Health ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal said on Wednesday that if effective containment strategies and Covid appropriate behaviour are followed, the number of cases in the third wave will not be to the extent that the health system comes under strain. He said 2.2 per cent of India's population has been affected by the disease so far. "This should also make us wary of protecting the still vulnerable or susceptible 97 per cent population. We cannot let our guards down, hence, continued focus on containment is critical.

"If we keep following containment and Covid appropriate behavior, then the third wave, even if it comes, will not have the number of cases that will put the health system under strain," he said. Noting that one of the challenges being faced in the antiCovid vaccination programme is vaccine hesitancy, Agarwal said many beneficiaries, especially in rural and tribal areas, fail to get themselves vaccinated owing to myths, rumours, misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 vaccine shared on social media.

 "While busting myths is important, it is also critical to remind communities about the role of Covid appropriate behaviour in breaking the virus transmission chain," he said. The senior official was speaking at a media workshop organised by UNICEF in partnership with the Ministry of Health on the need to bust myths about vaccines and vaccination and reinforce the importance of Covid Appropriate Behaviour (CAB).

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