India is still witnessing the second wave which is not yet over as northeastern states and some parts of south India are still battling it, a member of the government's COVID expert panel said on 15 July.

For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.

COVID-19 Working Group of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) Chairman N.K. Arora said: "Second wave is not yet over..." He also contended that the Delta Plus variant is "not going to be that disturbing or harmful" while the Delta variant infection is still in some parts of the country. Some experts suggest that there may be a possible third wave at the end of August but it may not be as devastating as the second wave was during April to June.

Experts also stress that adherence to COVID protocols is mandatory to curb infection and vaccination is an important tool to fight the pandemic. The Indian Council of Medical Research's Epidemiology and Communicable Diseases Division head Samiran Panda has said that the vaccines available now largely are effective against the new variants, but the efficacy may differ for different strains. Vaccines are not infection-preventing, but disease-modifying, he added.