I used to think natural immunity was a thing. Most people in India thought so too. Based on surveys, a majority of people in cities had been infected in the first wave of Covid in 2020. So confident in herd immunity was the Indian government that they were happily organising programs to give away vaccines to countries around the world, thinking it wasn’t necessary in India.
As the events of April-July 2021 proved, the new variant ripped through a population that was supposed to have reached herd immunity. As it stands, 80%+ of people in major Indian cities have had an infection. Does that mean that covid will never bother India again? I’m guessing no.
I think that speaks to the rapid evolution of the virus, more than to the lack of a natural immunity process. It's terrifying how quickly COVID has evolved, and given more time in the human species, it will evolve further. That's why the push for vaccination is so important. There's even people pushing for prophylactic use of other medications to completely stamp out COVID for the simple reason of - you do NOT want this virus evolving any more than it has.
As the events of April-July 2021 proved, the new variant ripped through a population that was supposed to have reached herd immunity. As it stands, 80%+ of people in major Indian cities have had an infection. Does that mean that covid will never bother India again? I’m guessing no.