Europe Takes "Treat COVID Like Flu" Approach; Is India Ready To Take The Next Step As Well?

Some countries around the world have begun treating COVID-19 like flu but is the world really ready? We talked to experts to know if India to also ready to think that COVID is endemic.

'Getting back to normal' seemed like a far-fetched dream when the pandemic first came into being. While scientists have been working tirelessly to understand how SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 disease) behaves, it is clear now that the disease is causing milder infections. After two years of massive outbreaks, millions of lives lost and several lockdowns, it seems like the infections are not as worse they were when the pandemic began.

Several countries, particularly in the West, are beginning to recognise the coronavirus as an endemic and treating it as if it were the flu. The most recent example is Spain. It is the first major European country to publicly recommend that people live with Covid-19. The country is advocating that it should be handled as an endemic condition, similar to the flu. The notion is slowly gaining support, and it could lead to a rethinking of government policies for combating the virus. However, experts have warned against dropping your guard against the coronavirus. So, the question arises is the world ready to treat 'COVID like flu'?

What WHO Has To Say About Treating COVID-19 Like Flu?

The World Health Organization (WHO) has come out strongly against treating Covid-19 as an endemic and has urged against removing limitations, particularly mask mandates. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, has stated that while Omicron is less severe than the Delta strain of the coronavirus, it still kills and affects individuals, particularly those who have not been vaccinated. In the light of the 'treat COVID like flu' approach gaining prominence around the world, we asked experts if it's a good idea for India to treat COVID as mere flu rather than a dangerous disease.

Is India Ready To Take The Next Step And Treat COVID Like A Mere Flu?

Dr Sharad Joshi, Associate Director, Pulmonology, Max Hospital, Vaishali says, "Not long ago, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said that people who are healthy, young and are asymptomatic or show mild symptoms don't need to go for testing. In a way, India has already taken the next step. In fact, it is wiser to isolate yourself in case you experience any symptoms."

But Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, Additional Director & HOD Pulmonology, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Faridabad holds the opinion that "It is premature to take coronavirus infection as common flu. We have seen that the mutating potential of coronavirus is huge and is associated with significant post COVID symptoms. Flu infections don't leave its trail so coronavirus should not be taken as normal flu and must be dealt with all seriousness."

Is The 'Treat Covid Like Flu' Approach Any Good To End The Pandemic?

Dr Shekhar Jha explains, "In India, we had seen disasters during the second wave. Since India is a densely populated country, the mutated strains of coronavirus can have 2 major implications. It can develop an immune escape mechanism, where protection from vaccine can become low and it can also mutate to a deadly variant. If caught off guard, it can be disastrous for a densely populated country like India."

As for the pandemic becoming endemic, Dr Joshi thinks that health experts are not yet seeing the end of the pandemic. "Whatever mutations this variant has taken up, it has led to increased infectivity but less severe disease so morbidity, mortality has reduced. This is the reason why every country is thinking of COVID-19 as the flu or endemic disease. So, the end of the pandemic would truly be when there would be no further mutations or other waves. But if compare the data with previous pandemics like the Spanish flu, the pattern is going in the same way. There were two-three waves, the second wave was the most lethal and the third and the fourth waves were mild in nature, which led to the end of the pandemic. If we extrapolate the data, we can then say that we are approaching the end of the pandemic," he added.

What Could Be The Possible Drawbacks Of The "Treat COVID Like Flu" Approach?

According to Dr Joshi, the major drawback of this approach is the uncertainty of what lies ahead. "Even the smallest mutations can cause the virus to become lethal. With the increase in transmissibility, the chances of mutations also increase. So, all precautions and following COVID appropriate behaviour is warranted, and we cannot ignore it. But we don't need to panic with the third wave of the pandemic, and we are treating it as a milder disease."

Further explaining the drawbacks, Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha says, "massive outbreaks and deaths along with the huge burden of so-called long covid may be seen. A huge loss of working days can be there. So, people should be on the lookout."

Is The World Really Ready To Take A Step And Think Covid Is Endemic?

Dr Joshi believes that it is early to say for certain. We need to see if this wave ends without any major mutation to say that we are reaching the endemic stage of the pandemic.

Dr Shekhar Jha opines, "90 per cent of the diseases being reported now are milder than the previous infections and are not fatal. With periodic intervals, the virus is coming up, again and again, to defend mutations and cause milder infections. So, we can say that in a way that COVID-19 is reaching the endemic stage."

But Is Taking This Approach Helping European Countries?

Spain is the first country to declare Covid an endemic, it's important to understand how the virus is spreading in the country. So far, more than 100 Covid-related deaths were reported every day in Spain in the last week.

Now, the United Kingdom, another proponent of the "new normal" strategy, has witnessed a decline in Covid infections but continues to report over 1 lakh cases per day, with over 250 deaths per day in recent days. This raises an important question: what does it mean to be 'normal' for a country if 100-200 people die every day from the same infection?