Travel Only If You Are Fully Vaccinated, Says Govt’s 7-Point Advisory

Around 67.6 per cent of Indians now have developed antibodies against SARS-COV-2 either through infection or through vaccination, the government’s fourth serosurvey results have revealed.

While this means that more than half of the population is immune as of now — amid the apprehension of a third wave — the ministry has issued a warning regarding travelling and said one should not undertake travelling at this time without being fully vaccinated.

Here is the details of Govt’s 7-point advisory:

1. No Room For Complacency

The finding of the fourth serosurvey offers a ray of hope, but there’s no room for complacency as an outsized chunk of the population, 32%, remains vulnerable.

2. Not A Statement On The District-wise Situation

The govt said that the local or district-level situation could be different from the general situation as a national serosurvey is merely a bird’s eye view of the overall immunity situation of the country.

3. State-level Action Needed

States must continue local serosurvey to find out the percentage of population immune against Covid-19 so that state-level action is often taken up.

4. Future Waves of Infection Possible

The Union health ministry said that the findings of the serosurvey indicate that future waves of infection are possible because some states have reported higher immunity against Covid-19, while some are within the lower rung. States which in the serosurvey reported lower immunity are naturally at a higher risk of future waves.

5. No Non-Essential Travels

Since the first week of July, as states are relaxing their restrictions, mobility has gone up not only in tourist spots but also in local markets. Prodded by the govt, states have again brought back some restrictions. the govt on Tuesday said non-essential travels should be discouraged.

6. Congregations Be Avoided

Though many states have relaxed public gathering norms, given the situation, societal, public religious, and political congregations must be avoided, the govt said. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi governments have recently canceled Kanwar Yatra.

7. Travel Only If You Are Fully Vaccinated

Stressing on full vaccination, which is the complete course of two vaccine doses to be taken during a recommended gap, the govt said traveling should be undertaken only if the individual is fully vaccinated.

In the wake of uncontrolled crowding and therefore the Covid-19 situation plateauing in some areas, some states have again mandated negative RT-PCR test reports for entry.

(With Inputs From Hindustan Times)

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