Herd Immunity – According to World Health Organisation, Herd immunity also known as population immunity is the indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens either through vaccination or through exposure to the previous infection.

National serosurvey

The fourth national serosurvey conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research in the month of June-July has discovered that two-third or 67.6% of the population aged above 6 years were found to have Sars-Cov-2 antibodies. And one-third population did not have antibodies that implies 40 crore people are still vulnerable to COVID infections. This survey was conducted in 70 districts across 21 states. The survey has covered 28,975 general public and 7,252 healthcare workers. It showed that 85% of surveyed healthcare workers were having antibodies and one-tenth of healthcare workers were unvaccinated. 

States serosurvey

Different states are also conducting serosurvey on their level. States like Bihar and Odisha informed that they have almost achieved herd immunity in their respective states on the basis of serosurvey results. Experts have also said that different states are seeing different trajectories of COVID cases, hence the herd immunity is going to be non-uniform which means herd immunity will not be the same across India. 

“We have yet not reached herd immunity against Covid-19 neither through natural infection nor through vaccination. We can see new outbreaks of viral infection but we need to stop it now. This is possible if we follow Covid-appropriate behavior to stay in the safe zone. We are making continuous progress in vaccination. At least 50 percent of our vulnerable population is vaccinated. So, we are still vulnerable. But the situation as of now is under control and we will have to maintain this situation,” Dr. VK Paul, Niti Aayog Member.

Avoid travels – People should avoid any non-essential travels. Any type of gathering should not be encouraged. One can travel only if one is fully vaccinated. Follow COVID protocols everywhere.

India recorded 30,549 new coronavirus infections, taking the total tally of Covid-19 cases to 3,17,26,507. The death toll climbed to 4,25,195 with 422 daily fatalities, while the active cases have declined to 4,04,958.