RPG Enterprises chairperson Harsh Goenka took to Twitter on Wednesday to talk about the steps the government can take to prevent a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Besides increasing vaccination coverage, Goenka also advocated giving booster shots and importing mRNA vaccines like that of Moderna and Pfizer. He also urged the government to come down heavily on COVID-inappropriate behavior.
Goenka tweeted, “To prevent the third wave, the government has to: Increase double vaccinations to cover at least 70 percent of population; allow vaccinations for children; allow boosters urgently; come down heavily on COVID inappropriate behaviour; import mRNA (Moderna/Pfizer) vaccines.”
Meanwhile, Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that mRNA vaccine booster shots may not be able to prevent breakthrough cases. “Looks like mRNA boosters can’t prevent breakthroughs with new variants. It will be interesting to see how Novavax performs as a booster,” the Biocon boss tweeted.
In a series of tweets, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also warned people about the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus. Gates said his close friends have been infected and he has cancelled most of his plans for the holidays. He added that if Omicron variant is “only half as severe as Delta, it will be the worst surge we have seen so far because it’s so infectious.”
Gates also urged netizens to look out for each other, especially the vulnerable population, and take precautions like wearing face masks, avoiding big indoor gatherings and getting inoculated against COVID-19. He also talked about the need for getting a booster dose against the contagion.
He, however, signed off on an optimistic note, saying that the situation will not be this severe forever and the pandemic will end someday in 2022.
“If there’s good news here, it’s that Omicron moves quickly that once it becomes dominant in a country, the wave there should last less than 3 months. Those few months could be bad, but I still believe if we take the right steps, the pandemic can be over in 2022,” he noted.
Also read: Can booster doses prevent new variants? Here's what Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has to say
Also read: ‘Could be entering the worst part of COVID-19 pandemic’, warns Bill Gates