Dr Randeep Guleria

As reports of the new strain of COVID-19 in Maharashtra emerge, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, has said that the new Indian strain is ‘highly transmissible and dangerous,’ and could also cause re-infections.

Dr Guleria, while speaking to NDTV, also said that herd immunity is really difficult to achieve in India, especially keeping in mind the new Indian strains of COVID-19 found in Amravati and Akola. Dr Guleria also said that to achieve heard immunity, at least 80% of the population needs to have developed anti-bodies to fight the virus.

Speaking about the new strain, Dr Guleria added that the new strain could cause re-infections in people who have already developed anti-bodies for the virus. Guleria attributed the re-infections to ‘immune escape mechanism’ of the variants of virus.

Dr Guleria further added that if a person gets a vaccine, he may not be immune to the new strain, but the person will likely develop a milder version of the new strain. Dr Guleria also stressed upon ‘COVID-19 appropriate behavior’ to fight against the virus.