Cost of chasing the impossible

The fourth round of serosurvey conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), showed that 67.6% of Indians had antibodies. What can be inferred is that a staggering 92 crores plus Indians have developed immunity either due to natural infection, mostly, or due to vaccination. Around the time of the survey less than 5% of the population was fully vaccinated and around 20% had taken both doses of the vaccine. So, we can assume that around 75 crore people in our country had acquired immunity from having recovered from natural infection.The cases identified by the “test, treat, isolate” strategy stood at a minuscule of around 3 crores. So, by intense contact tracing efforts of Herculean proportions (or Thorian proportions!) we have been able to detect only 4% of the cases in the country.The novel coronavirus is the don of all viruses, not only difficult but impossible to catch up with. And like all successful dons, it is ruling more by fear. The panic and fear are also contributing to deaths from this virus, as brought out in a recent peer reviewed original research paper published in the July 2021 issue of Public Health Research, Practice and Policy by Kompaniyets and colleagues.Among 540, 667 adults hospitalised with Covid-19, the researchers tried to identify the risk factors for severe outcomes and deaths. To their surprise the investigators found anxiety and fear-related disorders to be the second highest risk factor after obesity, leading to death from Covid-19. Scientists advising the government lost the plot early. Testing and tracing are important in the early stages of an outbreak when it is a localised stream and has not merged into the ocean (of humanity), or at the end of the pandemic when it has reduced to a puddle, i.e. if the public health problem associated with the disease still demands eradication. Else the puddle can be left alone.



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