Page 3 - Seniors Today - June 2021 Issue
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Publisher’s Note
Life given the Covid scare
Dr Aditya Agrawal, a young and very bright variants. Experts say that herd immunity could
pulmonologist from Mumbai, writes this month’s be achieved when a significant portion of the
cover story on the onslaught of the second wave population becomes immune, mostly through
of Covid-19. He believes that the pandemic has vaccination.
renewed our commitment towards standards The international medical fraternity believes that
of health, hygiene, personal safety, immunity, the coronavirus will never be totally eradicated. It
general fitness and health education. He writes has already spread far and is mutating too fast. The
that now is the time to reset our goals and value effort is to find a vaccine, or vaccines, to make it
our lives like never before. manageable, like a seasonal flu. The vaccines could
Many Indians have blamed the central help defang the virus. Depending on how long
government for what is seen as a mismanagement immunity from the vaccines last, we might need to
of the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out. Perhaps the get a coronavirus shot every year or maybe once in
biggest surprise has been the sheer size and scale two-three years.
of the devastation. While the world spoke about What is clear, as Dr Agrawal asserts, is that going
the second wave and that something like this could forward there’s a crying need to be very, very
happen, we just didn’t see it coming. India is now careful about our health.
an exporter of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, our heart goes out to all those who
While it is likely that we will need an annual have lost their dear ones to the first and second
jab, the problem is that with our current rate of waves of the pandemic. It’s unfair for the political
vaccination, next year’s lot will have to be started class to subject them to slogans and theatrics. Let’s
before we’ve finished this year’s. hope that if and when a third wave happens, we are
When the pandemic will end and when life will all better equipped to fight it.
return to normal are questions on the minds of
many Indians. Unfortunately, nobody seems to
have an answer. This despite the fact that there has
been a significant improvement in controlling the
virus and the lockdown restrictions have eased.
Nobody seems to know how long immunity will Vickram Sethi
last or whether there will be more contagious Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #24 | JUNE 2021 3
