase 3 stage of its vaccine clinical trial and is looking to enroll up to 60,000 volunteers.
The important thing to note here is that the vaccine alone isn’t enough. In an interview with ABC News, WHO spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris has said, “The vaccine alone isn’t going to stop it (the virus)”. This shouldn’t dishearten us because if we follow the government guidelines and stay inside as much as we can, we can curb the spread of the infection. We have survived pandemics before and we would do this too!
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