Between the first and second waves, several modelled predictions told us that there would not be a second wave because of ‘herd immunity’ that draped itself around India as a protective cloak.
Between the second and third waves, several experts asserted that ‘hybrid immunity’ acquired through large-scale viral exposure in the second wave and the increasing population coverage of the vaccination programme would give the country an impenetrable armour against a third wave.
The latter assessment would have possibly held true if it were only Delta that existed as the circulating variant.
However, the bets were off when a new variant emerged. Omicron is now rapidly spreading across the country, creating a dramatic daily rise in the number of infections.