ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 epidemic in India is declining while the West is reeling under the second or third wave. However, with the onset of winter, the approaching Christmas, New Year and Sankaranthi festivals, and the emergence of new mutant strains of the virus, the possibility of a second wave in India cannot be ruled out, and personal protection measures should be strictly adhered to. The economically weak and marginalized segment bore the brunt of the impact of the pandemic and the associated lockdown - economic and food security. A safety net of universal support, including an employment guarantee scheme subsidised food through the PDS and essential primary health care for all is necessary. Despite considerable improvement in patient management, a proven remedy for cure COVID-19 has eluded us so far. Research needs to be intensified on this front. Aided by the scientific and technical advances and encouraging political environment, vaccines have been developed and vaccinations have been initiated in some countries. India too is preparing to launch vaccination soon. However, we have to recognize that availability of vaccines may not translate into the end of the epidemic. Everyone needs to heed the warnings of public health experts that we have to continue with COVID-appropriate behaviour.
ABSTRACT
Conducting population-based serosurveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) will estimate and monitor the trend of infection in the adult general population, determine the socio-demographic risk factors and delineate the geographical spread of the infection. For this purpose, a serial cross-sectional survey would be conducted with a sample size of 24,000 distributed equally across four strata of districts categorized on the basis of the incidence of reported cases of COVID-19. Sixty districts will be included in the survey. Simultaneously, the survey will be done in 10 high-burden hotspot cities. ELISA-based antibody tests would be used. Data collection will be done using a mobile-based application. Prevalence from the group of districts in each of the four strata will be pooled to estimate the population prevalence of COVID-19 infection, and similarly for the hotspot cities, after adjusting for demographic characteristics and antibody test performance. The total number of reported cases in the districts and hotspot cities will be adjusted using this seroprevalence to estimate the expected number of infected individuals in the area. Such serosurveys repeated at regular intervals can also guide containment measures in respective areas. State-specific context of disease burden, priorities and resources should guide the use of multifarious surveillance options for the current COVID-19 epidemic.