Vaccines and immunity by infection could be behind the drop in seventh wave cases

With the seventh wave of COVID-19 infections thought to have passed its peak, experts say progress in vaccinations and infection-acquired herd immunity could be behind the current downward trend .

In the seventh wave, which hit the country this summer, the highly transmissible BA.5 omicron subvariant was the dominant strain. The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the country reached 10 million on July 14 and 20 million about two months later.