Morung Express News
Kohima | October 28
With experts claiming that COVID-19 has entered the endemic stage in India, Nagaland Principal Director for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao maintained that people still need to be on guard.
More relaxations were made in Nagaland following the rate of positivity coming down to 3% in the State. Interacting with some media personnel at his office in Kohima today, Dr Khimiao stated that “the Coronavirus in a pandemic form can be called off and we will have to be addressing this endemic condition.”
He stated that people have to be on guard even though the rate of death, hospitalisation and positivity has come down. “We have to be on guard,” he asserted.
Observing that people have become very complacent with further relaxations, Dr Khimiao stated “nobody can give a 100% guarantee that it is totally safe. We shouldn’t become complacent.”
He maintained that Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) is something which everybody should still emphasis upon, adding that “apart from vaccination, following Covid appropriate behaviours are the main stay to contain or control the spread of the virus.”
Elaborating on the variant of concern—AY.4—a sub-lineage of the Delta variant, the Principal Director said AY.4 is a predominant variant as of now and “so we have to keep a close watch.”
While informing that the present vaccination gives good protection against this variant, he however stated that the virus is “very peculiar” and can mutate. The Principal Director further stated that people are more forthcoming for vaccination in comparison to the hesitancy during earlier days.
Clearing misconceptions surrounding the vaccine, Dr Khimiao said “all over the world, vaccine has been highly recommended, and today, if we look into our present scenario in Nagaland, nobody has died of the vaccine.” He encouraged all those still hesitant to take the vaccine for their protection as well as others.
On vaccination for children, he informed that till now there is no clarity on when it will be rolled out, with the trails going on. The Principal Director said that something should come out by the first half of 2022.
