India, battered by the second wave of coronavirus, may face another COVID wave, reportedly towards the end of August or the start of September, according to experts. However, the experts did maintain that the third wave will not be as severe as the second wave.

A large number of people now have immunity against the COVID-19 due to previous infections or vaccinations. Even so, experts are harping on the fact that complacency will see a rise in cases. This set of people, which is almost 30% of the population in Delhi, is likely to get infected.

Dr Jugal Kishore, head of the Community Medicine department, Safdarjung Hospital, talking to news agency PTI said that 80% of the people have immunity against the virus, either due to previous infection or due to vaccination. So a sudden spike in infection in COVID-19 is not expected.

However, if a third COVID wave strikes, there can be two outcomes. “Two cases are possible – first, the virus continues to infect people slowly until herd immunity is attained, and second, a new, more infectious variant leads to an increase in cases till everyone has immunity. But it seems the third wave won’t be as severe as the second,” he said.

“The Delta variant of coronavirus was responsible for up to 60 per cent of the cases during the second wave. We haven’t observed any major difference between ‘Delta’ and ‘Delta Plus’ variant. So, a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases is not expected, until a new, more infectious variant emerges,” he added.

Dr Yudhyavir Singh, who has been managing the COVID-19 ICU at AIIMS New Delhi, said it is important to lift a few restrictions to resume economic activities when cases are low.

“However, one should not lower their guard … Adopt a guarded approach in terms of following COVID-19-appropriate behaviour and implementing restrictive measures,” he said.

He added that Delhi may have already achieved herd immunity, considering the massive number of cases seen during the second wave.