Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Dr Samiran Panda, Head of Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) informed that the third wave might hit the country at the end of August and is likely to be less intense than the second wave.
As per the reports, Dr Samiran Panda stated that there would be a nationwide third wave but that does not mean that it would be as high or as intense as the second wave. He also stated that if the immunity acquired in the first and second waves goes down, it can lead to a third wave.
He further informed that the other reason can be that a COVID-19 variant can bypass the immunity acquired and the new variant may not be able to bypass immunity but might circulate fast in the population. If the coronavirus-induced restrictions are lifted prematurely by states, it could lead to a fresh surge in infections. He also said that he is not expecting any more public health havoc from the Delta variant.
He informed that several studies and modelling have been conducted to project the trajectory of a possible third wave under different scenarios. He said that one such model from an IIT shows that if all restrictions are lifted and if a virus (variant) is also able to escape immunity then the next wave can be bigger than the second wave.
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